Damar Hamlin Cardiac Arrest (Sports Medicine Professional’s Perspective)

Please consider donating to Damar Hamlin’s charity - https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive

What’s a guy’s Jeff Cavaliere, Athleanx. com? So, I wanted to kind of break away from the mainstream content on this channel to provide  a unique perspective as it relates to the Damar Hamlin injury that happened in Monday  Night Football. So, for those that aren’t aware, I was a physical therapist for the New York Mets  in 2006, 07 and 08. And I was part of the sports medicine team that had to be equipped for injuries  in games, you know, they’re part of sports.

However, nothing can really prepare you for  what we saw last night. As a matter of fact, it really hadn’t happened before an NFL game,  so I don’t think any of us were truly prepared. However, it was one of those games that many  people were watching. They were watching because of the magnitude of the game and the importance  it played in terms of the season itself. People who engage in fantasy football, it was a major  championship week.

There were a lot of people watching that game and for this to play out on  that national stage was horrifying. I could tell you that the second the play happened, and he went  down, I felt like I knew what had happened. My baseball background had forced me to be aware  of this type of injury, this blunt force to the chest that can throw you into an arrhythmia  and cause your heart to stop. I’ll get into that in a few minutes. I actually have my own  close experience with something like that.

But I have to just say a few things. When  that occurred, the response of the medical staff and personnel that came to assist that  young man, they saved his life. The response, the ability, the preparedness that  they had to be able to do this, again, for a situation that never really happens. I mean, if you think about it, in an NFL game, there’s on average 50 to 60 tackles per team per  game. So, you’re looking at 100 to 140 tackles per game, that’s like 21,000 tackles over the  course of a season and this has not happened.

And it’s almost shocking when you think about  it, because it’s a violent game. And people hit each other with such force, and they  hit each other in the chest, you know, whether it be shoulder pads or sometimes a helmet. It’s just the timing, the timing of this  injury is really what’s most important. It’s the precise, horrible timing of getting that  trauma at the exact time that the heart is trying to repolarize its ventricle as that causes this  to completely short circuit. One of my favorite YouTubers I mentioned in my list, Dr.

Brian  Sutterer, actually showcased exactly the timing and the tea wave and why and where this happens. You should check that video out if you haven’t. But what I wanted to focus on was the was the  response of the teams, because, again, as a, as a sports medicine professional, I can tell you that  was it was lifesaving, and it was impressive. So, when they arrive at the player down on  the field, the first thing you have to be conscientious of in a football related injury a  lot of times is head and neck. And I think this year especially, there’s a sensitivity to head  and neck injuries and issues because of the things that played out in other big games on a national  stage with Taua and other, other players that have undergone serious head injuries.

So, when they  arrive on the scene, they have to sort of imagine, is this something related to the head and  neck? Meanwhile, you’ve got a player who is not breathing, who doesn’t have a heartbeat. He’s going to need CPR. He’s got shoulder pads on. Right?

It’s not very accessible to perform CPR  with the shoulder pads, they’re going to have to get them off moving the body, moving the head. The decisions that were made in a, in a short period of time were so important  and they can’t be overlooked. And again, the-the-the collaboration between both sides was  amazing also. I know that when I was in baseball, we would never just make all of our medical  decisions ourselves. If a player went down with an injury our athletic training staff  would be in the back assisting the player and of course we would get the assistance  of the other team’s medical doctors.

I mean, it’s no longer Mets versus Dodgers. It’s  no longer Bengals versus Bills. It doesn’t-doesn’t matter. It’s-it’s helping that person as human  beings, helping that person. And collaborating with your best medical professionals  regardless of what uniform they wear.

And that was on full display last night. And if  it wasn’t, the decisions that they made, Damar would not be alive today, period. He would not  be alive if they didn’t make those decisions. And I pray that that continues to be the  case that he makes this full recovery. I also think about when I, when I watched something like  that how terrified his mother must be.

You know, I have two young kids and they express interest  in doing what daddy did and playing sports and all that. And I used to think it was such a great  thing, you know, like, oh, that’d be great if one day they did this. And I hope they never do, you  know, because I get worried about these types of things knowing that they can happen. I get worried  about them, and I think, you know, I couldn’t even I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like. And I know as a mother, watching my wife and how she deals with our kids, it’s the most terrifying  thing in the whole world, anything ever happening to your child.

Let alone you being there in  attendance to watch what happened and to be able to go there and be with him, I’m sure with  some level of comfort in an exasperating, horrible situation. But she was at least able to-to be  with him and go to the hospital with him. But the whole thing just like gave me  nightmares on so many, on so many levels.

As I said, in baseball, this is an injury that  we are prepared for or at least aware of. Again, hoping that it never, ever happens. But when  you’ve got projectiles moving around in the air like baseballs that can make contact with  the player in the chest, sometimes in the face, we’ve seen that, too. You have to be aware of this  so that you can be prepared to do what these guys did last night to save a life. Other sports, too.

Hockey. This has happened in hockey with a puck. Lacrosse. Any time that ball  is moving around it again, it’s-it’s a timing issue. If the timing is  bad, it can mean disastrous outcomes.

So, I related a personal experience. It  was 2007, my second year with the Mets. We were out in San Diego, and I was out in the  outfield down the right field line with Carlos Beltran, one of our great players. And Beltran had  some knee inflammation and was testing it out to see whether or not he’d be playing in that series. So of course, I was out there with him running some drills before the game, just trying to assess  whether or not he was going to be able to play.

And so, I had him running some 10, 15 yard runs  and again, just trying to get his feedback. So of course, I’m evaluating him, I’m facing home  plate, I got my hands on my knees. I’m bent over just a little bit lower so I can kind of see  the takeoff mechanics and just how things looked. And on the very last run, I said, All right, last  one. You ready?

Go. He ran and of course, I stand up and within an instant of him clearing my view,  I got hit right in the chest with a baseball. Completely knocked the wind out of me, I couldn’t  breathe. And the very first thing I remember thinking was like, I’m going to die. Because I  felt that this is what happened to me because I couldn’t breathe.

And of course, it could be  that I just lost my wind. But in that instant, I was terrified that, why can’t I breathe? Has  my heart stopped? Am I about ready to pass out? I was able to gather myself quickly.

I was  thoroughly embarrassed at that point. Like, I’