Hamilton makes his season debut, weeks after kitchen accident

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Antonio Hamilton made his season debut on Sunday, just six weeks after severely burning his feet in a freak cooking accident.

For the first time, the Cards’ cornerback is sharing what he went through. He entered the interview room on Monday without shoes or socks. He says he often goes barefoot these days because a month ago, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to feel the ground with his feet again.

Hamilton, at that point, was in a dark and painful place after suffering deep second-degree and some third-degree burns.

“The first week was okay. The second week was total hell. I could barely touch my feet without feeling like I needed to tear down the house. Like because of the place that I was in,” he said.

Hamilton was coming off the best summer of his professional career, named a starting corner by Kliff Kingsbury when a brand new pot went up in flames in his kitchen

“All just being taken away in 30 seconds. Like literally 30 seconds. That’s the time that it took. And it all just fell on me all at once. It was all gone. Like, I couldn’t play with my kids the way I want to, and like, and I’m a dad, dad, I’m not just a football player. No, I’m a dad, and I go home. I play with my kids. I leave here, and I’m dad,” he said.

The 29-year-old says he relied on his two little girls, his wife, and his faith to crawl out of the dark hole. Nevertheless, Hamilton believes he was meant to go through this.

“Not to say that I, you know, when I went through it, I didn’t have my doubts, or my faith didn’t shrink. Oh, it did. I questioned God a lot. Just why, just why, just why. Just give me the sign, and I think that’s what it was. I was supposed to be just a beacon of light just to, you know, to continue to show people like what it is to stand strong in your faith no matter what the situation looks like,” he said.

Hamilton’s situation looks a lot better. His skin now healed, and he was out there for 16 defensive plays on Sunday despite only getting a couple of hours of work on the practice field since the accident.

“As soon as I stepped out on that field, it just oozed out and going through my mind right now. Like, I’m just thankful. I just have a lot of gratitude. Man, it feels so good just to get back out there and do it all over again. And no just taking every play, every rep, every second of it, you know, and being thankful for it,” he said.

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