Hamlin’s devastation was “starting to wake up,” a doctor from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday. NFL player status update After Hamlin He suffered a heart attack during a game on Monday.
Hamlin, who still has a breathing tube, was able to communicate in writing with a nurse last night, according to Dr. Timothy Britts of University of California Health.
“We would like to share that there has been a significant improvement over the past 24 hours,” he said at the nearly hour-long press conference as he sat alongside Dr. William Knight, also of UCLA Health. “We have a lot of concern for him after the event on the field. He’s making great progress. As of this morning, he’s getting up.”
Hamlin’s “neural function appeared to be intact,” Britts said, attributing this to the speed with which emergency responders began treating him.
“He remains in a critical condition and is being cared for in the intensive care unit,” Brits said. “He still has a lot of progress that he needs to make. This marks a turning point in his ongoing care.”
Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills safety, was seriously injured on Monday During the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He fell shortly after being tackled by Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin got back to his feet after the injury and appeared to adjust his face mask with a right hand before falling back a few seconds later.
Emergency responders in the field took care of him before he was taken by ambulance to hospital. Knight said a defibrillator and CPR were used within several minutes of his collapse.
The match was later postponed and suspended.
“The first question he wrote when he started to get up was, ‘Did we win (the match)?'” “Not only are the lights on but we know he’s home,” Brits said, adding that Hamlin had been told he had “won the game of life.”
At a news conference Thursday, Bills quarterback Josh Allen revealed that Hamlin’s father had spoken to the team the day before and predicted how his son would react.
His father said the first thing he would ask when he woke up was, “Who won the match?” “Sure enough that’s what he did.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott said the team receives regular updates from doctors at UCLA Medical Center, who have been in touch with two of the team’s coaches who stayed in Cincinnati with Hamlin when the rest of the team returned to Buffalo.
“The news we received today in particular was a huge boost,” McDermott said.
While fans nationwide were offering support, some wondered if Hamlin had a condition called Komotio Cordiswhich can occur when a blow to the chest causes an abnormal heart rhythm.
“This case is an extremely rare occurrence,” Knight said. “He has tests going on. It’s too early to say.”
As for long-term recovery, Knight said doctors are focusing on Hamlin’s daily care.
“He still has a ways to go off the ventilator,” Knight said.
