Damar Hamlin’s uncle spoke to several media outlets on Wednesday and shared some encouraging news.
Glenn told the network that Hamlin was being sedated at the hospital to aid in his recovery
UPDATE (Jan. 8): Damar Hamlin is breathing on his own and speaking to family, physicians and teammates.
UPDATE: Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake in a Cincinnati hospital, is neurologically sound and is moving his hands and feet.
“Right now, they are just trying to get him to breathe better,” Glenn said. “They are trying to get his lungs back to full strength. He was on 100-percent being assisted by the ventilators yesterday, and he has improved, I believe, up to 50-percent. So, that is definitely an upward trend, and we are thankful for that.”
Glenn told CNN that Hamlin died twice Monday but was resuscitated both times.
“His heart went out, so they had to resuscitate him twice,” Glenn told the network. “They resuscitated him on the field before they brought him to the hospital, and then they resuscitated him a second time after they got him to the hospital.
“I just want to show my gratitude to the medical staff that was on hand because if not for them my nephew probably wouldn’t even be here.”
“He’s still sedated right now, they just want him to have a better chance of recovering better so they feel that if he is sedated his body can heal a lot faster because if he was woke he could possibly cause other complications. So, they have him sedated right now, and it’s just heart breaking seeing him like that.” Glenn told CNN.
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He also said that he and several family members, including Hamlin’s younger brother, were watching the incident from their Pittsburgh home.
“When (his little brother) saw him , I have never seen him cry or scream like that … we were trying to calm him down like, ‘Yo, it’s OK. He is going to get back up and get back in the game,’” Glenn said as his voice began to crack. “Next thing you know, it’s 10 minutes later, they are doing chest compression. It’s a half-hour later, they are still not playing, and I’m like, ‘Yo, what’s going on? What’s wrong with my nephew?’
“When I say we were all in the room crying, man, we were all in tears,” he continued. “I’m not a crier, but I have never cried so hard in my life. Just to know my nephew basically died on the field, and they brought him back to life, I mean, that is just heartbreaking. To see all those grown men crying, and to see all the emotion, it was a gut punch.”
Damar Hamlin attended Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School before going on to play for Pitt in college. He was a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2021, and he stepped into the starting lineup after Micah Hyde suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2 of this season.
He had 93 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and four passes defensed in 13 games started.
