PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin flashed a wide grin and waved hello while zipping by on a scooter, before accelerating to make a sharp, effortless turn up a hill toward the Buffalo Bills dorm rooms at their training camp facility.
Carefree and happy, there seems to be little the Bills safety has to be afraid of a year removed from the trepidations Hamlin experienced in making his return to football following a near-death experience.
“My mind is free. My spirit is free. My soul is free,” Hamlin told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I’m able to think clearly. I’m not hindered by second thoughts of what could maybe happen again.”
Hamlin is, of course, referring to the terrifying moment when he went into cardiac arrest after making what appeared to be a routine tackle during a game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2, 2023. He needed to be resuscitated on the field and was transported to a hospital, where he spent two days in a medically induced coma before finally being awakened while surrounded by his family.
Doctors diagnosed the cause of Hamlin’s heart stopping as a result of commotio cordis, which happens when a direct blow at a specific point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest.