On March 13, Grant Callanan, a senior midfielder for the Curry College men’s lacrosse team played in a 14-3 victory over Husson at the first New England Lacrosse Classic at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland.
That was the final game of the Tewksbury native’s college career. After that contest, the remainder of the season was promptly canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 campaign lasted just five games for Curry (1-4), which earned its only victory in that abrupt and emotional season finale. Callanan, a defensive midfielder, appeared in seven career games with one start and one assist.
However, once that seven-hour bus ride from Maryland back to Milton was complete, Callanan, a nursing major, would soon be providing contributions far more impactful that anything he could’ve done on the lacrosse field.
The 2016 graduate of Tewksbury High is now working at Massachusetts General Hospital in a Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit. He’s had a first-hand look at what life is like in a hospital during this unsettling and unprecedented global health crisis. It’s been a seismic life change for someone, who just six weeks ago, was firmly invested in his senior season of college lacrosse.
Callanan was able to step away from his busy schedule to answer some questions, via email, about what his experience at MGH has been like during the COVID-19 outbreak. He also reflected on the sudden disappointing conclusion of his athletic career.
What are your typical days like at MGH and what are you seeing?
Callanan: “Upon walking up to the main entrance of MGH, I will find myself on my phone browsing to the link to complete the daily COVID survey in order to qualify for work. On this survey, it lists all of the major symptoms of the virus, and upon verifying your lack of symptoms, you are issued your daily ‘COVID Pass’ that is checked upon entrance, allowing you to work your shift. After this, you are ushered to the left by security to wait in a line for hand sanitizer and a face mask. You must put your facemask on before leaving the lobby of the hospital and the mask is not meant to leave your face for the entirety of your shift. My next move is to then go on to Coffee Central, the in-house coffee shop to get some caffeine to start my shift. The line often gets long as there is tape marking the ground at every six feet in order to promote proper distancing. Once I arrive to my unit, I place all of my belongings in the back room, including my coffee and any water I may have as we cannot remove our masks while we are out on the floor. This is when you will begin to see the nurses of the previous shift preparing to leave as they change out of the scrubs they wore for their shift. They will often place them in a plastic bag and change into regular clothes as to not go home wearing clothes that could spread the virus. My day then goes on helping the nurses with the care of the patients in any way possible. Many of the patients on our unit have to be ruled out for COVID-19 and an N95 must be worn at all times while in the room. It has taken practice putting on and taking off all of the PPE in the proper order to best promote your safety and the safety of others around you.”
How did you take the news of college spring sports being canceled?
Callanan: “We had been getting warned for a few days leading up to that moment that our season may be getting canceled. We had played MIT in a game three days prior to us finding out and their players had been telling us that this was their last game. That was a bit of an eye-opener and really just jaw-dropping that this virus really is no joke. We had a spring break trip to Maryland scheduled to take place two days later in which we were meant to play a tournament and our coach warned us to be mentally prepared for anything. We managed to get on the bus, and over the course of the seven-hour bus ride from Milton to Baltimore, Md., we began to see some of the biggest conferences in college sports begin to shut down. First, we saw the Ivy league go dark, then the ACC, SEC and the CAA and the cancellation of March Madness. It wasn’t until we had gotten there and practiced that we had heard that two of the four teams that were meant to be a part of the tournament had cancelled their trips. It began to feel like every time our coach spoke to us, there was always more bad news. The next day we went to Washington, D.C. and got to visit some of the monuments and that is where we found out that our school planned to announce the cancellation of its season by the end of the week and that we will be moving up the game and play the other team in a ‘championship’ the next day. It was very emotional and hard for the majority of the guys, but especially for our 12 seniors. We played our game at the U.S. Lacrosse facility and won, but what meant the most to all of us was how nobody wanted to walk off the field. Nobody wanted it to end or admit that it was over. After the game our team kept our equipment on and just hung out, laughed, smiled, made memories and made the most of the situation for what seemed like an hour after the game. That’s a memory I’ll keep for the rest of my life. Immediately after the game, we got back on the bus and rode seven hours back to campus. The bus ride was filled with emotions — people laughed, people cried, and others just remained silent in an attempt to come to terms that they would never wear another jersey for Curry College or play another minute of college sports. Upon returning back to campus we had no other choice but to clean out our lockers and move all of our belongings out of the field house. The players who lived on campus had 24 hours to get as much as they could and move off of campus.”
Overall, how was your college athletic experience?
Callanan: “My college athletic experience is one that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. The bonds and memories that I have made with every single one of those guys that wore the same jersey as me are priceless. It could be 6 a.m. on the field in the snow, with us pushing 45-pound plates up and down the turf and we would still find an excuse to make a joke or make light of the work we were putting in. I was blessed to be a part of this team when I was. We were a part of our team during the program’s first-ever win over Endicott and our first-ever playoff win over Roger Williams. I have been devastated and am still coping with the loss of our senior season, our last ride. But it’s the countless memories that I have made with my teammates and coaches that make it just a little bit easier.”
What are your post-college plans and what do you hope to be doing 10-15 years down the road?
Callanan: “I plan to take my NCLEX licensure exam and become a Registered Nurse here in Massachusetts. I currently don’t have any plans of going anywhere else, this is my home. Boston is one of the health care centers of the world and people come from all over to receive the care that is delivered in this city. Ten-to-15 years down the road is a little difficult to think about. If you asked me where I would be today four years ago, I probably would have said that I would be finishing up college and getting ready to walk at graduation. Things can change in the blink of an eye. This pandemic has stripped seniors all over the world of those last semester memories that people would have forever. I hope that 10-to-15 years from now that I will have established myself in my career and will have completed a Masters or even doctorate degree. I hope to have possibly established my own practice and made my parents proud.”
