Damar Hamlin’s GoFundMe Receives Over $8 Million, Here’s An Update On His Condition

After Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the football field on January 2, you saw some of the worst of humanity. Some people immediately tried to exploit the incident and push their anti-vaccination agendas with baseless claims, as I covered for Forbes on January 3. Fortunately, many others have shown the opposite: actual humanity. This ranged from the medical personnel who rushed to Hamlin’s aid, saving his life, to the fans who have held candlelight vigils for the 24-year-old football player. Then there’s what’s happened to the GoFundMe page that was created by Hamlin and his team on December 14, 2020. “The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive” GoFundMe page originally had a fundraising goal of $2,500. Well, it’s since exceeded that goal by a little bit. That’s a $8,080,460 little bit and counting. Yeah, as of 9 pm, on January 6, this page has raised $8,082,960.

It isn’t every day that you see a fundraiser beat its goal by over 3000 percent. But what Hamlin had suffered wasn’t something that you see every day either, despite anti-vaxxer claims. He collapsed on the Paycor Stadium football field after suffering a blow to his chest during the Bills’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. A team, including Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, had to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation to get his heart pumping blood again before rushing him off to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he was initially listed as in critical condition, relying on a breathing tube to breathe.