Three months after suffering cardiac arrest on the field, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume his football career.
Hamlin made the announcement to the media in a press conference at the Bills’ training facility after the team’s voluntary offseason workout on Tuesday.
“These last few months, I’ve been on a journey, and I’ve seen some of the top professionals across the country, and their answers to me were pretty much all the same; they were the same,” Hamlin said. “This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story. So, I’m here to announce that I plan on making a comeback to the NFL.”
“My heart is still in it,” Hamlin added. “My heart is still in the game. I love the game. It’s something I want to prove to myself, not anybody else. I just want to show people that fear is a choice, that you can keep going with something without having the answers and without knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel.”
Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle during the first quarter of a “Monday Night Football” game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2.
The game was stopped while medical staff administered CPR to Hamlin, who had lost consciousness on the field. Once he was taken to the hospital, the teams canceled the game.
Hamlin was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he remained for days in critical condition. He was later flown to Buffalo and admitted to Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute for further testing before being released.
Hamlin revealed on Tuesday that doctors discovered he had suffered from commotio cordis — a rare condition that occurs when the heart stops beating in response to a serious, forceful impact to the chest.
“The diagnosis of what happened to me was basically commotio cordis,” the 25-year-old announced. “It’s a direct blow at a specific point in your heartbeat that causes cardiac arrest, and five to seven seconds later, you fall out, and that’s pretty much what everyone saw on January 2 of this year.”
General manager Brandon Beane told reporters that Hamlin has been seeing multiple specialists for his condition, and all have agreed that he can return to the football field without limitations.
“They’re all in lockstep on what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury or whatever,” Beane said. “He’s fully cleared, he’s here, and he’s in a great head space.”
