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.