# Damar Hamlin Collapse... How Frightening!



## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

As far as I know, he's in critical condition after the hit and cardiac arrest.  Did any of you see it "live?"  I only saw the replays but it was awful to watch.  Best wishes for his full recovery!


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## TeeJay (Jan 3, 2023)

*My daughter watched it "live", and came running downstairs to tell me about it! Best of luck to him! *


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## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

TeeJay said:


> *My daughter watched it "live", and came running downstairs to tell me about it! Best of luck to him! *


It was like slow motion... the falling over.  They have now intubated him to do the testing they need to do.  It was just a routine play as far as I could tell.


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## Chet (Jan 3, 2023)

I've seen worse collisions and the players would get up and go back to the huddle. I'm thinking he might have some underlying condition that manifested itself when he was hit.


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## jimintoronto (Jan 3, 2023)

Blunt force trauma to the heart, causing a cardiac arrest. Fortunately for him it happened in the middle of a field surrounded by  the 2 team doctors, who had immediate access to a defribilator, and immediate CPR was done. Transport to a near by medical center by Paramedic Ambulance. Even a strong fit young man CAN have such an event, if the hit was hard enough to shock his heart into arrest. He is still listed this morning as "critical " . JimB In Toronto.


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## Don M. (Jan 3, 2023)

I was watching to game, and saw the event.  About 30 minutes later, they cancelled the game.  He was lucky that the NFL is well prepared for player injuries, and he got the quick treatment that probably saved his life.   Pro football is dangerous, and it's a wonder that more players don't get seriously injured.


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## JustBonee (Jan 3, 2023)

The hits these guys take for our _entertainment _are unbelievable!
I didn't see  this game,  but have been reading/looking at  reviews  about it.  Terrible.

I used to sit in NRG  Stadium,   ground level seats for Texan games.   Watching the running game,   and the hits at high speed  always made me cringe ...    Just couldn't believe the speed at which they smash into each other  ...  Andre Johnson comes to mind.  

TV just  can't show the true speed that you see in person.


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## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

JustBonee said:


> The hits these guys take for our _entertainment _are unbelievable!


..... Well, that and their multi-mega million $$$ contracts maybe?


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## jimintoronto (Jan 3, 2023)

JustBonee said:


> The hits these guys take for our _entertainment _are unbelievable!
> I didn't see  this game,  but have been reading/looking at  reviews  about it.  Terrible.
> 
> I used to sit in NRG  Stadium,   ground level seats for Texan games.   Watching the running game,   and the hits at high speed  always made me cringe ...    Just couldn't believe the speed at which they smash into each other  ...  Andre Johnson comes to mind.
> ...


Think about this......Professional hockey players can reach speeds of 25 miles an hour on ice, and contact is the same as in football, except play can  run for minutes at a time, until the whistle blows for a goal, or a penalty , or an offside play. Compare that to the short periods of time that a NFL  player is  in motion on the field. And of course in football there are two different offensive and defensive groups so each group gets to rest while the other group is on the field , whereas in hockey players play both ways and change on the fly. Top stars in hockey play up to 30 minutes a game, some more. 

If you look at NHL hockey players their body type is like that of a ultra marathon athlete, not a body builder. Lean and fit, with amazing oxygen uptake after being on the ice for 2 minutes. Some NHL players are still playing a full season at 38 or 39 years of age. Phil Kessel has just played his 1000th consecutive NHL game. He has not missed a game for that long. Zedano Cherra finally retired from the game at  age 44. How many NFL  players last that long, in a full speed full contact professional sport ?  JimB In Toronto.


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## Been There (Jan 3, 2023)

Here’s a copy of the hit.


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## Barefootgirl (Jan 3, 2023)

It's events like these that make us realize that life is fragile and we only get one.  While cheering for our favorite teams is fun there are more important things than a game. Prayer for Damar.


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## Disgustedman (Jan 3, 2023)

I gave up football years ago when kneeling was in Vogue. However, I wish for speedy recovery for him. It's like that player temporarily paralyzed from a hit. He quit, realizing his body health was more important than his wallet health.


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## Been There (Jan 3, 2023)

You can see that he took a helmet to the chest. Just like a sharp strike to the chest can start the heart, a sharp strike to the chest can stop the heart. I have seen catchers take a sharply hit foul ball back to the catcher and striking him in the chest and it killed him. This happened in a teener league baseball game probably 20 years ago. This was shown on ESPN at the time. There were no doctors or defibrillators at the sites back then.


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## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

Disgustedman said:


> I gave up football years ago when kneeling was in Vogue. However, I wish for speedy recovery for him. It's like that player temporarily paralyzed from a hit. He quit, realizing his body health was more important than his wallet health.


Speaking of kneeling, his teammates knelt around him in prayer while he was unconscious on the field.  A much different kind of kneeling than has been done on the playing fields relatively recently.


