(Written by Adam Prescott)
Memorial Day, 2020. While most people were looking to escape quarantine and regain some normalcy, the world had different plans for Otterbein student-athlete Nick Clay.
A starting attackman for the men’s lacrosse team, majoring in sport management, Clay had just finished his sophomore year (virtually) after sports were shut down in the midst of a budding pandemic. The middle brother of three had just woken up at his family’s home in Columbus… before life took a drastic turn.
“The only thing I remember was briefly waking up in the back of an ambulance,” Clay reflected. “Everything else for the next few days was a blur.”
Clay had suffered a seizure and was rushed to Riverside Hospital, where doctors ran tests and soon discovered anaplastic astrocytoma. The rare malignant brain tumor grows quickly, spreads to nearby tissue and can become cancerous. He was operated on within 24 hours and woke up three days later.
“It was just stunning,” said Colin Hartnett, Otterbein head men’s lacrosse coach, who received an initial text message from the family. “You can coach as long as you want, but nothing prepares you for something like that. Your primary thoughts are with Nick… but then how do I tell the team? What do you even say? A million things were going through our heads.”
If waking up in the hospital and learning you have brain cancer isn’t enough, imagine experiencing it alone. Aside from his mother (Paula) attending right before initial surgery as the lone “support person,” patients were unable to have visitors as a result of COVID protocols. Clay began speech therapy by himself, interacting with just a few nurses and doctors while family members were kept in the loop remotely.
“It was very frustrating, being in isolation and just wanting to go home,” Clay said. “But I just kept thinking about what I could do moving forward, and what’s the next step in getting back to where I was.”
Clay ultimately left the hospital as summer progressed, with radiation treatments and other chemotherapy pills along for the ride. For the next year, he would settle into a monthly schedule consisting of five days on and 23 days off. But he was back home and, despite no physical activity, resumed classes that fall and hasn’t missed a semester of school.
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Nick was making progress and the Clay’s were striving to get back into everyday life… until another massive curveball was thrown their way. Just two days before Christmas in 2020, Paula collapsed at the family home as Nick and older brother (Ryan) held her in their arms until the ambulance arrived.
The family ringleader, Paula tested positive for COVID and endured a serious fourth-month battle with extended time on a ventilator. Due to ongoing pandemic barriers, and Nick being considered high-risk, the family also hadn’t been able to see Paula that much to begin the New Year.
“She is our rock,” said Adam Clay, youngest of the brothers who also plays lacrosse for Otterbein. “It was tough seeing her go through that and not being there like you want to. You can’t stop what you’re doing, but we have always been a tight-knit family and do everything together. I think we have all become good at handling even the worst of situations.”
Athletics returned for Otterbein to begin the 2021 calendar but not much else was regular, or routine, in the Clay household as spring approached. Instead of helping oversee her son’s care like before, Paula was now just striving to walk again after coming home from the hospital in April. She tackled physical therapy over the next five months.
Nick began going to the doctor without her, and watched his brother/teammates play to an 11-4 record through live streams online. Adam, a defenseman, saw the field in all but one game as the Cardinals made the OAC Tournament semifinals.
“COVID had its barriers and you still want him feeling like he’s a part of things,” explained Hartnett, who sent Clay his #32 jersey and stopped by to visit the household at times. “But he has a solid group of friends on the team and they found ways to remain close.”
Nick was finally able to attend Otterbein’s last home game at Memorial Stadium and watch from the sidelines. The sizeable attackman had not only spent a full year away from the sport, but most physical exercise altogether based on the threat of another seizure. He remained “on watch” with periodic MRI’s… although the once crazy idea of playing lacrosse again was now inching toward a reality.
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Nick's competitive lacrosse journey started in the first grade.
“It’s been my life ever since,” said Clay, who won a state championship at Worthington Kilbourne High School as a sophomore. “It was always my favorite sport and spring was the best time of year. I just kept wanting to pursue it further.”
Clay didn’t get many offers to play in college, but Hartnett reached out during his senior year after previously coaching him a couple summers back. That relationship, coupled with former Kilbourne teammate Mike Roman excelling at Otterbein, made the decision a rather comfortable one.
But the game has always been most special because Adam and Nick, just one grade apart, did it together. Playing opposite positions on the field made it perfect for the duo to practice (1 on 1) against each other.
“Seeing him go through all of this is nothing I’ve ever wanted to experience… but I just tried being positive,” Adam began. “In addition to brothers, we have been friends and teammates since elementary school. It’s what made lacrosse fun and the biggest reason I also chose Otterbein.”
Nick might not appear like a typical lacrosse player to the average joe. But his bigger frame will beat you on the first step, leaning in hard and applying strong pressure to defensemen. It’s a large reason why he ranked third on the team in scoring (through six games) as a sophomore before COVID rolled through.
Off the field, those closest describe him as quiet and someone they can’t picture mad… rarely showing frustration. You just don’t rattle him. He takes everything in stride and does what has to be done. No complaining, no moaning. Qualities that surely play a huge role in battling cancer.
“With each passing MRI, I was just asking and asking doctors when I could play again,” Nick mentioned. “I kept waiting for the end of treatment and the answer I wanted…”
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That wish was granted and Nick (officially) rejoined the team for in-person activities as the 2021-22 school year began. He slowly worked back in and ramped up conditioning across the non-traditional fall campaign, all while meeting a plethora of new teammates.
“You have to remember, last year’s freshmen didn’t really know Nick,” Hartnett described. “They just knew we had this teammate who was struggling and getting treated for cancer. For a long time, we didn’t know how it might turn out. So now there were two classes which heard so much but never met him…
“It could have been a weird adjustment, but it’s undoubtedly been a positive element for us all,” Hartnett continued. “We have other guys whose family has been impacted by cancer issues. I think it helps everyone keep perspective and understand there can be more important things than lacrosse.”
After more than 700 days and 23 months away from the game, Nick appeared in the starting lineup for Otterbein’s season opener at Albion College… right alongside Adam. His goal midway through the second quarter was one that Paula, Ryan, his father (Rick) and extended members of the Clay family will likely remember ahead of other scores.
“I’m really proud of him for working back to this point,” Adam said. “It feels like how everything used to be.”
“It’s been awesome getting back on the field, being with the guys again to play other teams,” Nick added, “Scoring that first goal back was pretty cool.”
Clay plans to take a fifth year of eligibility in 2023 and pursue a career as an athletic director (high school or college) after graduation. For right now, though, his Cardinals are looking to turn around their 0-3 record after a difficult string of opponents to begin the schedule. Don’t think anyone will quit in Nick Clay’s presence.
“I always want to see the glass half full, with the chance to fill it back up instead of letting it empty,” he said, when asked if dying ever crept into his mind. “Do what you have to and get through. I never pictured it any other way and don’t remember a low point. I took every day as a chance to live and be better, so I could get back to what you see right now.”