A medical emergency halted an NFL Monday Night football game yesterday as a player from the Buffalo Bills is currently in critical condition, garnering prayers from all across North America. 

"We were watching the World Juniors last night and TSN cut to that right after the game," says Lorne Korol, the chaplain of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. "They were showing images of Damar Hamlin making the hit, popping up after the hit, and then collapsing. It was surreal to see them come out and administer CPR."

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin was on the field playing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday evening when he collapsed and needed emergency medical attention. 

"At that time I think the players on the field and everybody knew that it was life and death. Normally when you see a player, perhaps they're stretchered off, you're looking for that thumbs up or that they're going to be okay. In this case, it was far beyond that."

The NFL game came to a complete halt when Hamlin went down and the league decided to postpone the rest of the game. 

"You could see, many of the players on the field were in tears, they were beside themselves. It was good to see coach Sean McDermott from the Bills calling all the players together. They prayed together. I don't know who led the prayer but they got together and prayed. It was likely helpful for them."

The response from fans has been that of prayer for Hamlin and the team, including on Twitter. 

"It shows you that in traumatic situations, people that don't normally pray are going to pray and are turned to God even more. That's what we need to do right now for Damar is to continue to pray."

While the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play in the CFL as opposed to the NFL in this case, any person that cares about the game of football is affected by the news, according to Korol.

"This rocks the football family. These players strap on their helmets every week and go out to battle, but no one ever expects an outcome like this. Right now Hamlin is sedated and listed in critical condition so we're hoping and praying he pulls through."

Hamlin was in his second year with the NFL and is 24 years old. He grew up in Pittsburg before signing with the Buffalo Bills. 

"He had set up a foundation for his mom's daycare. They have a toy drive each year and their initial goal was $2,500 and they've raised almost $4 million in the last number of hours. It's quite touching to see how people are pulling together all across the sport of football."

Nina, Hamlin's mom was watching her son play in the stands when he went down on January 2.

"She accompanied him to the hospital in the ambulance. I can only imagine what she's going through. It's a difficult time and this is where I'm sure the chaplains for the Bills and the Bengals will be hard at work trying to reach out to their players and to be there for them."

Korol says he'll reach out to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, even though it's their off-season, to check in after this shocking incident. 

Related Stories