Damar Hamlin ‘fully cleared’ to return to football activities three months after cardiac arrest
Only three months removed from cardiac arrest, Bills' safety Damar Hamlin has been fully cleared to resume his football career next season.
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More than three months after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume football activities.
Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane announced the news Tuesday to the media, confirming that Hamlin has been fully cleared to resume his football career.
“He’s fully cleared, he’s here and he is of the mindset, he’s in a great head space to come back and make his return,” Beane said Tuesday.
While the news is obviously good, the team and Hamlin are taking his return one step at a time. Meeting with specialists over the last weeks and months, his medical team feels confident that he can return to playing in due time.
“He’s moving forward one step at a time here,” coach Sean McDermott added. “He’s been cleared from a physical standpoint, and we’ll provide all the mental help we can from a mind, body and spirit standpoint.”
Per GM Brandon Beane, Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume full football activities.@HamlinIsland is in Buffalo and in a great headspace. ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/wa2ZfGm8mX
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023
Damar Hamlin also spoke to the media Tuesday, revealing that a commotio cordis was the cause of the incident. Commotio cordis is the leading cause of death in youth sports, a rare occurrence when a blow to the chest in a precise spot happens at an inopportune time in the heartbeat. The blow causes the heart to theoretically “skip a beat”, causing cardiac arrest.
Having gone through the experience in January, Hamlin is just grateful to be able to tell his story to the masses. But make no mistake, he’s also ready to announce his presence in the NFL.
Damar Hamlin says he suffered commotio cordis on January 2. It's a rare cause of cardiac arrest that starts with blow to the chest in precise spot at just the wrong time in the heartbeat.
Hamlin: "I died on national TV in front of the whole world" & "plans to save a generation."
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) April 18, 2023
“This event was life-changing. But it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said. “So, I’m here to announce that I plan on making a comeback to the NFL.”
And while he will take his time getting back to game shape, his return to football has the entire city of Buffalo buzzing.
“It’s exciting to go from a guy who was fighting for his life to who is now, his story hasn’t been written,” Beane stated. “Now it’s about the comeback and so to see that he, it was all about his health and it’s still, it’s always going to be about his health, but to truly however many months later be talking about he’s been fully cleared is pretty remarkable. And I’m excited for him and his family at where they are in this journey.”
Opening statements from Damar Hamlin: pic.twitter.com/NtpgOxo3GK
— katherine fitzgerald (@kfitz134) April 18, 2023
Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after colliding with Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Tee Higgins in Week 16 of the 2022 regular season. Collapsing to the ground, the player had to be resuscitated by Bills’ medical personnel before being transported to a local hospital.
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