The Damar Hamlin incident that happened during Monday’s NFL game between his Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals remains fresh in the mind of sports fans around the world.
Hamlin collapsed on the field after taking a hit to the chest from Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. It was later determined by doctors that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and doctors had to restore his heartbeat on the field.
He remained in hospital Wednesday in critical condition.
Dr. Martin Heroux, a family physician and sports medicine physician in Regina, serves as the team doctor for various teams in Regina, including the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, the WHL’s Regina Pats and University of Regina teams.
Heroux called the Hamlin situation “scary” and said that throughout his years as a physician with the sports teams, he fortunately hasn’t had to experience anything like that.
While he hasn’t had to deal with a life-or-death situation, he said athletic therapists and team doctors on both sides of the field have plans of action just in case an incident like that happens.
“Dealing with these events is one of the reasons why there are trained medical personnel on the field,” he said. “Absolutely it’s something that we train for …
“With all the teams I work on, we have a plan for if something like this were to happen and it’s something that we do practise because you don’t want to have to deal with it for the first time when it’s really happening. Practice is definitely key.”
When serious medical incidents happen, Heroux said personnel usually work together to help whoever may be in trouble.
“I’m sure (Monday) night when this happened, it was a big team effort in terms of trying to resuscitate him — not only the team doctors for the Bills but also I’m sure the team doctors for the Bengals and then also all the medical staff from the athletic therapists and everybody else that had some expertise were helping out …,” Heroux said.
“We always talk about in sports medicine that success in these kind of situations really depends upon having an organized plan for if this were to happen and then making sure that the key members in the medical team have practised how they would respond to something like this.
“Having good communication within the medical team and then also with emergency medical services is really important to try to get things co-ordinated and make sure that the correct personnel are at the athlete’s side as quickly as possible.”
What happened Monday caused a lot of trauma and emotion for players, staff and fans in the stadium and those watching at home.
While many were thrown into a state of panic, Heroux said it’s important for those involved directly in treating the player to remain calm.
“If you lose your cool in a situation like that, it obviously doesn’t benefit the athlete or the situation in any way, shape or form, so staying calm is really important,” he said.
“A lot of it just has to do with the training. There’s a variety of different training courses that are available for team physicians and even just for people in the public. Taking a first responder course or a first aid course through St. John’s Ambulance or through the various people that teach the classes, it can give somebody a feeling of control in a situation that is very dire and very desperate.
“If you have a bit of a protocol or a plan in your mind of how you might be able to help and you feel like you’re going through a protocol rather than just flailing through the situation, you are yourself in more control and you’re going to be of more help to the athlete and the situation that you see.”
Heroux noted that while physicians can never get used to dealing with similar situations, prior exposure to incidents like it can help them cope to an extent.
“You have to have a certain level of comfort with it, otherwise you’re not going to be very good at doing your job and you’re not going to be much help for the athlete that needs your help,” he said.
Heroux suggested the medical team in Cincinnati on Monday likely was as shocked as the teams by Hamlin’s situation, but he believes they provided support to each other to make sure no steps were missed in caring for the athlete.
The medical personnel also would need to recover mentally after dealing with the situation, Heroux said, likely by using the skills they’ve used over the years as physicians.
Heroux was pleased to see the support being offered to Hamlin’s family from fans around the world, from the NFL, and from the league’s players and teams. He noted the incident also serves as a reminder of what could happen.
“Hopefully this isn’t something that we ever see in the CFL and hopefully it’s something that we never see in the NFL again either,” Heroux said. “(It’s) just another reminder about how important it is to prepare for the worst-case scenarios and be ready in case something really serious does happen.”
— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray