(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) With the life of a professional football player hanging in the balance, concerned onlookers continued to offer their prayers for recovery, while a serious debate emerged as to whether the COVID vaccine may have been responsible.
Compilation of athletes having suddenly died and suddenly collapsing.#BuffaloBills #DamarHamlin pic.twitter.com/JDR2XgMtzf
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) January 3, 2023
Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who suffered cardiac arrest on Sunday after completing a tackle, remained sedated and on a ventilator as of Wednesday.
According to the New York Post, Hamlin, 24, was resuscitated once on the field and once at the hospital and suffered severe lung damage.
The game was halted after the incident. There are no current talks of rescheduling.
Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, made a statement outside of the hospital saying it is a “good sign” that Hamlin’s breathing is only 50% reliant on a ventilator—down from 100% just after the accident first happened.
“A lot of people don’t get to see how loved they are while they’re alive,” Glenn told the NFL Network. “So for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got.”
“A lot of people don’t get to see how loved they are while they're alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got.”
Our @nflnetwork interview with Damar Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn: pic.twitter.com/h3YN3LizPC
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 4, 2023
Cardiologist Marc Cohen explained that there is a milliseconds-long period within each one minute cardiac cycle where the heart is weak and may react poorly to abrupt, hard physical impacts.
“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.”
Some were blaming what happened to Hamlin on the COVID-19 vaccine.
The shot is suspected to cause severe blood clots, heart disease and a phenomenon known as Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.
On Twitter, the debate raged, with the hashtag #DiedSuddenly becoming a trending topic.
Pro-vaxxers argued that the sudden hit to the chest was the sole cause, while vaccine skeptics said the added stress on Hamlin’s heart likely exacerbated the impact of the hit.
I can’t underscore this enough and I refuse to back down from it:
The fact that millions are wondering “Was Hamlin’s collapse caused by the vaccine?” means it’s something that should be verbalized.
Even if it turns out that it wasn’t.
Feel free to unfollow. I want the truth.
— William Wolfe 🇺🇸 (@William_E_Wolfe) January 3, 2023
Every single person saying “now is not the time to talk about the vaccine, just pray for Hamlin” posts “enough with the ‘thoughts and prayers’ we need common sense gun control now!” ten seconds after an SSRI-addled freak unloads on an elementary school.
— Eighth Century Woodchipper 🌳🪓 (@BonifaceOption) January 3, 2023
So, all I’ve heard this morning on the news is how Hamlin took a hit to the chest or had a pre-existing condition that we didn’t know about and not one newschannel or person has brought up the possibility or potential of this being vaccine related due to myocarditis/clotting.
— Josh Barnett for Congress (AZ-01) (@BarnettforAZ) January 3, 2023
Less controversially, Hamlin’s sudden collapse also launched a #PrayersforDamar movement, with all 32 NFL accounts changing their Twitter profile pictures to the player’s No. 3 jersey and the words “Pray for Damar.”
Fans in Buffalo hosted a prayer vigil for Hamlin outside of Highmark Stadium.
Bills fans holding a prayer vigil for Damar Hamlin and his family outside Highmark Stadium here in Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/pjXqj7eP3k
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 3, 2023
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky prayed for Hamlin during a live TV broadcast after the incident.
ESPN’s @danorlovsky7 praying for Damar Hamlin on NFL LIVE. Beautiful words of empathy, hope and love.#PrayForDamarHamlin pic.twitter.com/aQ54x3WwLm
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) January 3, 2023
