Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals game on Jan. 2, is in attendance for the playoff game.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The question that many had asked during the course of the week has been answered: Damar Hamlin is in the house.
The Bills posted a video to both Instagram and Twitter apparently showing Hamlin arriving at the team’s locker room and the message “Welcome home, Damar.”
Hamlin has shown continued progress since collapsing after suffering cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals regular season game Jan. 2 in Cincinnati.
Bills coach Sean McDermott had indicated earlier in the week that Hamlin had returned to the Bills facility “almost daily” as his condition continues to improve. As of Friday, McDermott said he didn’t know if Hamlin would be in attendance for this game.
During the week, a Hamlin spokesperson had said that he still faces a lengthy recovery, and needs oxygen at times. Hamlin had hoped to attend last weekend’s playoff win over the Miami Dolphins, but elected to watch the game from home.
His presence was enough to uplift his teammates, who after Hamlin’s collapse surrounded him as medical teams used CPR and an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to restart his heart.
The Bills have not disclosed the results of tests Hamlin has undergone to determine why his heart stopped after he was struck in the chest while making what appeared to be a routine tackle.
Hamlin, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area, live-tweeted while watching Buffalo’s 35-23 season-ending win over New England from his hospital bed at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Jan. 8. Last weekend, he live-tweeted from home while watching the Bills’ 34-31 win over Miami in a wild-card playoff.
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