Cardiac Arrest

By Tyler Gilvin and Miles Miller

On January 2, Damar Hamlin was in a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After making contact with wideout Tee Higgins, he collapsed on the field and stopped breathing. For the next 30 minutes, trainers were giving him CPR and had him on an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restore his heartbeat. Usually play would resume after an injury, however in this case the Bills players refused to play on without their teammate. Hamlin is now making a full recovery and has been able to visit his team, although because he is recovering, it is too early to tell if he will return to football. Hamline founded a nonprofit called Chasing M’s to raise money for toy drives. The Chasing M’s Foundation had $2,500 as a goal before Hamlin’s injury, but in the days after his injury it grew to $8.6 million.

An athlete going into cardiac arrest during play is very rare, but it is not the first time. Eighteen months ago, professional soccer player on Manchester United named Christian Erickson suffered from cardiac arrest like Hamlin, and is now fully recovered and playing this season. Hopefully Hamilin is able to make a speedy recovery just like Erickson.

Watching an injury like that on national television is super scary. Some people may not let their children play tackle football due to the risks on the field. Every NFL player knows the risks of the game they play and love, that's one reason why they get paid so much. But what do the parents think? Minissa Dent has a rule that her sons have to be 12 to play football. Her sixth grader, Tyler Gilvin plays so this hit close to home for their family. “I will let my kids choose if they want to keep playing, but if it happened to me, I would stop because it was basically my second life.”

What do you think? Tell us in the comments!

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Photo Credit Colleen Nill