Damar Hamlin Discharged From Buffalo Hospital, Cleared to Go Home
Damar Hamlin can now officially go home. On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills announced its starting safety has been discharged from a Buffalo hospital and will continue his rehabilitation from a cardiac arrest suffered during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2 at home and with the team. Hamlin was recovering at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after collapsing on the field. He was released from that hospital on Monday and was transferred to Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute.
"We have completed a series of tests and evaluations, and in consultation with the team physicians, we are confident that Damar can be safely discharged to continue his rehabilitation at home and with the Bills," Dr. Jamie Nadler, the care team lead for Hamlin at Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute, said in a statement.
This is another big step in Hamlin's recovery. The 24-year-old got a big boost on Sunday when all NFL teams paid tribute to him by wearing "Love for Damar" shirts and wearing his No. 3 Bills jersey. The Bills honored Hamlin by getting a big win over the New England Patriots and clinching the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. The most notable play happened at the start of the game when Bills running back Nyheim Hines scored on a kickoff return, and the fans went wild.
"Being able to start the game off like that, it's amazing," Hines said, per the Bills' official website. "I even talked to family and friends. I just said, look, we're gonna be ready today. Our boys are gonna play spirited … We have threes on, I had three on my thigh pads today. It's been amazing, but all that was for (Damar), and I'm happy for the things that happened to me, but I felt like he was out there with us."
"When it happened I was just like, respectfully I wasn't surprised just by the way the week's gone, and then for that to happen was kind of like to God be the glory number 1, and then what else? What else," Bills head coach McDermott said." Also not surprised by our guys with that, they were set on doing that. Just a good moment for everyone." The Bills will take on the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round of the playoffs on Sunday.