Beck Water

I'm not crying, You're crying. OK this one got me, I don't know why, I'm crying.

Hamlin had trainers running over to him right away and getting on their radios, likely to call for the emergency physicians and the code equipment So I think it's a very good assumption it was started right away. The only delay would have been to get his face mask unscrewed and enough of his pads removed to perform CPR. I would think that could be done PDQ.

People process things differently. Football players are definitely creatures of routine. Getting home so late - plane landed around 3 am, probably players not home before 3:30 or 4 am, this afternoon they will come in for evaluation and treatment of new or existing injuries, maybe a recovery workout. McDermott and/or team leaders may sound them out to see if they want to get together for a prayer service today and share verbally whatever details they have of the injury and explain the treatment, to counter rumors floating around the Twitterverse (but you have to do it verbally because some moth-head will tweet or re-tweet anything that's messaged and that's for the family to control.) I would expect that is something most of the players would want. I would expect the Bills would reach out and offer mental health services to the players. After that, people cope with things differently but many find it comforting to stick to a routine. These are all guys who are used to vigorous physical activity. Hard physical effort can take your mind off things, and relieve stress and anxiety. If something tragic happens, a routine can always be stopped, but if there's a decision to play, neglected preparations can never be retroactively started.

Thank you! Really good article.

It's really going to depend upon the outcome for Damar, I think. If he comes out of sedation on Weds and is alert and able to communicate "Go Bills!" that's a very different situation than if he remains in a coma.

At the least, note the manufacturer and model and contact them regarding the recommended maintenance schedule. They do vary depending upon the age of the unit, the type of battery etc. Then follow it Yes, the battery should be checked, but periodically, according to the mfr recommendation, it should actually be inspected and calibrated to be sure that the programming is functional and the shock delivered is up to spec. This was 1x/yr where I used to work.

The AEDs at my former place of employment were checked every year. That should be the case for AEDs in shopping malls, stadia, etc but Who Knows? Emergency medical equipment positioned for the use of medical professionals (paramedics or hospital) should be checked once a shift. I can't imagine the medical professionals on-call for an NFL game not checking the equipment before each game.

I can try very briefly. We have far more knowledgeable people here who are likely busy treating patients but I have full confidence will nonetheless put me right if I'm wrong. -For certain emergency conditions, including neurological trauma AND cardiac arrest (heart stoppage), one protocol calls for chilling the patient's body for 24 hrs -The patient is then re-warmed over 12-20 hrs -To accomplish this, the patient is sedated and put on a ventilator, which breathes for them. -While they're sedated and ventilated, we get none, zero, no info about their ability to breathe on their own, their neurological function and so forth, because, we're not talking give them a little Valium - this is serious, OR-grade sedation So if this is the protocol being followed, doing the math, 24 + 12 or 20, we would expect no "good news" updates about Hamlin for at LEAST 36-44 hrs, until Weds morning or afternoon. If you are stressed out and unable to eat or sleep, Please, for your health, take a walk, go look at your favorite view, pat some grass, eat a ***** snack, and take a nap. By the way, the protocols I've found on this procedure (new since my decades-old time in the ER) all state that no alteration of care or decision based on the patient's neurological status should be made for 72 hrs after the cooling and re-warming protocols are completed - which is why that Twitter dudes "update" is to be disregarded and treated with the respect it deserves 💩

Covers the NFL for PFF. NY based.

Ha! Well, you got me there....

I would like this 1000x if I could. Well someone likely knows, but they're busy treating Hamlin and their other patients.

I'm sorry you took it that way. I'm not trying to out-smart you, or anyone. My point is that medically, there are a number of key differences between Hamlin's situation, and your brother's situation. There are reports out there in Twitter, some of which have been copied here, about brain scans on Hamlin. We don't know that Damar suffered a spinal cord injury or a brain injury. We know nothing about the cause of Hamlin's cardiac arrest at this point, and medically, that matters a lot. We know that he suffered a cardiac arrest, and that apparently current SOP is to chill the patient, sedate and ventilate them, and wait. And again, I'm sorry for your loss.

I am sorry for your loss, and clearly you went into a situation that is similar, where once the patient is in medical care, the family has no choice but to wait and pray for the best outcome while the hours tick by. Medically, and I think this is important to note, this is NOT the same situation as your brother experienced, in a number of critical aspects. I mean no disrespect, but this is a fraught time with everyone combing the interwebs for scraps of information, so I think it's important to point this out. My respect for Pat McAfee and his Pro Wrestler Persona just went up a notch

I don't care if he knows the Face of God and is posting Eternal Truth (which I significantly doubt, for several reasons having to do with my place looking up at the Slope of Enlightenment on the D-K curve for Modern Emergency Medicine, past experience in the ER of a Level III trauma center, and recent experience with a relative who suffered a respiratory arrest that probably wasn't detected for about 15 minutes.) it's a total ***** move to be posting something like that. It screams "LAMP", and what if his "people" are wrong? Any person worth trusting as a source would think of that and STFU. Give the family medical privacy, let them share when and what they're ready to share, and for the Love of God folks, please Think before you propagate rumors here.

I believe in the power of prayer. Keep praying People have to understand that you're Right On about the timeline. "No news is Good News" at this point.

Good fact-based article by our ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35368372/damar-hamlin-collapses-field-bills-bengals-temporarily-suspended Also some more info and detail in Joe B's paywalled Athletic article: https://theathletic.com/4053472/2023/01/03/bills-bengals-damar-hamlin/?source=twitterhq This may be one reason why Diggs seemed to go to extra effort to get whatever info he could on Hamlin, for his brother Dane Jackson.

This actually seems to be a decent article. Has some good info explaining the difference between cardiac arrest and heart attack. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/damar-hamlin-collapse-bills-bengals-game-intl-hnk/index.html Seems to be being updated. Has a bit of an interview with Damar's friend Jordan Rooney Edit: I see Big Turk already posted it, but I'll leave it here due to comments on good info explaining cardiac arrest vs. heart attack or heart failure.

Nice apologium, but "cheat" is not common usage here. You're really trying too hard Nothing but good to say about the Bengals players coaches and fans after the tragedy struck though

Agree that Higgins play was clean. He lowered his shoulder and went right for Hamlin's chest. I thought it was odd when Mixon was quoted saying something about the Bills were "going to have to play them clean". Often when someone is public raising concern about an issue, it's because ..... it's something they do themselves.

This is where the leadership of the coaches matter. In a lot of ways, it will be mentally healthy and mentally helpful for the team to keep their normal routine, with some obvious additions like a prayer session for Damar and the chance to speak to counselors and mental health professionals. I would hope that the Bills have a little bit more information than is available to the general public at this point. If the speculation about commotio cordis is true, it would be helpful to have physicians speak to the team and explain - it really is a very fluky rare thing. If there is a piece of protective equipment that can be added to the pads, that would help too. But it would probably help everyone to have as normal of a week as they can.

Yeah, they don't. He was the youngest of 8 brothers, and I believe at this point 6 of them have died of heart disease, all at relatively young ages. There's the unfortunate intersection between a likely genetic condition and a familial lack of regular, good quality preventive medical care. For all the gaps and snafus we hear about, Modern Medicine Works, fellas. If you're in your 30s and haven't had a checkup, find a doctor and go. I'm pretty much there too. Just Live, Fellas.

I'm trying to shut up here because on the modern emergency medicine Dunning-Kruger curve I'm standing at the bottom of the "slope of enlightenment" looking up and we all gotta know our limitations. But I can point out here, emergency medicine stresses the importance of lay people getting trained in CPR and about staff at large venues and businesses getting trained in the use of modern, easy to use AED devices BECAUSE they make such a huge difference to outcomes. When I worked, I did annual training on both BECAUSE I know the data are out there: they make a difference. When I'm in a large venue, I reflexively note the location of the AEDs and how they're stowed. There are not a lot of data about the outcomes of what happened - a young, peak physical condition man having what is called a "witnessed arrest" where not only paramedics, but trained emergency physicians, responded within seconds. But it's the best possible emergency medicine response, probably better than actually walking into the ER of a major medical center and collapsing (because they tend to be chaotic and the physicians/nurses there are often already working full-bore). On the field, he had a team of doctors and paramedics with nothing to do but care for him, and probably 95% of the initial equipment that would be used in an ER at hand. I can tell you from my own experience that a neighbor, as a young mother in her mid-30s, had her husband performing CPR on her alone for 11 minutes, before paramedics arrived with an AED and were able to restore a pulse (which took a further 8 minutes, and multiple shocks). She was a math professor prior to her cardiac arrest. She is still a math professor. She played competitive ultimate frisbee prior to her cardiac arrest; she still plays competitive ultimate frisbee. The speed and quality of emergency response make a huge difference. I don't think framing it as "dead for 9 minutes" is terribly productive (or accurate). If y'all want to do something productive with your ass today, call the local red cross and enroll in a CPR class; ask about getting one taught in your workplace; ask if there's a workplace "emergency squad" and join it to get trained in CPR and AED use. CPR has been made way simpler since I certified as an instructor 4+ decades ago. Both are straightforward to learn, will only take a couple hours of your time, and could literally save the life of a colleague or family member (or even a random stranger) some day.

Of course the TV shows are wildly unrealistic, but It really depends on a lot of factors. Often when the heart stops, it’s because the person is not in good health to begin with - elderly, has coronary artery disease etc. For a young to middle aged, otherwise healthy person who has what the medical profession calls a “witnessed arrest” (meaning someone saw them collapse and they got immediate CPR and medical attention) the outcomes tend to be more positive. As I sit here, we have two neighbors who suffered cardiac arrest. Both were relatively young and otherwise healthy. Both were “witnessed arrests”. In one case, the husband called 911 and then performed CPR for 11 minutes until paramedics arrived. They were able to defibrillate and restore a pulse. She lived, although with a pacemaker, and was last seen shopping for her first formal gown, getting on a plane to Africa, and worrying about her son. In the other case, the wife called our other neighbor (an RN) then 911, and the neighbor threw on a robe and ran over barefoot to start CPR (within 2 minutes) until paramedics arrived. But paramedics could not restore a normal heart rhythm for more than a few seconds. He died. Autopsy showed severely blocked coronary arteries. In this case, the cause is almost certainly a traumatic injury. At least 3 possible causes have been floated about the thread, varying in outcomes. I don’e speculated too much already. We just need to wait and see when the tests are done and the cause is announced. In the meantime, for everyone concerned, I give you this: It was reported they were able to restore normal cardiac electrical activity ie, Hamlin had a pulse when he was loaded in the ambulance. The difference in outcome between being able to restore a pulse or not is huge. Pulse is good. Pulse is very good. Pulse is very very good. Keep that in mind folks.

Thanks for the update and for confirming the impression I had from watching the TV broadcast. Classy bunch of fans.

If someone is intubated, it’s standard procedure that they’re heavily sedated. Otherwise you feel something stuck in your throat and your reflex is to gag and cough and try to rip it out.