Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin began the next stage of his recovery on Monday after he was discharged from a Cincinnati hospital, returning to western New York to resume his journey.
Officials in Cincinnati announced that Hamlin flew home and was admitted to Buffalo General Hospital, just hours after an emotional win by his teammates over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The 24 year old Bills Safety watched it all from his hospital bed, less than a week after he suffered a catastrophic injury in a game against the Bengals, with trainers performing CPR on the field after his heart stopped.
Doctors around the nation believe that immediate response by medical personnel saved Hamlin's life and his neurological function, which Cincinnati doctors deemed "excellent" after his discharge.
"The fact he's alive is wonderful, and it happened because they were prepared. They had an AED and started APR immediately," Michele Snyder said.
Snyder's daughter, Jenny, was a Glenbrook North High school soccer player in 2008 practicing for a travel team when her heart suddenly stopped on the field.
No AED was available at the school, and she passed away at just 17 years old.
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Jenny's Mission was started in her honor, and has now placed 20 Automatic External Defibrillator on sporting fields throughout the Chicago area.
"It validates all the work we've been doing.... that's the difference between life and death," Snyder said.
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Michele lives in Boston now and still plans to add five-to-10 AED's this year in the Chicagoland area.
"It makes me feel like Jenny's legacy is alive," she said.
All donations made to Jenny's Mission go toward the purchase of AED's.
