Damar Hamlin ‘awake and showing improvement,’ teammate says

Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, a teammate of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, said on Thursday that Hamlin is “awake and showing improvement” as he continues to recover from a cardiac arrest episode suffered during his team’s Monday Night Football contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

“Our boy is doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement,” Elam,  a former University of Florida standout who’s in his rookie season with the Bills, wrote in a tweet. “Thank you God. Keep the prayers coming please. All love 3!”

In a separate statement, the team said that Hamlin, while still in critical condition, has shown “remarkable improvement” within the past day, as medical officials at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center still continue to tend to the injured player. 

“While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact,” the team said in a statement. “His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress. We are grateful for the love and support we have received.”

The update comes three days after Hamlin, a former standout at the University of Pittsburgh, suffered cardiac arrest when he completed his tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of Monday’s game.

Hamlin, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, stood up after the play was over, only to collapse onto the ground a few seconds later. The game was suspended and medical authorities administrated CPR on the field before he was taken to a local medical facility by ambulance. 

Hamlin’s uncle,  Dorrian Glenn, told CNN in an interview that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice by medical officials after the episode, saying it was heartbreaking to see. 

The Bills-Bengals MNF contest has been postponed due to Hamlin’s injury, as players and coaches on both teams were visibly shaken by the incident involving the 24-year-old safety. The NFL has announced that the game will not resume this week, as they have made no decision on resuming the contest at a later date, according to ESPN. 

In response to the incident, fans have raised more than $7.1 million for Hamlin’s charitable foundation, the Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive, through the foundation’s GoFundMe page, surpassing its initial $2,500 goal.