NFL: Damar Hamlin communicates again

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Damar Hamlin

Photo: John McCoy/AP

Football pro Damar Hamlin is on the mend after suffering cardiac arrest and subsequent resuscitation.

According to Timothy Pritts, one of the doctors treating him, the 24-year-old had been awake for a while and communicated in writing.

However, Hamlin is still in "critical condition" and will "continue to be treated in the intensive care unit".

Discussion about comeback "completely premature"

Physician William Knight added that Hamlin had shown "remarkable improvement."

But he still has “a long way to go in terms of being free from the ventilator”.

In the "best case scenario," Hamlin "goes back to who he was before this happened," Knight explained.

However, a discussion as to whether he could play football again is "completely premature".

Pritts said the first time Hamlin woke up, he asked if the Buffalo Bills had won the NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

He then said: "The answer is yes, Damar, you have won the game of life."

The game that was canceled on Monday will not be repeated, the NFL confirmed on Thursday evening after consultation with the two clubs.

A statement from the league said this decision will not affect which clubs qualify for the play-offs and no team will be eliminated.

The Bills resumed training Wednesday in preparation for Sunday's final game of the regular season against the New England Patriots.

US President Joe Biden had previously given the football professional's parents courage.

"I spoke extensively with his mother and father," Biden said after the conversation, calling football a "dangerous" sport. "We just have to acknowledge that."

Game interrupted, then aborted

Hamlin collided with an opponent in the first quarter of Monday's game at the Cincinnati Bengals.

After initially getting up under his own power, he collapsed on the field.

After half an hour of on-site treatment, Hamlin was taken to the hospital and placed in an induced coma.

The game was initially interrupted for an hour and then stopped completely.

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