Damar Hamlin’s Life-Saving Bill Headed To The President’s Desk

Most people know the story of Damar Hamlin and how he almost lost his life.  Now, he's making it his life mission to save other's lives if he can.

Millions of people have seen what happened to Damar Hamlin on live television on Monday Night Football in 2023.  It was January 2, 2023 when he took a hit directly to the chest that nearly killed him.  He went into cardiac arrest almost immediately as the world sat at the edge of their seats praying for the best.  Had it not been for the athletic trainers and their incredible reactions, he probably wouldn't have survived.

He not only recovered, but has returned to the field and is still playing football to this day.  After his recovery he vowed that he would make it his mission to spread the word and help others to learn how to do CPR and make life saving devices available everywhere possible to help others.

This week, that mission took one more step forward.  He's got a piece of legislation called the HEARTS Act that he is hoping to make into a law.  HEARTS is an acronym for the bill that stands for Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools Act.  The bill would put automated external defibrillators in schools and make CPR training more accessible for people everywhere.

Last week, it passed unanimously through the Senate and is now headed to the president's desk to be signed.  It would then create a grant that would help, not only with training for CPR, but also ensure that primary and secondary schools will have AED machines in them.