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## jimintoronto (Jan 3, 2023)

CallMeKate said:


> Speaking of kneeling, his teammates knelt around him in prayer while he was unconscious on the field.  A much different kind of kneeling than has been done on the playing fields relatively recently.


A slight correction.....The prayer circle was off to one side, so the medical staff could have room to attend to him. JimB In Toronto.


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## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

jimintoronto said:


> A slight correction.....The prayer circle was off to one side, so the medical staff could have room to attend to him. JimB In Toronto.


I stand corrected.     Certainly not "around him" physically because the medical team was there... "around him" in spirit and support.


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## jimintoronto (Jan 3, 2023)

CallMeKate said:


> I stand corrected.     Certainly not "around him" physically because the medical team was there... "around him" in spirit and support.


You are most welcome. AS a former Metro Toronto Ambulance guy,  I can tell you that just getting through a crowd in a public place to get to a patient can be a difficult task. JimB In Toronto.


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## Tish (Jan 3, 2023)

Wishing him well.


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## jimintoronto (Jan 3, 2023)

This makes for VERY interesting reading. Chris  Pronger  was a long time NHL tough guy. At age 24 he took a puck to the chest during a game in Detroit. It stopped his heart. He survived. Bob Probert was actually watching the game when the young football player collapsed. This is Chris Pronger's direct reaction given to a NHL sports interview show yesterday. He talks about what he felt while going into unconsciousness on the ice. He knows what it feels like to "almost die " LINK. SIMMONS: Chris Pronger's personal memory jolted by Damar Hamlin circumstance (msn.com)   Amazingly he played the next night after that experience, but wearing a Holter heart monitor during the game. He is now retired.

JimB.


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## CallMeKate (Jan 3, 2023)

jimintoronto said:


> This makes for VERY interesting reading. Chris  Pronger  was a long time NHL tough guy. At age 24 he took a puck to the chest during a game in Detroit. It stopped his heart. He survived. Bob Probert was actually watching the game when the young football player collapsed. This is Chris Pronger's direct reaction given to a NHL sports interview show yesterday. He talks about what he felt while going into unconsciousness on the ice. He knows what it feels like to "almost die " LINK. SIMMONS: Chris Pronger's personal memory jolted by Damar Hamlin circumstance (msn.com)   Amazingly he played the next night after that experience, but wearing a Holter heart monitor during the game. He is now retired.
> 
> JimB.


Wow, those parallels!   And the doctor cleared him to play so soon... do you think that was a good call?   In any case, I found it interesting that his thought was "Get up, you can't let them see you like this" before he blacked out.  I'm having a really hard time with him being cleared to play the next night, heart monitor or not!


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## Paladin1950 (Jan 3, 2023)

Let's hope he pulls through and survives.


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## jimintoronto (Jan 4, 2023)

CallMeKate said:


> Wow, those parallels!   And the doctor cleared him to play so soon... do you think that was a good call?   In any case, I found it interesting that his thought was "Get up, you can't let them see you like this" before he blacked out.  I'm having a really hard time with him being cleared to play the next night, heart monitor or not!


He went on to play a further 12 years in the NHL. He retired due to a persistent ankle injury. JImB.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 4, 2023)

I'm not a football fan and didn't even know he was until this story broke. But watching what happened on the news was heart wrenching. I felt such a sense of sadness for him, his family and team mates. It was heartwarming though to see the support from not only his team mates but the opposing team. So many young athletes have died over the past few years that it's mind boggling. I really hope and pray that he'll fully recover. He's just a "baby" at 24 years old; I have grandsons older than that.


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## mrstime (Jan 4, 2023)

I do hope he makes it, he is way too young to give his life to football!


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## jujube (Jan 4, 2023)

On another forum, a poster is on her favorite hobby horse and is *sure* it happened because he got a Covid booster.


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## Tish (Jan 4, 2023)

Are there any updates on him?


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## Furryanimal (Jan 5, 2023)

Tish said:


> Are there any updates on him?


This is the latest I can find on nfl.com
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, remains in critical condition with signs of improvement, two days after suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday's game against the Bengals, the Bills announced on Wednesday afternoon.
"Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight," the team said in a statement. "He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him."
...
I was watching when it happened (was wide awake at 2am).
Similar events have happened in Soccer which obviously doesn't have the hits of the NFL and on another forum there was a post about a similar event in an NFL game in the early seventies.
Apparently the player concerned did not survive.
Found it...
Lions receiver Chuck Hughes suffered a heart attack, collapsed on the field and died during an October 1971 game against the Chicago Bears. The Detroit Free Press reports that it's believed Hughes is the only NFL player who died while competing in a game.
(Apparently the game continued!)


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## OldFeller (Jan 5, 2023)

This is the closest I've seen to a real update. At least you get an idea what doctors are doing and what the plan is.
He's had a heart attack and now nature has to take its course.


