Waltham Singer Dedicates New Performance To Damar Hamlin's Mother

WALTHAM, MA — Much of America was captured, moved and frightened on Jan. 2 when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a life-threatening cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football.

What followed was an outpouring of support for Hamlin, his charities and those closest to him. This includes a particularly heartfelt gesture from a Waltham-based singer-songwriter.

Linda Marks is a local artist known for her particularly topical songwriting and livestream performances via Facebook and other platforms. On Jan. 7, one of those livestreams featured a song written after Hamlin's story had swept the nation, and was dedicated to his mother, Nina.

Marks said she felt connected to Nina Hamlin as both a mother and as someone who has been with their child through injury — though, she acknowledges, nothing as severe as Hamlin's.

"Like so many others, I watched Monday night football this week, and was shocked, saddened and prayerful when Damar Hamlin collapsed in cardiac arrest. The experience was even more riveting because I am the mom of a 26-year-old son, who while thank God did not have as grave an injury as Damar, did have two bad concussions in 10 months time, and felt the after-effects for two years," said Marks.

"My heart immediately went out to Damar's mom, Nina."

The song, called "Hope, Love And Prayers", can be heard below:

Marks posted the video to the national Facebook group Periscope Musicians and Friends on Thursday night and, when she signed on to Facebook on Friday, discovered that the video for the song was selected as the video of the day.

Damar Hamlin Released From Hospital

On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills shared that Hamlin was discharged from the Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday following his return to Buffalo from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

In a statement, the Bills said that Hamlin underwent a medical evaluation which included cardiac, neurological and vascular testing on Tuesday.

"We have completed a series of tests and evaluations, and in consultation with the team physicians, we are confident that Damar can be safely discharged to continue his rehabilitation at home and with the Bills," said Jamie Nadler, MD, critical care physician and Chief Quality Officer at Kaleida Health.

Chasing M's Toy Drive

Since his senior year of college, Damar Hamlin has hosted a toy drive for children in his native Pittsburgh. Following his injury, donations to the toy drive skyrocketed, going from under $10,000 to, as of 12:30 p.m. on Friday, over $8.8 million.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Hamlin has partnered with The Giving Back Fund to help manage the donations, which will be used to continue helping young people, with an emphasis on sports and education.

Through his Chasing M's brand, Hamlin has also created t-shirts in the wake of his cardiac arrest and hospitalization, the proceeds from which he'll donate to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was treated.