The Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin “has signs of improvement,” the team posted on Twitter Wednesday in a latest update on his health.
“Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight. He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him,” his team posted.
Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered cardiac arrest after he was hit during a “Monday Night Football” game against the Cincinnati Bengals before he collapsed on the field, the Bills confirmed Tuesday morning.
The player’s marketing representative also said on Wednesday that Hamlin’s condition is moving in a “positive direction.”
Jordon Rooney, a family spokesman who described himself as a good friend of the player, spoke with reporters outside of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Wednesday.
He said that the player’s family is staying positive amid the support Hamlin is receiving from all across the nation. “They’ve said a few times that Cincinnati and Buffalo are a lot alike, just in terms of the community, how supportive everyone is,” he told The Associated Press. “They are new fans of Cincinnati.”
Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, also talked about his nephew’s condition.
Speaking on “NFL Total Access,” Glenn said Hamlin is sedated, on a ventilator, and still in the ICU, and the medical staff is trying to have him breathe himself. According to FOX, Hamlin went from being completely reliant on a ventilator to being 50 percent reliant.
“Right now, they got him on a ventilator, so they’re trying to get him to breathe on his own,” Glenn said. “So, we’re just kind of taking it day by day. Still in the ICU. They have him sedated, so just continue to administer the medical treatment that they’ve been doing.”
“I’m really, really thankful for the medical staff that’s been working with him,” Glenn said. “They’ve been truly awesome and helping him with his recovery. It was a really, truly scary scene to witness that yesterday, as everyone in the country probably can agree with. I would have felt the way I felt no matter who it was, but for it to be my nephew, man, it was especially more of a gut punch to see that. I’m thankful that he’s still here, he’s still alive, and he’s still fighting.”
Supporters have donated more than $5 million to Hamlin already.
“It’s tremendous to see all the love and support that my nephew has out here,” Glenn said. “A lot of people don’t get a chance to see how loved they are while they’re alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away, and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got, it’s truly an amazing thing.”
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.