In honor of breast cancer awareness month Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Connor Sparrow visited the 13 unsung heroes from the Huntsman Cancer Hospitals Surgical Processing Unit at the University of Utah to learn about what it takes to keep surgical materials clean and everybody healthy.
Sparrow got the chance to dress in scrubs and help sterilize all of the surgical instruments at the institute, joining the team to help sterilize and clean the instruments used in surgeries and day-to-day care.
As a registered nurse, Sparrow already has a continuing interest in the medical field once his playing days are over and spoke fondly of his experience at the Huntsman Institute.
“I definitely gained a new respect for the people behind the scenes of the hospitals,” Sparrow said after his visit. “With some of the tools they use it can take up to three hours to clean. Even just a tiny little screw that they’d put it someone’s arm can take three hours to clean. It was really incredible to see how the staff there keeps everything and how amazing the place is.”