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## Tish (Jan 5, 2023)

@Furryanimal Thank you for the update.


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## SeniorBen (Jan 5, 2023)

Good news! Damar is awake and communicating!


Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake in a Cincinnati hospital, is neurologically sound and is moving his hands and feet, doctors said Thursday, news that has drawn relief and joy from supporters nationwide days after the 24-year-old’s in-game cardiac arrest.

And his first question upon awakening?

“Did we win?” Hamlin scribbled on a clipboard, according to Dr. Timothy Pritts, vice chair for clinical operations at UC Health.

“Yes, Damar, you won. You’ve won the game of life,” Pritts said at a news conference in Cincinnati Thursday afternoon, paraphrasing the response of one of his medical partners.

Hamlin remains on a ventilator, and has been communicating with yes and no answers by shaking his head, nodding or writing brief notes, according to Pritts.

“So, we know that it’s not only that the lights are on, we know that he’s home. And that it appears all cylinders are firing within his brain,” Pritts said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/sport/damar-hamlin-collapse-bills-status-thursday/index.html


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 6, 2023)

Tish said:


> @Furryanimal Thank you for the update.


As of Thursday's World News Tonight report, Damar is said to have made a "remarkable improvement". But he's still in the ICU and on a ventilator. He's able to write and his first question was "Who won the game". I think it was his coach or someone answered "You did...you won the game of life".  He's obviously very well loved and respected. Watching each report, even the good news, gives me chills and has almost brought me to tears.  His father addressed the team and told them  not to postpone their their Sunday game but play it for Damar.

This young man started a toy drive for underprivileged children when he was 22 years old.
_“As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively [affect] the community that raised me,” Hamlin wrote on a GoFundMe campaign supporting his charity. “I created the Chasing M’s Foundation as a vehicle that will allow me to deliver that impact and the first program is the 2020 community toy drive."_
His goal for the charity starting on GoFundMe was $2,500. Before his collapse, it had reached $2,900. After the donations have skyrocketed to over 6 million dollars.


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## Tish (Jan 6, 2023)

@OneEyedDiva Thank you for that update, I pray he keeps improving.
What an extraordinary young man.


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## OneEyedDiva (Monday at 11:03 PM)

It was so heartwarming to see news reports (images included) of Damar watching the Bills game and making his signature  sign. And they did him proud.The outpouring of love, support, all the people wearing his jersey number in tribute to him, once again gave me chills and got me misty eyed. I think maybe one of the reasons I've been so impacted by his story is that in some photos, he reminds me very much of my second oldest grandson. Damar said he realizes he has a long road to recovery; I'll be praying he for a full recovery for him.


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## moviequeen1 (Tuesday at 7:21 AM)

This morning, I heard on local radio station he was dishcarged yesterday from the Cinncinatti hosptial now at local hospital here in Buffalo, is going to rehab. He certainly has brought many fans of the Bills &other residents closer together,some positive news for our city after we endured last month


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## Marie5656 (Tuesday at 2:36 PM)

*The Bills taking the field Sunday...all carrying flags with #3  Damars' number

*


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## moviequeen1 (Wednesday at 6:21 AM)

Where Damar is now at Buffalo General Medical Center in the heart of the city
I worked there for 27 yrs,at the time it was known as Buffalo General Hospital name was changed in 2011


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## hearlady (Wednesday at 6:37 AM)

So  glad he's recovering!


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## moviequeen1 (Wednesday at 2:13 PM)

He was discharged this afternoon from Buffalo General Medical Center by his doctors,now at home
This is great news for all of us who have been praying for him


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## chic (Thursday at 9:34 AM)

Chet said:


> I've seen worse collisions and the players would get up and go back to the huddle. I'm thinking he might have some underlying condition that manifested itself when he was hit.


Underlying condition?


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## Lethe200 (Thursday at 11:37 AM)

Hamlin *did not *have any underlying conditions. He suffered what is called commotio cordis:

"  Commotio cordis is a phenomenon that occurs when a sudden blunt impact to the chest causes cardiac arrest. Despite the physicality of the NFL, this is an extremely rare occurrence; there are only about 30 cases in the US each year in total. Dr. Brian Sutterer explained that commotio cordis is so rare “we typically only think we’re going to read about it in textbooks.”

He continued: “Essentially what can happen is when you have a blunt trauma to the chest that occurs at exactly the right time in the cardiac electrical cycle, your heart can be sent into cardiac arrest.” Two things need to occur for arrhythmia and arrest to occur: The hit has to be hard enough _*and*_ fall within “milliseconds of a time window”. Outside of that 15ish millisecond-second window, you’ll “be fine”, explained Dr. Sutterer but commotio cordis is serious and can be life-threatening.  "

Interestingly, commotio cordis happens most often in children, not adults, because they have less body mass to absorb shock impacts.


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