Bills safety Damar Hamlin has returned home to Buffalo after nearly a week at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center following a Week 17 matchup against the Bengals where he went into cardiac arrest, doctors said Monday.
Dr. William A. Knight told reporters that he accompanied Hamlin to the airport on Monday morning, adding that the second-year safety was “doing well” and is in the “beginning of the next stage of his recovery” with the team at Buffalo General Medical Center.
Buffalo Bills fans hold signs in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin prior to the game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York.
(Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
“We shared last time that we were with you that our ultimate goal was to get Damar back home to his amazing family and broader Buffalo family. Well, Dr. [Timothy] Pritts and I are thrilled and proud on behalf of UC to report to you that Damar Hamlin has been released and returned back to Buffalo,” Dr. Knight said.
“He landed safely and is as standard as anybody who has gone through what he’s gone through this last week and certainly after flying on a plane. He is going to be observed and monitored to ensure that there is no impact on the flight of his condition or on his lungs.”
Hamlin has not returned home yet, but is in the care of another hospital in Buffalo. Dr. Knight noted that since last week, Hamlin has met “key milestones” in his recovery journey which included being taken off a ventilator.
Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills after a game against the Tennessee Titans at Highmark Stadium on September 19, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
(Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
“He has been up with physical therapy and occupational therapy, walking the unit, tolerating a regular diet, meeting with his family and many members of the care team that wanted to see how he was doing – all to get him to this point where he could be safely returned to Buffalo.
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Hamlin took to social media after the press conference to thank the medical staff that cared for him at UC Medical Center and his new medical team at Buffalo General.
“Grateful for the awesome care I received at UCMC. Happy to be back in Buffalo. The docs and nurses at Buffalo General have already made me feel at home!”
Doctors added that Hamlin will continue to undergo testing to determine the cause of his injury and “to treat any pathology that may be found.”
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“He still has a little bit of a ways to go in terms of his ongoing recovery,” Dr. Knight said of Hamlin’s return to football.
Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after a missed Pittsburgh Steelers field goal during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
(Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
“We’re thrilled to where he is today. He’s up. He’s walking around. He’s got an amazing, genuine sense of humor. And his family is amazing, and we’re happy he’s with them but in terms of any kind of conjecture to his future, that’s still significantly in the future, and it’s going to be up to Damar and a great team of physicians to help him.”
Hamlin was honored in different ways throughout the league over the weekend, but the biggest moment happened in the opening kickoff of Sunday’s game between the Bills and the New England Patriots when Bills running back Nyheim Hines scored a touchdown of a 96-yard kickoff return.
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