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We Are All Damar Hamlin

Faith, love, and the thing that unites us all

John P. Weiss
5 min readJan 8, 2023
Image: José de Azpiazu

Most people navigate life with the illusion that they have control over where they are headed. How things will turn out.

Somewhere in the back of the mind, we’re aware of our mortality and the uncertainties of life. The nightly news, with its ubiquitous reports of accidents and shootings, is hard to escape.

Yet we push aside the nightmares, fears, and worst-case scenarios in order to live our lives. We exercise, eat right, fasten our seatbelts, and helicopter over our children in the belief that everything will be okay. And mostly it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Have a heart without words

Damar Hamlin is a robust football safety for the Buffalo Bills.

In a Monday night televised game with the Cincinnati Bengals, Damar took a direct hit to his chest and went down. He stood up briefly and then collapsed into full cardiac arrest.

The right hit at the wrong time sometimes triggers a rare phenomenon known as commotio cordis, according to heart experts. This, or perhaps an undiagnosed heart ailment, may have contributed to Damar’s cardiac arrest.

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John P. Weiss
John P. Weiss

Written by John P. Weiss

I write elegant stories and essays about life, often illustrated with my classic black & white photography. www.johnpweiss.com

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