US Lacrosse Magazine will update this story when necessary. You can read the original story below.
Update: Thursday, March 26
9:00 a.m.
According to a story by Randy Whitehouse of the Sun Journal, Allard has shown positive signs in his recovery. Genny Allard, Jack Allard’s mother, sent a text to Bates coach Peter Lasagna expressing confidence in her son’s treatment at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Jack’s oxygen levels continue to improve,” Lasagna told Whitehouse. “If his liver function numbers get better he could start the new drugs (Thursday).”
Update: Wednesday, March 25
9:30 a.m.
Multiple reports say that Jack Allard has been airlifted from JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J, to the University of Pennsylvania to undergo a clinical trial of remdesivir.
“Remdesivir is one of the antivirals that has been shown to limit the viral activity,” Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn, an infectious disease professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told PIX11 News. “It’s being studied at 75 sites globally and lots of sites in the United States.”
Original Story
The last few days for the Bates men’s lacrosse community have been, in a word, sobering.
Jack Allard, a 2016 graduate and former All-American attackman, is in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19, according to The New York Times.
In an interview with US Lacrosse Magazine, Bates head coach Peter Lasagna hoped that Allard’s situation causes others to realize the severity of the virus. Only 25, Allard is from New Jersey and works as an associate at Bank of America in Manhattan.
“It’s times like these when all those things you look for when recruiting — toughness, resiliency, togetherness — and someone you care about so deeply is in an induced coma, that they can summon those qualities,” Lasagna said. “Jack didn’t become a two-time All-American and become one of the best players in program history because he’s running a 4.3 [second] 40-yard dash and is super strong.
“No, he’s a slight 5-foot-9 wizard with his stick. If there’s anyone who achieved great things because of single-minded resolve and purpose, it’s him. I hope those same traits guide him now.”
Allard is awaiting approval for the experimental drug remdesivir, following delayed testing results and drug maker Gilead shutting down its emergency access program. The situation leaves Allard and has family in limbo, unsure of what the future holds as the novel coronavirus spreads nationwide.
If there’s been a silver lining through all this, Lasagna said, it’s been seeing the outpour of support from the Bates lacrosse community. He sent an email this morning to alumni and current families via Front Rush. Lasagna appropriately called it a Bobcat Blast. Within 15 minutes, Lasagna had 50 responses in his inbox from alumni stretching back to the 1970s and 1980s.
Instead of just being a statistic on TV or an unknown name in a news story, COVID-19’s real-world impact hit close to home.
“We all want to live in this somewhat fantasy world that if we just get isolated and live smart and do all that healthcare professionals tell us to do that we’ll be spared,” Lasagna said. “Then something pierces that protective armor. It’s a moment of, ‘This is my family, this is someone I love, this is someone I care about,’ and it’s real. Everyone exists on that precipice of fear, and then it comes smashing through and it’s visceral.”
At first, Allard’s family handled the situation with privacy and discretion. But once matters progressed, they shifted to understanding that Allard’s story could connect with the broader lacrosse world.
Lasagna cited conversations with senior co-captain William Holland, who’s also from Ridgewood, N.J., and is friendly with the family. Eventually, word spread around the NESCAC program, a short period after, their 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
“Will’s message was one of, ‘I think it’s really important right now to the guys on the team who are between 18 and 21 or 22 to hear this,’” Lasagna said. “Hopefully, it impacts the way they view this crisis and what their daily behaviors are.”
As Allard’s health situation unfolds, Lasagna is searching for positives. Those yearnings have landed on the power of human connection, with the broader lacrosse community rallying around a former star who’s reminded everyone that COVID-19 can impact those young and old.
“We’re all struggling right now to find ways to stay connected to other humans when we’re isolated,” Lasagna said. “This is something where we can stay together, hoping for the best.”