LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For the first time since Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field at Paycor Stadium, the Buffalo Bills returned to Cincinnati on Sunday.
His recovery has shown how important first aid and quick response can be, which has long been the message of one Northern Kentucky family.
On January 2, Matt Mangine was at home watching football when he saw the hit in real time.
Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field at Paycor Stadium, and Mangine knew exactly what it was.
In summer 2020, Mangine's 16-year-old son, Matthew Mangine Jr., suffered a sudden, fatal cardiac arrest at soccer practice in Northern Kentucky.
Matt and his wife, Kim, decided to create the Matthew Mangine Jr. Foundation, dedicated to educating people about sudden cardiac arrest and how to save lives with resuscitation.
As the nation waited to see if Hamlin would be okay earlier this year, the calls started rushing in to the foundation.
"Within the first 48 hours, we had requests for 60 AEDs. To the point of where we had to shut down our request system because we were over-inundated," Matt Mangine said.
From training to equipment requests, schools from Kentucky, Ohio and beyond wanted to make sure they were prepared for the worst.
It's a conversation the Mangine's plan to continue to have in their son's honor.
Before the Bills returned to Paycor Stadium for the first time Sunday night, they sat down for a dinner with Hamlin and his family.
"We sat down, we had dinner and we actually got the chance to talk and it's amazing when you finally get the chance to do that how awesome it really is. Last night was emotional, I think, for all of us," Mangine said.
Sunday night, they also made it to the game, taking their message to the exact spot where a national conversation about CPR and safety erupted 10 months ago.
"We need to make sure that what we do today keeps carrying on for years and years to come so that the next time, it's Damar's situation and not our situation," Mangine said.
