Damar Hamlin is breathing on his own 50 percent of the time, his uncle said, calling it a “good sign” in his recovery.
Dorrian Glenn told CNN Tuesday night that his nephew’s use of a ventilator was down from 100 percent Monday. He also told the outlet the Bills safety had to be resuscitated twice — once on the field and once at the hospital — Monday night but his family refuted it Wednesday.
“(Hamlin’s representative) Jordon [Rooney] also clarified (on behalf of the family) that there may have been some miscommunications in terms of the number of times Damar Hamlin was resuscitated. There was only one instance at Paycor Stadium,” ESPN’s Coley Harvey tweeted on Wednesday morning.
It comes as the entire country joined the NFL in awaiting updates on the condition of severely injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
About 16 hours after he suffered cardiac arrest when he collapsed on the field after making a tackle and momentarily getting to his feet, Hamlin remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to a statement from the Bills. Fans of both teams gathered outside the hospital overnight, and fans in Buffalo held a prayer vigil outside the Bills’ home stadium.
“He’s fighting,” Jordon Rooney, Hamlin’s friend and marketing representative, said during a “Good Morning America” appearance. “He’s a fighter.”
Hamlin received CPR on the field from medical professionals who were able to restart his heartbeat in a life-or-death scenario. Rooney said Hamlin was “awake” before he was “sedated” to put a breathing tube in his throat at the hospital.
Hamlin, 24, might have been a fraction of a second away from moving on to the next play after bringing down Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, according to independent medical experts around the country.
There was no next play, however, as the game was suspended with horrified players in shock and tears, and it will not be resumed this week, the NFL announced. It is unclear if any of this weekend’s games will be played with thousands of players and coaches united in prayer for Hamlin and not focused on competition. Higgins wrote at Hamlin on Twitter, “I’m praying that you pull through bro. Love.”
Board-certified cardiologist Dr. Marc Cohen — who is not involved in Hamlin’s care — told The Post that there is a vulnerable period within each minute-long cardiac cycle that lasts only a few milliseconds, when the heart is most susceptible to degeneration from a sudden physical impact.
“That hit had to occur at a certain point in time that was only five milliseconds long,” said Cohen, chairman of the department of medicine at Newark-Beth Israel Medical Center. “If that hit occurred one millisecond after or before, this may not have happened.”
One common medical explanation for the scene unlike any other ever nationally broadcast in an NFL game is commotio cordis, but that is considered more an instantaneous reaction that struggles to explain how Hamlin rose to his feet immediately after the hit before collapsing.
“There is a time in the cycle of the heart where we are at risk. If we were to tap the heart, we can cause the heart to go into ventricular fibrillation,” Cohen said. “More likely than not, what happened is he got up and his rhythm became chaotic. That may have taken a few seconds to occur.”
Ventricular fibrillation also could be caused by the head snapping back and forth, as Cohen noticed when watching replays of what looked like a routine (by NFL standards) collision.
“When your head goes ping-ponging, it’s very possible that a tremendous amount of adrenaline may be released,” Cohen said, “and that adrenaline triggers the heart to go into a chaotic rhythm.”
A third possibility that occurred to Cohen is similar to what was commonly seen in car-crash victims who slammed into the steering wheel before the popularization of the seat belt and airbag.
“You would tear your aorta at a certain point in your chest, where the rest of you is going forward, but your aorta is pinned down by some ligaments,” Cohen said. “That would cause a catastrophic tear.”
In all three possibilities, on-field defibrillation could have revived Hamlin’s heartbeat, but the unknown is whether the heart is pumping enough blood to the rest of the body, including the breathing center in the brain.
All 32 NFL teams and the official NFL account changed their Twitter avatars to an image with Hamlin’s No. 3 jersey and the words “Pray for Damar.” The video boards at Great American Ballpark — home of MLB’s Cincinnati Reds — showed Hamlin’s photo with “Prayers for Damar Hamlin.” The Buffalo Sabres arrived at their home arena for a game wearing white T-shirts that read “Love for 3.”
More than $5 million has been raised on a GoFundMe page in support of a community toy drive for Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation. About $2,900 was raised prior to the injury.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time,” a statement attributed to Hamlin’s family read. “We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country. … Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.”
Bengals owner Mike Brown called it an “unprecedented time” in a statement offering continued thoughts for Hamlin.
Monday “was supposed to be a great night for the NFL and a great showcase for our hometown,” the statement read. “Instead, the human side of our sport became paramount … and in that moment, humanity and love rose to the forefront.
“As medical personnel undertook extraordinary measures, both teams demonstrated respect and compassion while fans in the stadium and people around the country bolstered the support for Damar and the love for each other.”
The Hamlin family also thanked the first-responders and health-care professionals. Cohen credited the on-field medical care for taking potentially life-saving action and said this should be a “wake-up call” to make sure safety equipment is readily available throughout cities to encourage bystander CPR.
