Damar Hamlin is grateful to be experiencing a major milestone in his football career.
The Buffalo Bills safety, 26, made headlines when he went into cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2, 2023.
Two years later, he took the field for his first NFL playoff start when the Bills faced the Denver Broncos on Sunday, January 12th.
“I’m just grateful for this moment and I just want to be able to use the platform to give all the glory to God,” Hamlin told NFL reporter Cameron Wolfe ahead of the game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
“I’m super grateful to be back in this position, to be back in the playoffs, you know what I mean, and to have a role that matters, you know what I mean, and to help my team win,” he said. continued. “So, I’m super grateful. I’m super grateful, and I’ll certainly give God all the glory.”
During the 2023 incident, Hamlin collapsed after hitting a player on the opposing team. Doctors immediately rushed to the field to help him, performing CPR and giving him oxygen before he was rushed to hospital midway through the first quarter of the game.
Although Hamlin was reported to be in “critical condition” following the incident, he was released from the hospital on January 11, 2023, and returned home just one week after passing out.
Damar Hamlin in November 2024.
effrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty
During his lengthy recovery process, Hamlin was reported to have maintained an “upbeat and positive” attitude. He even visited the Bills practice facility several times and reunited with his teammates after being released from the hospital.
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On January 28, 2023, the then-recovering NFL star spoke publicly for the first time in an Instagram video, thanking everyone who helped save his life during the medical emergency.
“As I continue to make so much progress in my recovery, I think the time is finally right to share a few things,” he said at the time. “I think it was important for me to wait and speak publicly at the right time, because there was a lot to process inside. Mentally, physically, even spiritually.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all the love, all the support and everything that just came my way,” he continued. “What happened to me on Monday Night Football I feel like it’s a direct example of God using me as a vessel to share my passion and love directly.”
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Damar Hamlin in October 2024.
Al Pereira/Getty
Damar Hamlin revealed the cause of his cardiac arrest: ‘The leading cause of death in young athletes’
Hamlin returned to the field for an NFL regular season game on October 1, 2023. After sitting out the first three weeks of the 2023 season, the Bills’ special teams used the safety to return kicks when they faced the Miami Dolphins.
During a February 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Hamlin reflected on his recovery and return to the NFL that defied the odds.
“It was a journey. It was an emotional journey,” he said. “It was really hard at first, but the things that helped me were these two words right here, sit right here, just Don’t give up.”
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Source: HIS Education