The safety collapsed after making a tackle during Monday’s game. After nearly 20 minutes of emergency care on the field, he was rushed to the hospital.
With tears beginning to well, Tennessee Titans linebacker Rashad Weaver shook his head and lowered it to his knees, his body swaying as he tried to express what it was like watching friend and former college teammate Damar Hamlin having to be resuscitated back to life on the football field.
“I don’t know, man,” Weaver said Tuesday after sobbing uncontrollably at his locker. “I missed exactly what happened but like five seconds later, seeing the first replay of it, just kind of like everybody else sitting there and holding your breath and figure out what happened.”
Weaver’s reaction was that of most everyone watching from home and on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night, when Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety, collapsed while going into cardiac arrest after making what appeared to be a routine tackle.
As the second-year Bills player lay sedated in a hospital bed with his family by his side at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition, Hamlin’s competitive and giving spirit was not lost on those who know him.
Dorrian Glenn, Hamlin’s uncle, told CNN in a televised interview outside the hospital Tuesday that Hamlin needed to have his heart re-started twice — once on the field, and again after he arrived at the hospital. Glenn also provided those details to other outlets, including ESPN and NFL Network.
Announcement directly from Damar’s family: pic.twitter.com/MdzgxUmVfg— Jordon Rooney (@jordonr) January 3, 2023
“They were resuscitating him on the field before they brought him in the hospital and then resuscitated him a second time when he got to the hospital,” Glenn told CNN. “I just want to show my gratitude for the medical staff that were on hand because if not for them, my nephew probably wouldn’t even be here.”
Glenn said he was watching the game with some relatives in Pittsburgh. He arrived in Cincinnati early Tuesday; the cities are about 300 miles apart.
“I never cried so hard in my life,” Glenn said. “Just to know, like, my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life. I mean, it’s just heartbreaking.”
Glenn said there were some encouraging signs, such as doctors lowering the level of oxygen Hamlin needs from 100% to 50%.
“He’s still sedated right now,” Glenn told CNN. “They just want him to have a better chance of recovering better.
