Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin appeared on Good Morning America for his first official interview since his on-field collapse in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.

Hamlin joined host Michael Strahan and thanked Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who he says saved his life on the field.

“I owe Denny my life, literally,” Hamlin told Strahan. “He loves to say he was just doing his job, which is true, that night he was literally the savior of my life, administering CPR on me. He would say he was just doing his job, but if it wasn’t for someone showing up that day with a clear mind and whatever was going on in their personal life, just to put it aside, just to be present in the moment to actually be able to do the job correctly, that’s something I’m truly grateful for and I don’t take for granted.”

Hamlin was at the NFL Honors on Thursday, where he received a standing ovation after being introduced by Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Before he entered the stage, the awards show played a lengthy montage detailing the medical staff’s efforts, and then welcomed members of the Bills and Bengals training and medical staffs as well as the University of Cincinnati Medical Center to the stage.

This was was Hamlin’s second time being honored this week, after receiving the Alan Page Community Award on Wednesday for his work raising more than $9 million for his Chasing M’s Foundation.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Photo courtsey of Syracuse.com

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