Former NFL player Myron Rolle is now on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight after turning in his helmet for scrubs years ago.
As a neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, the former Tennessee Titans defensive back spoke to ESPN about working to save patients diagnosed with COVID-19. People magazine reported on the interview April 1. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
“Our neurosurgical floor has been transformed into a floor just full of COVID-19 patients,” Rolle shared. “It is hectic, that’s for sure.” (RELATED: Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC)
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“I was seeing so many individuals with respiratory distress and respiratory compromise, and the numbers are staggering,” he added. “Our bed space, our operating rooms may even be turned into ICUs because there are so many people that are either positive with COVID-19 or suspected of having it.”
“Coming off a 24hr shift. Our hospital has enacted a mandatory ‘mask on’ at all times policy,” the NFL player continued in a recent Instagram post. “Future already told us to keep our ‘mask on’ and give out prescription pills when indicated lol. For real though … stay safe, everyone. Do your part.”
Rolle, who was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft in 2010 by the Titans walked away from the football field in 2013 and enrolled in medical school to become a brain surgeon.
And his football experience has stuck with him, as Rolle shared that every day he wakes up and approaches his work at the hospital with the same attitude during the pandemic.
“Football has never left me,” Myron shared. “I still wake up in the morning and think of the operating room like a game, like it’s showtime, let’s perform. I gotta do what I gotta do because people are counting on us right now.”
“This is our time to help very sick people,” he added. “So that motivation continues to drive me every single day.”