Damar Hamlin might not be back on the field yet, but he was in the mix of the Buffalo Bills 35-23 romp over the New England Patriots this weekend.
Watching from his hospital bed and engaging on social media, Hamlin kept his Twitter feed active throughout the night and providing running commentary on game-time highlights, as well as providing updates on his own improvement.
GAMETIME!!! @BuffaloBills 💙 pic.twitter.com/PQYClonUHb
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 8, 2023
“GAMETIME!!!” the second-year standout posted alongside an image with him folding his hands in a heart shape.
Today.com further narrated the heart-warming update, and wrote that Hamlin kept busy on his Twitter feed throughout the evening. Even the Buffalo Bills organization got in on the action.
In the photo, Hamlin wore a shirt with his number three that read “Love For Damar.” He also sported a hat with his number.
He quickly sent a follow-up tweet to celebrate Bills kick returner Nyheim Hines opening the game with a 96-yard touchdown return.
"*" indicates required fields
Hamlin simply said, “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!” as fans watched the Bills cheer and a few players become emotional.
After the impressive scoring drive, the official Bills Twitter account uploaded a graphic that said it had been three years and three months since the team’s last kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Meant to be,” the tweet said with the hashtags “LoveForDamar” and “ForDamar.”
The devout Christian athlete, who has repeatedly invoked the guidance and protection of God throughout his career and now certainly his medical ordeal, responded to the Bill’s tweet with his own
God Behind All This No Coincidence..3️⃣ https://t.co/J2dCVv4VBN
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 8, 2023
“God Behind All This No Coincidence,” he wrote.
Today.com continued its report, this time discussing how Hamlin then spent time on Instagram to focus on NFL colleagues that were showering him with love and support.
The second-year NFL star continued on Instagram to express his gratitude for the support he has received since he collapsed on the field.
He filled his Instagram stories with snaps of players like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady sporting warmup gear and jerseys that said “Hamlin Strong” and “Love For Damar.”
He also shared footage from teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers that had multiple “Love For Damar” jerseys hanging in their locker rooms.
A week ago on January 2nd, Hamlin was critically injured after making a tackle against Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver early in the first quarter. Hamlin briefly stood up before suddenly falling backwards.
He was given CPR on the field before being transported to a nearby hospital’s Level 1 trauma center. Hamlin was listed in critical condition, and remains so, although doctors have said his neurological functions are intact and his lungs appear to be working normally.
Hamlin’s injury has prompted widespread conversation on all sorts of topics, ranging from the NFL’s decision to first postpone and then ultimately cancel the Bengals-Bills game as well as lead to controversial comments surrounding the nature of his cardiac arrest.
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded Twitter video.