Tamar Hamlin update: Bills safety’s breathing tube is gone and he tells team, ‘Love you boys’ via video, Buffalo Bills say



CNN

Buffalo Bills Defense Tamar Hamlin’His breathing tube was removed overnight and he spoke to his teammates via video, the Bills said Friday morning, four days after the 24-year-old’s in-game cardiac arrest stunned millions who watched the emergency game live.

“Love you boys,” Hamlin, still in a Cincinnati hospital, told his New York-based team on Friday via FaceTime. said on Twitter.

When Hamlin appeared on the screen, his teammates “immediately stood up and clapped for him” and yelled a few things at him, head coach Sean McDermott told reporters.

“Got our boy, man! That’s all that matters,” Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins told reporters later Friday, describing what it was like to see Hamlin on a video call.

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Hamlin is “making remarkable progress in his recovery,” his “neurological function remains intact, and he has been able to communicate with his family and care team,” Bills said. Tweeted Friday morning, citing his doctors. However, Hamlin’s medical team has warned that there are several phases to his recovery.

Friday’s news comes a day after doctors announced that an unconscious Hamlin was awake and in good health. “Significant progress” – Encounter information News of joy and relief From the NFL and beyond.

When doctors announced Thursday that Hamlin was awake, they said His next big milestone is breathing on his own without a ventilator.

Hamlin collapsed Monday during the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the host Cincinnati Bengals. He was rushed from the field in an ambulance, shocking the packed stadium – with players crying and hugging – and prompting support from strangers across the country, including those who watched the medical emergency on live TV.

Hamlin was still introverted on Thursday, communicating only verbally. Upon awakening, his mind was still on the game as he wrote his first question on the clipboard: “Did we win?” A doctor said.

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“So, not only do the lights come on, we know he’s home. And it seems like all cylinders are firing in his brain,” Dr. Timothy Pritz, vice president for medical operations at University of Cincinnati Health, where Hamlin is being treated, told reporters Thursday.

Doctors said Hamlin was still ill Thursday, though they did not say exactly when he started waking up. Tests are underway to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, Dr said Thursday. Cardiac arrest results Electrical disturbances where the heart suddenly stops beating properly and death can occur quickly if help is not provided immediately; It is not the same as a heart attack or heart failure.

league players, Many were shocked With Hamlin’s fall, they are now preparing for an emotional return to competition to play their final games on Saturday and Sunday of the regular season.

That includes the New England Patriots on Sunday and the Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens. The league on Friday announced plans to honor Hamlin at all 16 games this weekend, including asking people to cheer in a “moment of support” before the national anthem for Hamlin and caregivers.

During warmups, players will have the option to wear T-shirts that display “Love for Tamar 3” along with Hamill’s jersey number. Worn by punters Connections with Hamlin number.

The NFL announced Thursday that the Bills-Bengals game — which was initially postponed Monday night — would not be restarted or made up. Both the Bills and Bengals have already earned a playoff berth.

Canceling Monday’s game will have no effect on which teams qualify for the playoffs, a disparity in the number of games played that led the NFL to create Unprecedented arrangements For the postseason based on how the Bills and Bengals are seeded and their potential opponents.

Bills, shaken by Hamlin’s decline, insisted for most of this week that they were focused solely on their teammate’s condition — and spoke about it, reluctantly, gradually, as this weekend’s game approached.

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Seeing Hamlin on video Friday was a surprise, Dawkins told reporters.

“It gave us so much energy, so bright, high spirits, whatever you want to call it … to see him smile … it was everything,” Dawkins said.

Team Met on Wednesday I did a walk before my first full workout of the week on Thursday. A Video call With the team on Wednesday, Hamlin’s father said his son was making progress and “took a whole weight off our shoulders,” Dawkins told “CNN This Morning” Friday.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said in a press conference Friday morning that the health and well-being of players is a priority.

“We’ve been working on it,” McDermott said when asked about the task of preparing for Sunday’s game. “There are various waves or hurdles to overcome as we head into the game here, and it’s coming fast.”

The players have had “some open and honest and deep talks” since being hospitalized Monday, Bills quarterback Josh Allen said Thursday.

“I think it’s a really good thing for our team to put that helmet back on,” he said of his return to practice, “…but I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say, some people will be changed forever. Being on the field and witnessing it, I feel those feelings.

The Bills on Friday placed Hamlin on the injured reserve list and activated cornerback Christian Benford.

Doctors and Bills team members have repeatedly praised the quick response of medical personnel who rushed to Hamlin seconds after he collapsed.

Assistant Athletic Trainer Denny Kellington Hamlin performed CPR while lying on the field, Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins tweeted Thursday. Coach Hamlin saved his life, McDermott said Thursday.

“As they say, practice pays off and in this case it did,” the coach said at Thursday’s post-practice news conference dedicated to Hamlin. “But again, the context of it, a helper finding himself in that position, taking what he did, stepping up and taking responsibility as he did — and there were others in the field — was nothing short of amazing and brave, and you’re talking about a true leader in saving Tamar’s life, true. You are talking about a hero.

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According to audio obtained by CNN, medical personnel working on the sidelines called for help when Hamlin collapsed. “I don’t like how he went down,” and “we’re going to need everybody,” they said.

NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills attributed the rapid medical response to a “60-minute meeting” between medical teams and NFL officials Wednesday that identified medical equipment and the location of nearby medical centers. chain of command in an emergency, among others.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking publicly for the first time since Hamlin’s collapse, said Friday that Hamlin’s improving Heath “has lifted not only my spirits, but the spirits of the entire league.”

“I am grateful and humbled by everyone who has contributed to Tamar (Hamlin) continuing on his road to recovery,” Goodell told reporters. “Extraordinary circumstances bring out extraordinary men.”

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane on Friday expressed his appreciation for the outpouring of support from across the NFL community over the past week.

“This week every team changed their logo on their social media page to pray for Tamar. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. And, yes, we go to war, but at the end of the day, life is the No. 1 battle, and to see the unity of players, coaches, GMs, owners, fans is unheard of,” he said.

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