Former NFL RB Peyton Hillis released from hospital after rescuing kids from water accident

Former NFL running back Peyton Hillis has been released from the hospital after rescuing his children from drowning in a water accident, according to his girlfriend Angela Cole.

Cole posted to Instagram on Friday a picture of the medical team that took care of Hillis at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida.

“The amount of love and gratitude I have for the incredible team that took care of Peyton is indescribable,” Cole wrote. “This picture does not have anywhere near the amount of people who took such great care of him.”

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Hillis had been in the hospital since Jan. 4 after reportedly aiding in a water rescue of four people that included his two children in the Gulf of Mexico.

Two adults and two children were struggling in the water when a bystander helped them get out, according to Escambia County emergency services.

Hillis was in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator before being taken off it last week, per Cole.

The former NFL running back played for five different teams after being drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round (No. 227 overall) out of Arkansas in 2008.

His best season came with the Cleveland Browns in 2010 when he rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with 477 receiving yards on 61 grabs for two scores en route to being on the cover of Madden 12.

Hillis, now 36, retired in 2015 after seven years in the league after also playing for the Kansas City Chiefs (2012) and New York Giants (2013-14).

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