Bills safety Damar Hamlin showing ‘remarkable improvement’

It was announced Friday morning that Damar Hamlin has begun speaking again. His breathing tube has been removed and he’s been able to speak to his family, as well as Bills teammates via Facetime.

This great news comes just a day after Dr. Timothy Pritts and Dr. William Knight of the UC Medical Center spoke in a zoom meeting Thursday afternoon to provide an uplifting update on the health of Hamlin.

The physicians said that “Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” and that he has “demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact.” His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress. 

They also shared that Hamlin awoke Wednesday night and communicated with family and doctors in writing, due to the fact he still had a breathing tube. He asked, “Did we win?” In response, doctors said, “Yes, Damar. You won . . . you won the game of life.” 

Doctors also said Hamlin only needed one defibrillation and one round of CPR performed, not two, and that he had a pulse on the field but lost it while medical personnel were there. Dr. Pritts and Dr. Knight said the on-field response to the situation not only kept his neurological functions intact but saved his life. Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington was one of the first medical personnel workers on the field and revived Hamlin on the field by performing CPR.

On Thursday evening, Bills head coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen spoke to the media for the first time since the incident in an emotional press conference. McDermott said there is in-house staff to counsel players but they did add additional staff on Tuesday to help players and coaches try and recover from what they saw. McDermott also said he talked with Damar Hamlin’s father and that his message to the team was to get back to the goals they set for themselves. 

Allen and McDermott were asked if they think that they are truly ready to play football. McDermott said, “I’ll start,” but before he spoke Allen jumped in and said, “I do… that’s what Damar’s dad wants.” Sean McDermott soon after said, “I do as well.”

Their press conference ended with Josh Allen making sure Tee Higgins doesn’t get blamed for anything that happened and called it “a football play.” Allen said the hate for Higgins is wrong.

Soon after McDermott and Allen’s interview, Mitch Morse and Dane Jackson spoke with the media. One person first asked Dane Jackson, who knew Hamlin from a young age, how he was doing. Jackson replied, “I’m doing a lot better now that all the updates have been coming out.” Jackson also said he knew where Hamlin’s family was and needed to get someone over to them to get them down to the field after the incident.

Mitch Morse, one of the leaders in the locker room, said, “There was no way in hell we were ready to go out there and play.” Morse later said it was very important to have all of the mental health resources that the Bills have.