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Damar Hamlin after the game against the New England Patriots (pictured December 1)
Photo:
Greg M. Cooper/AP
Pro-football player Damar Hamlin, who remains in intensive care after suffering cardiac arrest, has reached out to his fans on social media for the first time.
The 24-year-old wrote on Twitter: "When you put love into the world, it comes back three times as much.
I am thankful for everyone who reached out and prayed to me.
This will make me stronger on the road to recovery.
Keep praying for me!«
Hamlin is on the mend after collapsing during his Buffalo Bills' NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
As the Bills announced on Friday, the safety's breathing tube had been removed and he was "continuing to make remarkable progress."
The team said his neurological function remains intact and he has spoken to his family and the nursing team at the University Hospital of Cincinnati.
Hamlin had already communicated in writing with his doctors on Friday.
His condition was critical
Hamlin went for a tackle midway through the first quarter Monday in a defensive move typical of a football game, the Bills defenseman knocking down Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
Higgins shoulder-led his running action and caught the defender in the chest.
Hamlin got up after his tackle, adjusted his helmet - and collapsed a few seconds later.
He had to be resuscitated on the field.
His condition was critical.
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 - it will not be made up for.
ngo/dpa/sid
