BUFFALO, N.Y. — As Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is treated at a Cincinnati, sports fans around the world are sending prayers and well wishes for a speedy recovery.
Hamlin collapsed on the field following a hit during the game Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. Medical teams had to perform CPR before taking him to the hospital by ambulance.
For local fans, the raw emotion of the moments following his injury on the field bring forth memories of other dark moments to which Western New Yorkers played witness.
On Sept. 9, 2007, then-Ralph Wilson Stadium fell eerily silent as Bills tight end Kevin Everett lied motionless on the field after making a tackle on Denver Bronco's kick-returner Domenik Hixon in the season opener.
Everett was on the field for 15 minutes, which seemed like an eternity. He suffered a catastrophic spinal injury, and Bills orthopedist Dr. Anthony Cappuccino administered treatment in the ambulance, including a steroid to reduce swelling, and an iced saline solution to regulate his body temperature. Everett underwent surgery at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, most experts predicted he would be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Everett defied all odds. Although his career was over, he regained movement and his ability to walk within months of the injury.
Former NHL player Richard Zednik was also at the center of a horrific incident that froze fans and teammates alike. February 10, 2008, he and his Florida Panthers were in Buffalo for a game against the Sabres. During a play in the corner, his teammate Olli Jokinen became entangled with a Sabres player and lost his balance. As he fell, his skate came up and struck Zednik in the neck, slicing his carotid artery. Zednik reacted immediately, holding his neck, made his way to the Florida bench, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He was immediately treated by the team's trainer, and then by paramedics who were on standby at the arena. He was stabilized, but in shock, and transported to Buffalo General Hospital where emergency surgery was performed to repair the artery. Doctors said, although he lost five pints of blood, his life was not in jeopardy by the time he reached the hospital, in large part because of the immediate treatment he received at the arena.
Thoughts at that time immediately went to one of the most disturbing incidents to ever happen on Sabres ice, nearly 20 years before. March 22, 1989 in a game against the St. Louis Blues, Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk came within minutes of death. In the first period, Blues forward Steve Tuttle drove the net and was taken down by Sabres defenseman Uwe Krupp. As Malarchuk slid across the net, Tuttle crashed into him, skates first. Malarchuk said later that he felt no pain, it was like he was kicked in the mask. As he took off his mask, blood started pouring out. The skate had severed his jugular. Sabres Trainer Jim Pizzutelli applied extreme pressure with a gauze. Ultimately Malarchuk made it to the hospital, and doctors saved his life, closing the six-inch cut on the side of his neck. A stunned Memorial Auditorium crowd stood in silent disbelief.
The common thread in all of those tragic moments is the recovery of the athletes, something that Bills Mafia is praying for this morning as their thoughts and prayers are focused on Damar Hamlin.