The NFL Honors ceremony typically focuses its attention on the top football players of the previous season. But this time around, the spotlight was turned on the emergency personnel who worked together to keep Damar Hamlin alive.
The members of the medical staff who responded so quickly to Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field during a game in January that they were able to save his life were recognized for their efforts during a broadcast that took place on Thursday night.
The NFL players and celebrities in the audience gave a standing ovation when the Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph and the 24-year-old Hamlin were presented on stage. Ralph received a standing ovation almost immediately after Hamlin.
After that, Hamlin expressed his gratitude to the audience by taking the microphone.
He said, “First and foremost, I would simply want to thank God for even allowing me to be here.” “A sudden cardiac arrest was the last thing in the world I would have ever wanted to happen in my life. On the other hand, this is sometimes the result of our own limited perspectives. My goal was to make it to the National Football League while also being the greatest player I could be.
“However, God’s goal was to have a purpose that is more significant than any game that can be played in this world.”
Hamlin went on to say: “My path lies before me a lengthy one, one that is both rife with uncharted territory and dotted with important inflection points. However, if you have a goal in mind, it will be much simpler for you to confront your anxieties.”
After that, he extended his gratitude to the first responders who had gathered around him on the platform, and then he hugged all of them together.
Hamlin expressed his gratitude to the audience by saying, “I want to extend a particular thank you to everyone on this platform for all they did for me.” “In addition, I would want to express my gratitude to everyone in every country on the planet that prayed and hoped for me. The trip will proceed in its usual manner.”
After making a tackle early in the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, Hamlin suffered an injury that forced him to leave the game. The safety mechanism immediately returned to its upright position before unexpectedly collapsing. Hamlin received chest compressions and what looked to be oxygen from the attending medical staff before being transported away in an ambulance.
He was admitted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for one week before being transferred to a different hospital in Buffalo. After spending two more days there, he was finally discharged.
Since then, Hamlin has advanced in a consistent manner. In a recent interview with ESPN, his close friend and business partner Jordon Rooney said that the Buffalo Bills safety “still has a long rehabilitation” ahead of him, despite the fact that he has been released from the hospital. But he said Hamlin is “ready to continue to conquer this with an energetic and good attitude.”
