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Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during the contest in Cincinnati
and Kellington was able to quickly restart his heart and restore
blood flow to his brain as players from both teams and millions
of television viewers looked on in shock.
"For an assistant to find himself in that position and needing
to take the action that he did ... is nothing short of amazing,"
head coach Sean McDermott told reporters.
"You talk about a real leader, a real hero in saving Damar's
life. I admire his strength."
Bills quarterback Josh Allen echoed McDermott's sentiments about
the training staff and Kellington, who has been with the Bills
for nearly six years.
"I want to thank our training staff for going out there, not
knowing what was going on but going through a checklist ... and
saving his life," an emotional Allen said.
Allen added that news on Thursday that Hamlin was awake and
communicating with medical staff led to "a lot of tears of joy"
after tears of pain rolled down players' faces on Monday. Read
full story
Doctors treating Hamlin at University of Cincinnati Medical
Center said the immediate recognition that there was something
significantly wrong and the rapid response by Kellington and
others was crucial to his survival.
"The Bills training staff who was with him immediately
recognized that this was not a run of the mill injury and that
they had a significant event on their hands and immediately
responded," Dr. Timothy Pritts told reporters earlier on
Thursday.
"This went as well as something like this can go under very
challenging circumstances. They did a fantastic job, which is
why we are here today."
Despite the positive news, doctors said Hamlin, 24, was still
critically ill and remained in the intensive care unit, adding
that the focus was on getting him off of a ventilator "and on
the road to recovery."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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