Emma Caroline Brown

Reporter & Managing Editor

The nation held its collective breath during a Monday Night Football game on Jan. 2, 2023, when an NFL player died on the field.

Among those who brought him back to life was Dr. Woods Curry. Last week Curry returned to his alma mater to tell of Damar Hamlin’s injury and how CPR can be used to avoid a common tragedy.

Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills’ 25-year-old safety, went into cardiac arrest after suffering a hit to the chest. An estimated 25 million viewers watched as Hamlin’s heart completely stopped.

Medical staff, including Curry, rushed the field, administered CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to bring Hamlin back to life.

Curry, a 2004 graduate of the Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science, credits Hamlin’s recovery and the paramedics’ quick response to tight-knit teamwork. In his lecture, Curry emphasized that Hamlin played a big role in his own healing. To die and come back to life is one epic achievement.

“I am only one part of a large team that contributed to Damar’s recovery, and that actually involves Damar,” Dr. Curry said. “Damar did all the really hard work. He’s the one who died and came back to life — the rest of us just did our jobs.”

In the first installment of the Gilbert-Bryan Lecture Series at MSMS, Curry offered instructions and tips on the importance of knowing CPR. Big leagues or not, Curry believes knowing anything about CPR is vital to any emergency plan.

Check. Call. Compress. Those three steps could stand between life and death if the heart stops or goes into cardiac arrest or arrhythmia. Check for life signs (pulse, responsiveness, alertness), call 911, and then compress the chest by doing CPR.

Curry set out to dispel any concerns, misconceptions or fears surrounding CPR and the use of AEDs. A repeated saying he used was that no CPR is bad CPR. As long as you are trying compressions and administering CPR, those are good CPR practices. He emphasized that you only need two things to save a life — your hands.

Kaela Carinr, an MSMS student, remembers seeing and hearing about Hamlin’s injury on the news and social media. She felt that she went away from Curry’s lecture with more knowledge, both on Hamlin’s injury and recovery and how CPR can save lives. Curry’s saying that no CPR is bad CPR helped resolve Carinr’s concerns of doing more harm than good.

“Yes [I do feel more comfortable],” Carinr said. “I didn’t have really any training. I was like ‘Oh if I do something then I might end up hurting them’, but after this, I know that is not true.”

As for AEDs, these machines are seen more and more around buildings at The W. These machines administer shocks to the heart to restart it or get it back into the correct rhythm. Curry stressed that you should never be afraid to use one, especially since the machine itself gives step-by-step instructions on how to use it.

Both an AED and CPR were used on Hamlin during his cardiac arrest. These two practices saved his life, and they saved many others from suffering heart-related attacks or arrhythmia. Now known as the “Damar Effect,” more Americans are seeing the need to know CPR and AED usage.

Dr. Maria Scott, department chair and professor of nursing in the BSN program, has seen cardiac problems during her time as a nurse. She knows they can be serious, damaging and easily turn fatal. So, she values others knowing how to properly give CPR and have a plan in place to avoid the risk of losing a loved one.

“Cardiac arrest is considered a public health emergency and can occur at any time or place,” Scott said. “Therefore, we must be prepared to give what could be lifesaving CPR at anytime, and having easy access to an AED could be the difference between life and death.”

After graduating from MSMS, Curry received his bachelor’s from Millsaps College and later his medical degree from the University of Mississippi. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

His involvement in Cincinnati medicine is what led him to the life-changing moment with Hamlin that pushed him to teach others how to save lives.