Former NFL RB Peyton Hillis released from hospital, family says

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Former NFL running back Peyton Hillis was discharged from a Florida hospital on Thursday after rescuing his children from drowning in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month, his sister and girlfriend wrote on social media.

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Hillis, who turned 37 on Saturday, was a seven-year NFL veteran who played for the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs from 2008 to 2014. He pulled four people, including his children, from the water at Pensacola Beach on Jan. 4 and was airlifted to Pensacola’s Baptist Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, WEAR-TV reported.

Hillis was a former football star at the University of Arkansas before he played in the pros. Messages of joy were posted on social media by his girlfriend, singer-songwriter Angela Cole, and his sister, Hayley Davis.

Cole and Davis both posted their thanks on their social media accounts.

“The amount of love and gratitude I have for the incredible team that took care of Peyton is indescribable,” Cole wrote on her Instagram account. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“We are all so thankful for the prayers and kind words over the past few weeks/months,” Davis wrote in a Facebook post. “God has truly been with us and has carried us through. I am so thankful to know a mighty God during good times and bad.

While recovering, Hills was visited by Pensacola native and NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, WEAR reported.

Hillis was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft by Denver. After two seasons, Hillis was signed by Cleveland and later played for Kansas City and the Giants. He retired after the 2014 season.

Hillis rushed for 1,177 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in 2010 during his first season with Cleveland. In 2011, he was featured on the cover of the “Madden ‘12″ video game, according to ProFootball Talk.

Hillis shares two children with his ex-wife, Amanda Hillis, People reported.

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