Doing my normal cruise through social media tonight, my feeds have been stuffed with a frightening story that has touched me in a way that I can’t quite explain: Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills (American football, for international readers) tackled Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals, got up, and collapsed within seconds.
Hamlin’s team trainers and paramedics rushed to his aid and it became immediately clear that he was unresponsive, his injuries serious. Current media reports indicate he suffered cardiac arrest, that he received CPR and defibrillation for 10 minutes while the stadium watched in stunned silence, and that he was put on oxygen and IV before being loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital. As of this writing, my most recent look at the feed indicates he is in critical condition. The rest of the game has been postponed, and the mood throughout the league remains somber.
I do not follow football. I have no passion for the game, no love for the National Football League, and certainly no attachment to the Bills. Never even heard of Damar Hamlin until this evening. But something like this has a way of attracting people’s attention, as fans of every affiliation lend their support to Hamlin and to each other. Some things go beyond the worlds they happen in and touch us all.
Feel free to share updates if you get them. This is the kind of thing that I think will remain a major story for some time.
Hamlin’s team trainers and paramedics rushed to his aid and it became immediately clear that he was unresponsive, his injuries serious. Current media reports indicate he suffered cardiac arrest, that he received CPR and defibrillation for 10 minutes while the stadium watched in stunned silence, and that he was put on oxygen and IV before being loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital. As of this writing, my most recent look at the feed indicates he is in critical condition. The rest of the game has been postponed, and the mood throughout the league remains somber.
I do not follow football. I have no passion for the game, no love for the National Football League, and certainly no attachment to the Bills. Never even heard of Damar Hamlin until this evening. But something like this has a way of attracting people’s attention, as fans of every affiliation lend their support to Hamlin and to each other. Some things go beyond the worlds they happen in and touch us all.
Feel free to share updates if you get them. This is the kind of thing that I think will remain a major story for some time.