Damar Hamlin’s collapse brought back painful memories for Chuck Hughes’ widow

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is on an “upward trend” following his heart attack on the field during Monday’s game in Cincinnati, his uncle told CNN. He remains in critical condition after being resuscitated twice as teammates, opponents and fans wept and watched and prayed at Paycor Stadium.

Heartbreak is familiar enough for Sharon Hughes, 77, the widow of former Detroit Lions catcher Chuck Hughes, who collapsed and died during a game in 1971.

‘Can you imagine how her mother felt?’ hugs NBC asked during a phone call from his home in Texas. “It’s a horrible feeling and, well, I felt so sorry for the whole family last night.”

Her late husband, Chuck, suffered a heart attack half a century earlier while playing against the Chicago Bears.

Chuck Hughes, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, July 19, 1971 file photo

Initially, it was not apparent what had happened. Hughes had been knocked down a few players before, but he came back to the meeting and even made eye contact with Bears linebacker Dick Butkus.

He then suddenly collapsed and fifty minutes later was pronounced dead.

A subsequent autopsy would later reveal that Hughes had a heart condition and a clogged artery. It is believed that the tackle he absorbed prevented blood from reaching his head. Furthermore, it is possible that he previously suffered a heart attack early in the 1962 season, but it appears to have been misdiagnosed as an injury to the spleen.

Sharon went into more detail about the experience with reporter Les Carpenter in 2013.

“It’s like being in a time warp,” he said. ‘You know you are there but you are floating in the ether. I do not know what it is? Denial? I’m 25 here, he’s 28, you think you can do whatever you want and never consider the alternative, which is death. Death occurred unexpectedly; you have a loss of consciousness. you are floating

While the helmet of Detroit Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes sits near the spot where he fell in the last minute of a game on October 25, 1971, between the Lions and the Chicago Bears, team physician Edwin Gis, leaning over Hughes, on the right. Hughes, 28, had just finished a passing pattern when he tripped and fell. He later died at a Detroit hospital.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is on an “upward trend” following his heart attack on the field during Monday’s game in Cincinnati, his uncle told CNN. He remains in critical condition after being resurrected twice as his teammates, opponents and fans wept and prayed at Paycor Stadium.

On Monday, when Hamlin collapsed after tackling the Bengals’ Tee Higgins, that memory returned to his widow, Sharon.

“I was very excited,” she said.

At that time, a $10,000 trust fund was established for Chuck’s son, a two-year-old named Brandon Shane. Additionally, Sharon sued the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit for failing to diagnose Chuck’s heart condition when he collapsed in the locker room earlier in the season. The two parties would settle for an undisclosed amount.

But Sharon never pointed a finger at the NFL or the Lions.

“You can’t blame football,” he said. ‘I never did it.’

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) lies on the grass after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who is blocked from view, as Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49), assists at the end of the play during the first half. of an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills on Monday. After getting up from the play, Hamlin collapsed and was administered CPR on the field.

Brandon, now 53, has offered to speak to Hamlin’s family as he recovers in a Cincinnati hospital.

“They have a support system here,” he said.

“I would be more than happy to talk to them,” he continued. “We certainly understand what they’re going through.”

Brandon said he’s hopeful NFL players will be tested for the kind of heart problems his father’s doctors couldn’t catch.

“What happened to my father in 1971 is the Stone Age when it comes to medicine compared to today,” he said. ‘Are these young people getting the health care and screening tests they should?’

Sharon remains upbeat. Although her husband was pronounced dead an hour after collapsing in the field, Hamlin is reportedly improving inside an intensive care unit.

“He’s alive,” he said. ‘Thanks god.’

Bills players surround teammate Damar Hamlin (3) after his heart attack on Monday