BUFFALO, N.Y. — January 2 marks one year since Damar Hamlin's suffered a cardiac arrest during a game and he marked the anniversary in a unique way.
Hamlin collapsed on the field after he was hit by another player during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was halted while team officials and medical professionals performed CPR on Hamlin.
Hamlin made a remarkable recovery and returned to the field this season.
Damar Hamlin reflected on the past incident by sharing his thoughts with the community and posting on his social media photos and memories of his time in recovery.
What Hamlin also did was make a permanent decision to honor his life with a tattoo he got on the back of his neck. The tattoo was of his hands in the shape of a heart with his heart waves in the middle.
He got the tattoo done in Miami, Florida by the tagged artist in the post, 'Chinkalifttatoos' of 'Tilltheendtattoos'. He has been known for tattooing other celebrities like rappers Nas and Lil Wayne.
You can see the post with pictures of Hamlin and the tattoo artists below:
Hamlin also announced an update to his GoFundMe fundraiser that raised more than $9 million to help children and families in need.
The Chasing M's Charity has raised $9,147,203 of the initial goal of $2,500 from 248.3K donations from those supporting him after he suffered from cardiac arrest.
His GoFundMe originally started as a fundraiser to support a toy drive leading to a much bigger way of helping. In his update on GoFundMe, he thanked everyone who has helped the growth of his charity.
"In addition to returning to the NFL this fall, I’ve spent time creating the mission of my charity, which is focused on empowering youth and lifting up people who face adversity," Hamlin said.
Communications Manager from GoFundMe, Madeline Purdue, told 2 On Your Side that the donations benefited people across the world.
"The donations helped Damar and Chasing M's teach CPR across the country (and London), advocate for the Access to AEDs Act, and support children both in his hometown of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to honor the medical teams that saved his life," Purdue said.
With the help of Chasing M's, Hamlin has become an advocate for CPR and the health of children and adults. He created the Chasing M’s CPR Tour, launched a Cincinnati Heroes Scholarship, connected with leaders in support of the bipartisan Access to AEDs Act, and participated in many other advocating events along the way.
This overload of support has led to the success of his community initiatives on and off the field to continue being a major advocate.
You can read the full update on his GoFundMe page here.
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