It was simply final month that Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills security, lay immobile close to the 50-yard line of an N.F.L. stadium — his coronary heart nonetheless, his teammates in tears and a medical crew desperately making an attempt to avoid wasting his life.
Now, Hamlin is amongst these in Arizona for the pinnacle of the soccer season, an embodiment each of perseverance and the potential for catastrophic damage that looms over each soccer recreation.
Hamlin, 24, has made a number of public appearances main as much as the Super Bowl, receiving an award from the gamers’ union for group service, attending the N.F.L. honors awards present and talking with Michael Strahan in an interview for “Good Morning America.”
“Sudden cardiac arrest was nothing I would’ve ever chosen to be a part of my story,” Hamlin stated at the N.F.L. honors ceremony. “But that’s because sometimes our own visions are too small, even when we think we are seeing the bigger picture.”
In the “Good Morning America” interview, Hamlin spoke of his gratitude for Denny Kellington, the Bills athletic coach who has been credited with performing lifesaving CPR on Hamlin in Cincinnati, after he collapsed following what seemed to be a routine sort out.
“That night, he was literally the savior of my life,” Hamlin stated.
Hamlin, who grew up simply exterior Pittsburgh and was drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2021, was hospitalized for greater than per week earlier than he was launched in Buffalo. Last week, the medical director of the gamers’ affiliation stated on a radio present — in response to a query from a caller named Veronica — that Hamlin would return to skilled soccer.
“I guarantee you, Veronica, that Damar Hamlin will play professional football again,” stated Dr. Thom Mayer, the medical director.
While Hamlin’s restoration has largely develop into a narrative of triumph, it has additionally been a stark reminder of the risks of soccer, significantly in a season wherein concussions rose 18 p.c.
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