‘We are forever grateful’: Former Bates College lacrosse player leaves hospital after fighting COVID-19

Jack Allard, a 25-year-old former Bates College lacrosse player, has left the hospital in Philadelphia where he battled COVID-19 over the past several weeks.

“Today, we are excited to share that Jack Allard has returned to his family and home,” Bates Men’s Lacrosse wrote on Twitter Friday. “Thank you, again, to those who supported Jack, his family, his teammates & loved ones these last few weeks. We are forever grateful.”

Today, we are excited to share that Jack Allard has returned to his family and home.

Thank you, again, to those who supported Jack, his family, his teammates & loved ones these last few weeks.

We are forever grateful. pic.twitter.com/raF2JhIlpG

— Bates Men’s Lacrosse (@BatesLacrosse) April 17, 2020

Allard, a former two-time All-American lacrosse player from Ridgewood, New Jersey, was first admitted to JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, on March 15 and tested positive for the coronavirus. He was later airlifted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where his family hoped he would receive the experimental drug remdesivir.

Allard, who was put in a medically induced coma, reportedly began experiencing back pain, fever, and vomiting on March 13. He did not have a cough and had not been out of the country before he started showing the symptoms.

The 2016 Bates graduate had no known pre-existing conditions.

Coronavirus CAN seriously impact young and healthy people. 25-year-old Jack Allard was a stand-out lacrosse player at Bate College and had no pre-existing conditions. Now, he’s on a ventilator fighting for his life. Details coming up on @newscentermaine pic.twitter.com/FXokap7WA9

— Hannah Dineen (@hannah_dineen) March 25, 2020

In a column published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Tuesday, his uncle, Nick Allard, former dean and president of Brooklyn Law School, wrote that Allard “has finally shown some slight improvement.”

On Friday, Ridgewood High School Boys Lacrosse tweeted a video that shows Allard walking out of the UPenn hospital.

A chorus of cheers and applause from nurses and staff erupted around him.

JACK ALLARD WALKS OUT OF UPENN 💪. BEST. NEWS. EVER. ⁦⁦@BatesLacrosse⁩ pic.twitter.com/mxvE011F8Q

— RHSBOYSLACROSSE (@RHSBOYSLACROSSE) April 17, 2020