I'm just coming in here to say: I was following this thread last night from my phone but don't have my login there, but I wanted to say that all of my prayers were with Hamlin as soon as I saw he had gone into cardiac arrest. It brought back memories of my mom who went into cardiac arrest. No mother, father, son, or daughter is ever prepared for a situation such as this one. It's frightening and the bottom just drops out of your world.
I don't want to be overly pessimistic about Hamlin's condition. My bias only knows what my mom suffered. 9 minutes is an eternity when a person goes into cardiac arrest. The most optimistic outlook is that they were able to administer, successfully, CPR and get oxygen to his brain within 2 minutes of him collapsing on the field. The brain can only survive minutes without oxygen before damage begins to occur. For that we have reason to be hopeful. If that isn't the case, there is a significant possibility that when they wake him that he may suffer some degree of brain damage, and if it's too severe then he may pass away.
I knew very little about this type of catastrophic event until it happened to a parent. It's gut-wrenching to sit in a room with a panel of specialists who are, almost unanimously, recommending that you let your loved one pass away due to the loss of quality of life and likelihood that the brain damage is permanent.
I know this is a grim post, but I saw a ton of colorful posts in this thread last night. The focus needs to be on Hamlin and his family and friends. We're not Bills, Bengals, or Dolphins here. We are all related somewhere up the human family tree. I'll continue to pray for Hamlin in the hopes that we get a report that he is awake and responding well and recognizing familiar faces.
