Damar Hamlin, 24, Still Alive After Collapsing on Monday Night Football (Update)

Folks, a few days ago I wrote a post about Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. He’s only twenty-four years old, a second-year pro football player in the NFL. He collapsed about three seconds after participating in a hard hit of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, and most cardiologists consulted on TV, Twitter, or elsewhere believe what happened is called commotio cordis. This occurs when at precisely the wrong time, someone gets hit directly over the heart when the rhythm is about to reset. (I am not a cardiologist, obviously, nor a doctor. I hope I’m stating this correctly, and any doctors in the audience may feel free to correct me. Or EMTs, paramedics, etc., who all know far more than I.) This causes cardiac arrest as the heart goes into ventricular fibrillation (also called v-fib).

Fortunately for Hamlin, he was given immediate CPR on the field, plus an AED — a type of automatic defibrillator — was used. This allowed him to survive and get to the hospital and gives him a fighting chance to survive this ordeal.

Surviving a few days after such a horrible thing means the chances of waking up and knowing yourself and your family, friends, teammates, etc., is far higher.

Damar Hamlin’s collapse and resuscitation feels personal to me, and not just because I’m a football fan. It’s because of how my husband Michael collapsed years ago. Michael fell backward the same way and survived only ten hours after having his first heart attack. He was in a coma after his second. He had two more heart attacks before he passed away, still at a young age, still with absolutely no explanation that made any sense to me. They put on his death certificate “acute myocardial infarction suspected,” along with the beginning of arteriosclerosis. That last part should not have been enough to kill him. (There was so much damage, I’ll never know what caused Michael’s four heart attacks.)

Michael went into v-fib for certain after the second heart attack. He was out for eighteen solid minutes before he revived. After the third, he was out for at least another ten minutes, and when he came back to life again and I was allowed to see him, I was told by the doctors and nurses that they’d never seen anything like the fight Michael was putting up for his life. They said he obviously had everything to live for, and they hoped he’d pull through.

He didn’t.

Anyway, I pray that Hamlin will continue to improve and that he’ll be able to wake up soon. At that point they can figure out what to do next, as there are a number of outcomes — some really good, such as no memory damage due to oxygen deprivation — and some that aren’t. I want Hamlin to fully recover, even if he never plays another down of pro football.

Some of you may wonder how Hamlin’s GoFundMe for Xmas toys is doing. It’s up now to over $7M in donations. (No misprint.) Famous sportsmen like Tom Brady and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay have donated, along with tons of other football players including the Bills’ next opponent, the New England Patriots. (As a side note, Russell Wilson, former quarterback at Wisconsin and now a member of the Denver Broncos, and his wife Ciara donated, along with Wilson’s foundation.). But the majority of the donations have been from regular people. They’ve donated $5, $10, $13, $23, $33, etc. (Hamlin’s number is 3), because they want to do something, anything, that’s positive.

If Hamlin can wake up and know himself, eventually he can administer all these funds and help needy kids the way they deserve to be helped.

That is my hope. Hamlin is a good man, who set up that GoFundMe before he even was drafted and is someone who’s tried hard to help others by from what everyone has said since he was in his teens (if not sooner). He deserves to wake up and make a full recovery if any of us do.

I also want people to lay off Tee Higgins, who did nothing wrong whatsoever. What happened was a freak accident. This could’ve happened to Hamlin on any football play, if the heart was at the wrong point of its cycle. Football is a tough, violent, hard-hitting sport, but this particular risk usually is miniscule. It had never happened before in NFL history, and I pray it never will again.

So, at this hour (1 a.m. Central Standard Time), I continue to pray for Hamlin, his family, his team, the Bengals (the opposing team), Higgins because he’s being unfairly blamed, and the entirety of the NFL. I also pray for those who, like me, have watched loved ones die from sudden heart attacks and could do nothing about it.

For those people in my situation, I urge you to do your best to remember that so long as you are alive, at least a part of your loved one is also alive. It isn’t enough. I know it’s not. But it’s something, and it may at least give you a way to go on.

Monday Night Football Game Suspended After Bills Safety Damar Hamlin Collapses

Sometimes, we forget that life is far more important than sports.

Tonight, however, is not one of those nights.

Late Monday night, during the scheduled Monday Night Football game on ESPN, second-year pro Damar Hamlin, a safety playing for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed on the field. He’d just taken part in a hard hit, and he’d stood up…then collapsed. CPR was performed, and an AED — a type of auto-defibrillator — was used to restart his heart. He was unconscious and not breathing for what appeared to be over nine minutes. (I can only say “appear” because a wall of players, coaches, and staff surrounded Hamlin while the EMTs worked on him desperately to keep Hamlin alive.)

Hamlin is only 24. Previously healthy. No heart issues indicated.

So how did this happen? Why did it happen? How is it that a 24-year-old man is in a Cincinnati hospital tonight, with football fans and others around the country praying for him and hoping he makes a full recovery?

No one knows yet, or if they do, they’re not saying. There are theories, some given by MDs, about types of heart conditions that could’ve possibly occurred. I believe these theories have been postulated because so many people are very upset. Any of them could be right. Or none of them could be right.

We must wait for facts, here. And we must hope that Hamlin wakes up, as the last word given was that he was intubated and in critical condition. No one’s said if he’s regained consciousness, and no updates are going to be given until morning (probably at least 8 or 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).

All we can do, as decent human beings, is pray that Hamlin recovers.

