CLEVELAND — As Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin stood on stage at the NFL Honors ceremony with a crowd of lifesavers behind him, representing the doctors and trainers who helped save his life after his cardiac arrest, he made sure to single one out who wasn't there.
"My third night awake in the hospital, I met an ICU doctor. His name was Yousef," Hamlin said.
He was referring to Dr. Yousef Raslan, a Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School graduate who is currently a chief anesthesia resident at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Dr. Raslan was not part of Hamlin's care team, but he does work at the hospital where the football player spent a week. In fact, he also spent days there last March for a similar situation.
"I really do understand what he went through because I went through it myself," Dr. Raslan said.
Three days after Hamlin woke up, Dr. Raslan visited him in the ICU and introduced himself.
"I'm young like you," Dr. Raslan told Hamlin. "I was playing basketball, I had an arrest, I came here and I was really sick. But you can see me now and I just want you to know that I'm OK and I want you to see that you're gonna be OK too."
Hamlin told the crowd how grateful he was for that meeting.
"There was so much uncertainty at the time and just him coming to me and showing me that I could live a normal life again, it meant so much to me in the moment," he said.
The two now stay in touch via text message and Dr. Raslan got a heads up that he might be mentioned.
"He texted me right before he went on and said, 'hey I'm giving you a nice shout out in my speech' and honestly it didn't surprise me because Damar is a really good guy," Dr. Raslan said.
Hamlin thanked everyone who not only cared for him but the fans and strangers around the world that prayed for his recovery. He said he has a long journey ahead, but it will continue.
You can watch Hamlin's remarks at the NFL Honors ceremony below:
UPDATE: This week, 3News is kicking off Project AED, a week-long effort to educate the community about automated external defibrillators, CPR, and how to make yourself a life-saver. Nearly, 436,000 Americans die each year from cardiac arrest. Damar Hamlin and Dr. Yousef Raslan beat the odds, thanks to some fast-thinking bystanders.
See more in the below videos: