BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bills safety Damar Hamlin shared his first public comments since suffering cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 by posting a nearly six-minute video to his Instagram account thanking everyone for the continued support and well wishes over the past month.
Hamlin, 24, said it was important for him to wait to speak publicly at the “right time,” as it was “just a lot to process within my own self, mentally, physically, even spiritually.” The video was shot at the team’s facility in Orchard Park, New York. He included in the video that he is continuing to make progress in his recovery.
“I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of all the love, all the support and everything that’s just been coming in my way,” Hamlin said. “What happened to me on ‘Monday Night Football’ I feel is a direct example of God using me as a vessel to share my passion and my love directly from my heart with the entire world and I’m able to give it back to kids and communities all across the world who need it the most, and that’s always been my dream. That’s always been what I stood for and what I will continue to stand for.”
The video comes almost a week after Hamlin made his first public appearance at the Bills’ playoff loss to the Bengals. During the game, he was shown on the video board, holding up his hands in the shape of a heart in what has become his signature move while also pumping up the crowd.
Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation raised over $8 million in the days after he went to the hospital with the money going through a GoFundMe for a toy drive that had an initial goal of $2,500. He said that he was blown away from all the support.
“That was something that was started even way before I made it to the NFL, something that was started small just to be able to affect my small community back at home, McKees Rocks,” Hamlin said. “I just wanted to be able to play my role and do my part in my community as I ventured off and to chase my dreams of making the NFL and you guys have just took that and blown it away and I’m so excited for the things that I have planned in the future for these kids all across the country now.”
Hamlin thanked the Bills training, athletic and medical staff, first responders and medical personnel and health care providers at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Buffalo General Hospital that all played a role in saving his life, pointing out many by name.
Hamlin stayed at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for almost a week after suffering cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the Bills’ game vs. the Bengals in Cincinnati. He then flew to Buffalo and spent about two days at Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute. He was discharged Jan. 11.
He went on to thank his parents, Mario and Nina, “who are literally my anchors in my everyday who never left my side the entire time,” and his seven-year-old brother, Damir, “who is my why, my reason why I strive to be my best self every day.”
In the video, Hamlin thanked family, friends, teammates and entire Bills organization for continuing to check in on him and offer him support in so many ways, but also acknowledged the Bengals and the NFL as a whole for “putting team allegiance aside to root for one kid’s life” with teams and the league showing their support for Hamlin in a variety of ways from donations to prayers to t-shirts before Week 18 games.
“I’m not surprised by it,” Hamlin said, “but I’m deeply grateful and I’ll be forever thankful and indebted to that.”
Hamlin also thanked fans, especially Bills Mafia, for the love and support, and that all the kids that sent him letters and gifts have inspired him.
“It’s always been important for me to be a role model, but just seeing the love and the support from the youth,” Hamlin said. “It just makes me want to give back and get out in the communities and touch the kids and just be that example that they can look to, touch, feel, talk to, and know that whatever they dream of, it’s real. It can happen if you stay focused, stay dedicated, stay committed to whatever you got going on, you know, because that’s pretty much what got me here.”
And of course, Hamlin ended the video with his hands forming a heart.
“I will continue to do wonderful and great things,” Hamlin said. “I couldn’t do this without any of the support and the love and I can’t wait to continue to take y’all on this journey with me.”
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