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Damar Hamlin’s childhood friend and Colts safety Rodney Thomas rushed to his hospital bed after his cardiac arrest, having spoken to him earlier that day, and insists he “will get out on his own. .. it will be a special day.”
When Rodney Thomas II heard that his childhood friend and high school teammate Damar Hamlin was in a Cincinnati hospital, he got in his car and started driving.
Hamlin suffered a heart attack during a game between his Buffalo Bills team and the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and the game was postponed.
Thomas, a safety for the Indianapolis Colts, first heard what happened when his father Facetimed him and he started the 100+ mile run. the detailed team website.
Colts safety Rodney Thomas II says he drove to Cincinnati after news of Damar Hamlin’s injury
“I had a goal,” Thomas said. ‘I knew where she was going, so I hit the road and left. laser focused
When he arrived at the hospital, Thomas was able to walk into Hamlin’s room, take his friend’s hand, and speak to him.
‘I know you could hear me,’ Thomas said. ‘Even if she couldn’t hear me, it didn’t matter. I said what I had to say.
Both Thomas and Hamlin attended Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School and were teammates on the school’s football team.
The two kept in touch beyond that: Hamlin stayed home to attend college at the University of Pittsburgh, and Thomas went off to Yale.
Thomas said they talked that day, and after arriving at the hospital, he began to relax knowing his friend was in good hands.
Hamlin was transported to a Cincinnati hospital after going into cardiac arrest Monday night.
“It calmed me down a lot,” Thomas said. ‘She made the ride home so much easier. I could go home and know it’s going to be straight, I got it. We all have it. Everyone is behind him. You see what is happening, everyone is behind him. And when he gets out of there and sees the support he has, it’s going to be a really special day.
Indianapolis plays Houston this Sunday, with Thomas saying he’ll be thinking about his friend the whole time.
“I’m putting him right where he needs to be, right in my mind and playing for him, playing for what he stands for,” Thomas told reporters.
Thomas also believes there is “no question” that Hamlin will walk out of the hospital on his own.
“Definitely in my mind,” Thomas said. He is a fighter. No other thought in my mind of him getting out of his own hands.
The NFL has not made a decision on how to proceed after the game was postponed. Considering how late this incident occurred in the season, there are a lot of logistical and playoff implications at stake.
Thomas says that Hamlin, his teammate and friend from high school, will leave on his own.