ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Soccer Sam Fantauzzo was at home watching the Bills vs. Cincinnati game when Damar Hamlin was tackled and then went into cardiac arrest. 

Fantauzzo said he broke down because it reminded him of what he went through more than a decade ago. He suffered a stroke following a complication from undergoing weight loss surgery and endured a long recovery.

Though the news came out about Kim Pegula's cardiac arrest after that of Damar Hamlin, Fantauzzo felt the pain of both of them. He has a message, not only for them, but for anyone who suffered something similar.

After Damar Hamlins hit, Fantauzzo, along with the rest of the world, watched as EMTs took Hamlin away in an ambulance. As the weeks went on, Hamlin progressed and was eventually released from the hospital. 

"When I saw Damar Hamlin at the Super Bowl, man, I was like, so relieved," Fantauzzo said. "I saw him with a cell phone in his hand. I think, 'okay, the poor guy can't move his arm right now.' But then when he moved his arm and all that because the brain is so complicated, there are so many lights in your brain. So I didn't understand, like, how it affected him. But I think right now it's probably more emotional and mental for him than it is physical."

"I think with Kim Pegula, the same thing," Fantauzzo continued. "She's young, 53 years old. She's healthy. I think she'll come back. It's just going to take a while."

For anyone who is going through a similar situation, Fantauzzo has some words of wisdom.

"Focus on the positive and don't focus on the negative," he said. "Don't focus on your weaknesses. Focus on what your strengths are. That's what I've tried to do forever. I honestly can't make a pizza right now, so I stay away from that department. But the marketing part of the brain works well, so I focus on that. So yeah, I forgot some things. I had to adjust but, you know, make the best of what you got."

"If Damar can't play football anymore, you get into the business a different way," Fantauzzo added. "A coach, you know, gives back to the community. Kim you know, it might take a little longer than she expects, but within a couple of years, you'll be close to being normal again. Just, just rock and roll with it. Rock and roll with the new Kim and I'm rock and roll doing Soccer Sam and that's who I am. And I'm just going to go with it."

According to the American Heart Association, more than 430,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest. If CPR is administered right after cardiac arrest, it doubles or even triples a person's chance of survival.