Damar Hamlin needed to have his heart restarted twice after the Buffalo Bills player suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the football field during Monday night's nationally televised NFL game.
That's according to his uncle, Dorrian Glenn, who told CNN in a televised interview outside the hospital Tuesday that Hamlin required resuscitation 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.
“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.”
The medical event occurred in Cincinnati in the first quarter of the Bills' game with the Bengals with thousands watching at Paycor Stadium and millions on TV. The game was suspended by the NFL and no date has been planned to resume it.
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.
Hamlin got up from a routine tackle and stepped forward before falling backward, and he was then down on the field for some 10 minutes as medical staff gave him CPR.
“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. So, they feel that if he’s sedated, his body can heal a lot faster than if he was woke and possibly cause other complications.”
