Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been released from a Cincinnati hospital, one week after he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed during a Monday Night Football game.
Hamlin, who had his heart restarted on the field, has returned to Buffalo for further treatment at another hospital, doctors said on a conference call Monday afternoon. He is now being treated at Buffalo General, according to Hamlin.
“We are thrilled and proud to share that Damar Hamlin has been released from the hospital and returned to Buffalo,” University of Cincinnati Medical Center said in a statement. “He is doing well and this is the next stage of his recovery.”
Hamlin tweeted minutes after the press conference that he was returning to Buffalo.
“Headed home to Buffalo today with a lot of love on my heart. Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling,” he wrote. “The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more.”
Hamlin collapsed suddenly after tackling Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins on Jan. 2. He was quickly surrounded by medical personnel, who performed CPR and restarted his heart before being loaded into an ambulance and taken to the nearby hospital. The game was suspended and later canceled.
He also thanked his doctors in a tweet Monday afternoon: “Grateful for the awesome care I received at UCMC. Happy to be back in Buffalo. The docs and nurses at Buffalo General have already made me feel at home!”
Hamlin, 24, had his breathing tube removed early Friday morning and was up and walking around the medical unit the same day, Drs. Timothy Pritts and William Knight said at Monday’s conference
“We are mostly grateful for how well Damar has done,” Pritts said.
Buffalo Bills fans show support for Damar Hamlin before a game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Jan. 8, 2023.
Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports
The doctors also said that Hamlin did not suffer any brain damage and has made good progress with his physical therapy.
The NFL honored Hamlin across the league on Sunday, the first day of games since his collapse. Players around the league wore “Love for Damar” T-shirts during pregame, while the Bills wore a No. 3 patch on their jerseys.
Quarterback Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills waves as he walks onto the field wearing a Damar Hamlin shirt prior to the game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on Jan. 8, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
The Bills returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in their game against the New England Patriots and went on to win 35-24 to lock up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Hamlin, in his second year out of the University of Pittsburgh, shared a photo with his parents from his hospital bed a half hour before game time Sunday and tweeted several times as he watched the Bills and the tributes around the league.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie and Teddy Grant contributed to this report.
