Bills safety released from the hospital on Wednesday, heading home

BUFFALO, N.Y. —Just nine days after suffering cardiac arrest during a game in Cincinnati, Bills safety Damar Hamlin is heading home.

On Wednesday morning, the team announced that he’s been released from Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute and can continue his rehabilitation at his home along with the Bills’ team facilities.

“We have completed a series of tests and evaluations, and in consultation with the team physicians, we are confident that Damar can be safely discharged to continue his rehabilitation at home and with the Bills,” said Dr. Jamie Nadler, a critical care physician and Chief Quality Officer at Kaleida Health, in a statement from the team.

Hamlin has been at the Buffalo hospital since Monday when he was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after reaching milestones in his recovery. Before that, he was going through physical therapy, walking around his hospital room, tolerating a regular diet, and even spoke to teammates on a Zoom call.

Arriving Monday, he went through a “comprehensive medical evaluation as well as a series of cardiac, neurological and vascular testing” on Tuesday in Buffalo.

It’s a significant recovery for Hamlin, whose life was in the balance after suffering cardiac arrest after making a tackle in the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati in January 2.

Athletic trainers and medical personnel administered CPR on the field and restored his heartbeat on the field before he went to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Since then, support for Hamlin has come from those inside and outside of the NFL, both in the in the form of best wishes along with money to his “Chasing M’s” foundation.