Back on January 2, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suddenly collapsed on the football field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
The entire NFL world was in shock as the former Pittsburgh star laid motionless on the football field. Hamlin, 25, ultimately had to be given CPR which required the use of a defibrillator to bring him back to life.
A healthy young man had just collapsed in front of millions after going into cardiac arrest. The good news for Damar Hamlin is that there were medical personnel with the required support such as a defibrillator to help save his life.
Months after this scary incident, and Hamlin is doing darn well. In fact, there’s been some talk that he could return to his career as an NFL player. As for the young man, he’s using this public forum to help address the defibrillator shortage in the United States. That included meeting with President Biden at the White House on Thursday.
“Damar Hamlin’s courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people. And what’s more: he turned recovery into action – and our country is better for it. It was my honor to have him and his family here today.”
President Biden on Damar Hamlin
Hamlin was on hand in D.C. to lobby for a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would help provide automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, in a more mainstream way.
For Hamlin, it’s all about more schools around the United States having access to AED’s and other life-saving assets, including CPR training and cardiac emergency response plans.
“Sudden cardiac arrest happens to more than 7,000 kids under the age of 18 every year in our country. The majority of the kids impacted are student athletes. Research shows that 1 in every 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk,” Damar Hamlin to Congress on Wednesday.
The aforementioned bill, The Access to AEDS Act, was introduced to Congress on March 29 by Florida Congresspeople Bill Posey (R) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D) as well as New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D). The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) have also thrown their support behind the bill.
Good for Damar Hamlin. It’s clear that he’s using his near-death experience to help change and save lives around the United States. This is just great stuff.