Bills S Damar Hamlin showing 'signs of improvement,' team to have meetings and walkthrough
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is still in critical condition in the ICU at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but it appears there's some positive news on the horizon.
Hamlin showed "signs of improvement" Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday, the Bills announced. He will remain in the ICU for now.
Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight.
He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him.— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 4, 2023
That update confirms an earlier report, when a friend of Hamlin's family, Jordon Rooney, said Hamlin showed "promising readings" overnight.
Just chatted with Damar Hamlin’s family friend @jordonr.
Per Jordon and Damar’s family, doctors overnight got promising readings that they had been hoping to see by this morning. Jordon couldn’t go into specifics, but progress appears to be made.— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
Rooney, who released an official update on behalf of the Hamlin family on Tuesday, also sought to clarify some incorrect information that recently came out. Hamlin's uncle spoke to CNN yesterday and said that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice: once on the field and once at the hospital. But according to Rooney, via ESPN's Coley Harvey, Hamlin's heart stopped once on the field at Paycor Stadium, and nowhere else.
Jordon also clarified (on behalf of the family) that there may have been some miscommunications in terms of the number of times Damar Hamlin was resuscitated. There was only one instance at Paycor Stadium.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
Rooney was also careful to note that Hamlin has a long way to go in his recovery.
Want to be sure I reiterate that although a small, hopeful step appears to have been made, Jordon did mention that Damar still has a long way to go in his recovery. But the family’s optimism remains high and steady as it’s been throughout all of this.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
Harvey also dropped a tidbit from a longer interview he did with Rooney. Hamlin's father, Mario, wants all criticism of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins to stop.
Will have much more on @espn throughout the morning/day. (We recorded an interview) But two other comments to look for from him: Damar’s father is among those calling for any criticisms of Bengals WR Tee Higgins (who was part of the play Damar was injured on) to STOP.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter of Monday night's Bills-Bengals game after taking a hit from Higgins square in the chest while trying to tackle him. He went into cardiac arrest and medical personnel had to restart his heart on the field. They also gave him CPR for almost 10 minutes before he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Bills to have walkthrough, not ready to talk with media
Multiple teams adjusted their schedules Tuesday in light of Hamlin's situation and canceled or postponed their media availability. But the Bills are dealing with a much bigger disruption in their weekly routine. According to The MMQB's Albert Breer, the Bills didn't get back to Buffalo until 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and came to the facility later in the day only to get information.
The organization is inching back toward its regular routine. It announced Wednesday that it will be holding player meetings and a walkthrough, but will not yet speak to the media.
The Bills will hold meetings and a walk-through today. The team will not have any media availability today.
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) January 4, 2023