You may be wondering what happened to the game. Well, it’s been postponed. No one has any idea when it will be played, or even if it’ll be played, as of this hour (12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Central Standard Time).

That’s as it should be. Lives are more important than football.

As a side note, a charity Hamlin started before he became a member of the NFL that gives toys to kids has raised almost 3 million dollars as of this hour. It had a stated donation goal of $2500. (Yes. Twenty-five hundred dollars.)

I believe this is happening because fans want to do something as they pray. Some have said in their comments that they want Hamlin to wake up so he can distribute all the toys his fund will buy, while most are just commenting that they continue to pray for him, his family, his team, and for the entire NFL.

I, unfortunately, am in between paychecks right now. I can’t contribute to Hamlin’s fund, though I will keep it in mind the next time I’m paid. But if you want to donate to help bring toys to needy kids in Hamlin’s name, that would be wonderful.

All I can do, as a football fan and as a human being, is to pray that Hamlin recovers. I am doing that partly because a 24-year-old man should have many years left, and partly as the widow of Michael B. Caffrey, who died in a similar way after fighting for ten hours to stay alive. Michael was no football player, but he did stand up, then collapse backward…an AED was not there when Michael needed it, but CPR was started right away by a neighbor EMT, and Michael had the best of care for the remaining ten hours of his life.

I don’t want the Hamlin family to have to see anything like what I saw.

I want him to live. To fully recover. To distribute all those toys. To enjoy his life, and know himself, and be happy with who he is, even if he never plays another down of football again.

Please. Pray for Damar Hamlin, his family, his teammates, and the entire NFL, most especially the players who risk their lives every single week to give enjoyment to millions.

Please.

Tagged in the Meet My Character Blog-Hop…and Other Stuff

Folks, I’ve been tagged by author Erin Moore in the Meet My Character(s) Blog-hop. She’s the author of AWAKENED BY THE MINOTAUR, a contemporary romance about a man forced to shapeshift into the form of a Minotaur that’s set in Greece and uses Greek myth as its basis. Her book looks a little bit like P.C. Cast’s Goddess novels, which means it should be a fun, fast read with some really good grounding in history and mythology and a goodly amount of spice.

And as I’ve read nearly every book P.C. Cast has ever put out — even if I haven’t reviewed most of them — I look forward to diving into her book soon.

Now, observant readers may be aware that I’ve done this particular blog-hop before (here’s the link, if you don’t believe me) — but I talked about Bruno the Elfy, then. This time, I’m going to talk about Sarah, his human love interest — both are teens (or the equivalent, in Bruno’s case, as Elfys mature more slowly than humans), so it’s an age-appropriate, gentle romance — and discuss things from her point of view.

So look for my response to Erin’s tag next Monday, OK? (And thanks again, Erin, for tagging me! I’m always glad to discuss AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE.)

Now, as for the other stuff.

I’ve taken to Twitter in my support of comedienne Joan Rivers, as the eighty-one-year-old dynamo had a heart attack while undergoing a throat procedure in an outpatient clinic in New York nearly a week ago. Since that time, Ms. Rivers has been in a medically-induced coma, but the most recent word is that the doctors have started bringing her out of that.

No one knows how long Ms. Rivers was without oxygen, though. And that’s important — someone can survive a heart attack with immediate treatment (CPR, in this case), but the longer the brain goes without oxygen, the more likely she’s going to be impaired either physically or mentally.

Here, obviously, losing mental faculties has to be the main issue. (No one wants to lose the ability to move around, but actors and comedians can continue to make a living providing their minds are intact and they can speak and be understood.) As Ms. Rivers has made her way in the world due to a razor-sharp intellect, she must have her mind or she can’t work.

More to the point, she won’t be herself if she doesn’t have her mind, whether she ever works again or not. So I hope she does regain her mental faculties, knows who she is and recognizes her family and friends when she wakes up, regardless of whether she ever steps foot on stage again.

Because I don’t know about you, but losing one sharp-witted comedian earlier this year in Robin Williams — a good friend of Ms. Rivers, I might add — was more than enough.

Next, what can I say about my poor favorite baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, that isn’t already being said? The words “collapse” and “folding” and “I told you so” are already emerging from the national pundits, as the Brewers have now officially lost their nearly year-long lead in the National League Central due to their 4-2 loss today to the lowly Chicago Cubs.

But I’m more concerned about the fatigue I’ve seen on the faces of too many of the Brewers regulars. Ryan Braun looks like he needs not just one day off, but several — his thumb, and perhaps his back as well, is obviously hurting him. Khris Davis is not running as well as normal, so he looks to be ailing. Aramis Ramirez is still playing good defense, but he can barely run, and probably would be on the disabled list if not for being in the thick of the pennant race . . . the list goes on and on. And that’s not even discussing the relief pitchers who’ve been with Milwaukee since the start of the season, who to a man are exhausted due to their many, many appearances.

Mind, the Brewers traded a few days ago for Jonathan Broxton, late of the Cincinnati Reds, who’s a former closer and perhaps may serve as a fresh arm. But they look tired, they’re not playing well, and the dreaded St. Louis Cardinals look to be pressing their advantage — as they should, mind, because that is their job.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Finally, I’m working on two fiction short stories and finishing up a major edit right now, so I may be scarce for the next several days. (We’ll see.) Don’t be surprised if you don’t see much of me until next week, as that’s what tends to happen when I’m on deadline.

As Maury Povich says, “Until next time, America…” (or should I say world?)