Alaina Getzenberg November 4, 2023, 6:06 p.m. Reading: 9 min.
Damar Hamlin talks about his return to the fields: My faith is more powerful than any fear
The Bills defensive back admits he’s “a little scared” to set foot on a football field again, but he says his faith is stronger than any fear.
The learnings from the event that occurred last January in Cincinnati go far beyond Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin himself.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Before their Jan. 7 game, players from the Jacksonville Jaguars y Tennessee Titans They knelt to do group prayer in the middle of the field. It was the first NFL game held since the suspension of the January 2 “Monday Night Football” game between the Buffalo Bills y Cincinnati Bengals.
Teams and players from around the league showed their support for the Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who was still recovering at UC Medical Center in Cincinnati after suffering cardiac arrest in the middle of the match. Hamlin came back to life on the field in front of thousands of spectators both in Cincinnati and on television screens.
The support extended far beyond American football: multiple teams, players and fans from different sports disciplines at all levels were involved. Some did donations to a GoFundMe created by Hamlin with the purpose of collecting toys. The collection skyrocketed to over $9 million.
Definitely, Hamlin was diagnosed with a heart attack, “a serious and extremely rare medical condition that can occur after a sudden, forceful impact to the chest,” as described by the American Heart Association (AHA). That diagnosis of exclusion occurs after all other conditions have been ruled out. Last April, the Bills safety received the green light to return to football activity and remains on the Buffalo team’s roster as a backup safety and special teams player.
Hamlin indicated that he wanted to make a positive impact throughout his life. He emphasized this during a conversation with ESPN, held two weeks before this Sunday’s game, in the Bills’ return to Cincinnati (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC in the United States /ESPN and Star+ in Latin America). The learnings from the event that occurred on January 2 go far beyond Hamlin himself.
The sports world has reacted in various ways, creating several programs and raising funds to promote heart health and encourage education and awareness on the issue. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 365,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year in the United States, and between 60% and 80% of those cases die before reaching the hospital. hospital. Since the incident occurred, the American Red Cross has seen a notable increase in enrollment in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) courses, as well as an increase in inquiries about obtaining an AED. Locally, in western New York state, more than 10,000 people have benefited from hands-on CPR training, according to the AHA.
The reaction to Hamlin’s near-death experience has resonated across the United States.
NFL reaction: Saving Hamlin’s life was made possible by a well-rehearsed plan and the availability of adequate resources, in the form of athletic trainers and medical professionals. Preparation was vital.
“I think everyone realized that when you have the right plans in place, you have the right equipment, you have the right staff, you can have a really positive outcome,” Rebecca Stearns, director of operations at the Korey Institute, told ESPN. Stringer. “…That’s one of the most important things within this larger conversation, and I also think the idea that this is achievable, even at other levels of play.”
NFL management worked to find ways to make an impact beyond its stadiums.
“Everyone gets scared when something terrible happens or you feel out of control, but we approached this case from the perspective that, well, we can give people a little more control and a little more knowledge that could help save lives.” says Anna Isaacson, senior vice president of social responsibility for the NFL.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin handed out automated external defibrillators as part of his CPR educational tour.AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes
After speaking with its partners, the NFL saw an opportunity to educate about sudden heart attack, what it is and how to save lives.
The NFL has invested nationally and is working with organizations like the AHA to ensure that people at NFL headquarters have access to CPR education, in addition to league-wide awareness efforts on a variety of sports safety elements. That included an investment of more than $1 million from the NFL Foundation.
“Now we can bring this to the forefront and allow kids to be educated in something incredibly important,” said Alexia Gallagher, vice president of philanthropy and executive director of the NFL Foundation. “Something that they can start within their families and educate themselves about, is something extremely incredible.”
On the field, the NFL made changes to its emergency action plan (EAP), approved by the NFL and the Players Association (NFLPA). Before the games, a “90-minute meeting” is held prior to kickoff, in which emergency personnel meet to better coordinate functions, protocols and do a second review of the available equipment, to better act in case of an emergency on the playing field. This meeting comes after another 60-minute medical meeting, which has already taken place with referees and other key personnel, to discuss the EAP and other logistical aspects.
For the Bills, helping spread the message about CPR and AEDs is a personal matter. More than six months before Hamlin suffered his heart attack, team co-owner Kim Pegula He also suffered a heart attack. The Bills coaching staff, coaches and players had the opportunity to learn how to perform hands-on CPR during the offseason. The club signed a five-year partnership agreement with the AHA, committing to invest $1 million.
Of the 32 teams that make up the NFL, 23 have held at least one event or carried out efforts to increase awareness of CPR. Among them stands out the New York Giants, which mandated that all coaches and field staff be able to attend CPR classes following the Hamlin incident (nine organizations did not respond to ESPN’s requests for comment). All clubs consistently apply for $20,000 grants from the NFL Foundation and have the flexibility to do what works best for their community, focusing on CPR education.
The reaction in other sports: The repercussions of the cardiac arrest suffered by Hamlin have been felt in the university environment. The reaction intensified after the University of Southern California (USC) basketball player Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest on July 24probably caused by congenital heart disease.
“As coaches, [nos instruyen] about it, but they never did it with our players,” said Pat Narduzzi, coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team last April. “So now all our players are trained about it…Hopefully you never have to save the day. someone’s life, but [el caso de] Damar and what happened that Monday night is helping people save lives.”
The Pac-12 conference has begun a review of protocols for games and events, adding new measures. The SEC examined its policies, with the NFL sharing its findings on what happened, giving the rest of the sports leagues a real-life example of what worked and the lessons that can be learned.
“Talking about the importance of being prepared got everyone thinking,” said Dr. Catherine O’Neal, SEC’s chief medical officer. “Look, let’s take the cobwebs out of some parts of our emergency action plan and make sure it works, and practice it with a little more intention.”
Last March, the NFL launched the Smart Heart Sports Coalition, partnering with several sports leagues such as the NBA, Major League Baseball and other groups, to establish policies to prevent deaths of high school athletes from sudden cardiac arrest. . Three objectives were established: that each high school sports stadium has an emergency action plan, the presence of AEDs in all venues or at distances of between 1 and 3 minutes, and the promotion of education about CPR and AEDs among coaches.
When the coalition was formed, only seven states had fully implemented all three policies, while another 12 states had none. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among student athletes, according to the AHA.
“We know that [estas políticas] “They are extremely effective in saving lives,” Stearns said. “…I truly believe that we will make progress on this, and I am going to say something that is very difficult to say: that the only question is how many lives are we going to lose before all states implement them” .
The recurring message at CPR training events is that what happened to Hamlin has inspired others to learn about the topic. The heart attack suffered by the Bills safety increased awareness in youth football leagues, according to a USA Football spokesperson. In July 2023, USA Football (the governing body of American football in the United States) established a multi-year partnership with Defibtech (AED manufacturer) and One Beat Medical (emergency medical training expert) to provide AED devices and education. sudden cardiac arrests.
At the national level, the AED Access Bill was presented to the United States Congress, with Hamlin present. The legislative project intends to disseminate education and access to CPR and AEDs in public primary and secondary schools.
Hamlin himself has gotten involved in the cause through his charity Chasing M’s, bringing hands-on CPR education to cities and donating AEDs to 50 youth sports teams at each of his stops.
“Being able to go out into cities and make a real impact, training people in CPR and donating defibrillators to youth leagues,” Hamlin told ESPN, “I think that’s the biggest impact that I’m super proud of.” .
2023-11-04 21:12:07
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