Heroic Peyton Hillis responding to medical treatment, prayers
Former Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is off the ventilator after nearly losing his life saving his kids from drowning.
Finally some good news for Cleveland Browns fans, concerning former Brown Peyton Hillis, who has been in critical condition after nearly drowning while saving the lives of his children.
Angela Cole, Peyton’s girlfriend, reports that he is now off the ventilator. He’s not completely out of the woods yet, so everyone is still invited to pray and send well wishes.
"A hero. ❤️So proud of this man and so incredibly grateful for family and this incredible hospital. Peyton is off the ventilator and is on the road to recovery. Please continue to pray for he’s still got a ways ahead of him, but thank you for all of your prayers and love and support thus far. It truly makes all the difference. Today was a good day ❤️ — from Angela Cole’s official Instagram account"
His situation was similar in many respects to the situation of Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills in that no one knew whether he was going to pull through as he was in a hospital bed hooked to a ventilator for several days. Hamlin’s situation happened so shockingly and unexpectedly on national television on the football field.
Hillis’ ordeal occurred away from TV cameras at Pensacola Beach, a popular vacation spot, on Wednesday, January 4 when his children got into trouble in the water. According to reports from WJW Fox 8 News, Escambia County Public Safety said that rip currents were a concern along their eight miles of Gulf Coast beaches on Wednesday.
Peyton Hillis is a real-life Super Hero
The incident was apparently not recorded on video, but apparently, the kids may have gotten caught in the rip current, and somehow Hillis was able to assist them, but couldn’t get himself out, and professionals were called to the scene to help him.
Peyton Hillis is a dang Super Hero. He saved his kids from drowning in the ocean while putting his own life in danger for the sake of his family. Glad to hear he is on the road to recovery after being in critical condition.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 6, 2023
A rip current is a current that flows away from the shoreline toward the ocean and can be as much as 80 feet wide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. They can definitely be life-threatening. NOAA advises if you get caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore till you get out of it, rather than trying to swim directly towards shore and overpower the rip current because the speed of a rip current can be faster than an Olympic swimmer. If it can mess with a big strong NFL football player, it can for sure mess with the rest of us.
This has been a life-and-death struggle, just as the Hamlin situation has been. Hillis has already saved the lives of three of his children and is a hero way beyond any accomplishment on the football field. It no longer matters about the salary cap or who the quarterback is or who is calling the plays or any of that trivia. This is life and death.
The final issue has been whether Hillis was going to be able to save his own life.
Hillis has been out of the league since 2014 after a seven-year pro career, including one massive season with the Browns in 2010 when he was unstoppable. After that, he was still an NFL running back, but he was not quite healthy. He played four more years in the League, however.
So, DPD urges its fans to continue to pray for Peyton Hillis, his family, and his friends.
