Damar Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, spoke to CNN Correspondent Adrienne Broaddus outside of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

During their conversation, Glenn told Broaddus that he’s grateful for the Buffalo Bills’ medical staff’s quick action in resuscitating his nephew after cardiac arrest caused him to lose consciousness: “I just want to show my gratitude for the medical staff that were on hand because if f not for them, my nephew probably wouldn’t even been here.”

The Buffalo Bills were playing the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night when Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest that caused him to lose consciousness. It must be noted that Damar Hamlin’s attending physicians have not identified the cause of his cardiac arrest. During the first quarter of the game, Damar Hamlin tackled Cincinnati Bengal’s Wide Receiver Tee Higgins.

At first glance, everything seem normal. Hamlin and Higgins both stood up after the play. However, as Hamlin put his foot forward to walk towards his teammates, he fell backwards. Higgins, along with the other players on the field, immediately noticed that something was wrong.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Buffalo Bills medical staff rushed the field to aide Hamlin. Glenn told Broaddus that Hamlin had to be resuscitated two times. The first time Hamlin was resuscitated was on the field. The second time he was resuscitated was in the ambulance on his way to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH), a person's brain cells begin dying within 5 minutes after the person loses oxygen. If a person who loses consciousness is not given aide within the 5 minute time frame, the individual could die or have long lasting brain damage that leads to death at a later date. Therefore, the sooner a person receives oxygen, the greater the individual’s chances are of surviving and making a full recovery.

Due to the Buffalo Bills’ medical staff and the EMTs beginning the resuscitation process less than 1 minute after Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest, Hamlin chances of making a full recovery are greater than they would have been if the resuscitation process had begun outside the 5 minute time frame.