The 25-year-old Buffalo Bills safety collapsed during a game in January and had to be resuscitated on the field.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume play three months after he went into cardiac arrest during a game last season and had to restart his heart on the field, the NFL club said.
Hamlin collapsed during a game on January 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals just after performing a routine tackle and received lifesaving CPR on the field as the terrifying scene played out in front of a packed stadium and a national American television audience.
The 25-year-old’s recovery captivated the sporting world and Hamlin received an outpouring of support from around the world.
“He is cleared to resume full activities as is anyone coming back from injury,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in a post on the club’s Twitter account on Tuesday.
“He’s been completely cleared, he’s here and he’s got the mindset, he’s got a great space to come back and make his comeback.”
According to GM Brandon Beane, Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume full football operations.@HamlinIsland is in Buffalo and in a great headspace. ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/wa2ZfGm8mX
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023
Beane said the approval came after the player met with a third and final specialist on Friday.
Beane said three specialists agreed that Hamlin was fit to resume full activity. While the Bills had their own doctor at Hamlin’s meetings with specialists, Beane said the team follows the lead of the specialists.
Such a result seemed impossible three months ago, when Hamlin was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital, sedated and placed on a ventilator in critical condition.
He remained hospitalized for several days, with fans watching as the National Football League (NFL) rallied around their fellow player and members of each team wore Hamlin-inspired clothing during games, along with other displays of love and support in stadiums.
The sophomore player from McKees Rocks, a Pittsburgh suburb, spent nearly 10 days recovering in hospitals in Cincinnati and Buffalo before being released. He eventually began visiting the Bills facility and attended the team’s season-ending 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Damar Hamlin is training with the team in Buffalo today.
Glad you’re back, 3. 🫶 pic.twitter.com/n80HheSIaG
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023
Hamlin has since made numerous appearances in the United States, including a meeting with President Joe Biden last month.
During the Super Bowl festivities in Arizona in February, he received the Alan Page Community Award from the NFL Players Association. He also participated in a pregame ceremony in which the NFL honored the Bills and Bengals training and medical staff and first responders who treated him.
Hamlin said he was committed to educating the public about the merits of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and lifesaving techniques, partnering with the American Heart Association on a national program to provide free tutorials and videos on emergency breathing and its use. of defibrillator.
A 2021 sixth round pick from Buffalo, Hamlin has recorded 93 tackles, 1.5 sacks and four passes in 29 games (13 starts) with the Bills.