A Story About The Human Spirit And Determination

I’ve watched the NFL for nearly 50 years. A horrible event happened during the Monday Night Football game this week. It was something I had never seen before, and hopefully, I’ll never see it again. A safety for the Buffalo Bills named Damar Hamlin tackled wide receiver Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. I didn’t see what happened after that live, but the replay was shown to millions of viewers within seconds. Damar Hamlin stood up after the tackle, then collapsed immediately.

Other than the players, team staff, and officials, no one initially knew how serious things were. As ESPN kept cutting to commercial breaks while the young man was lying on the field, it quickly became apparent this wasn’t a typical injury. The severity of the situation hit home when the Buffalo Bills players, their coaches, and medical staff formed a circle around Damar Hamlin. This was such a thoughtful thing to do. No one else needed to see what was going on in those moments.

That evening, viewers were informed Damar Hamlin had a cardiac arrest on the football field. The medical staff who revived him had to perform CPR before putting him in the ambulance on the field. This robust 24-year-old man was on the field for 16 minutes before being taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Fortunately for him, this medical facility is a short ambulance drive from the Bengals stadium where the game was.

I genuinely care about people, probably too much at times. I’m not too proud or macho to…