ANTRIM and Lámh Dhearg footballer Marc Jordan has opened up about his ongoing battle with Covid-19 and says his experience is an illustration of how serious the virus can be for people of all ages.
On the eve of Lámh Dhearg’s Antrim Senior Football Championship semi-final against defending champions Cargin, Jordan began to feel unwell and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
Although he was able to recover at home, he said the virus “floored” him for 10 days and he shed one and a half stone of body weight.
Jordan admits, with the benefit of hindsight, he should not have re-joined the Antrim squad in the autumn and revealed he has only recently returned to full fitness, but he still can’t smell and his sense of taste remains poor – almost five months after testing positive.
However, his motivation to play for Antrim was born out of frustration after missing Lámh Dhearg’s eagerly anticipated rematch with Cargin – a repeat of 2019’s replayed county final.
Jordan was due to start in the half-forward line against the Toome outfit, but he first started feeling unwell the night before the game. As it transpired, he became too ill even to watch the live stream of the match at Naomh Éanna.
“We trained on the Wednesday or the Thursday night and I was in the team to play against Cargin and I felt fine on the Friday,” said Jordan.
“It was only that evening, the night before the game, I started to feel unwell. I woke up in the middle of the night and I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.
“I rang Marty Lynch (Lámh Dhearg’s manager) at around 7am and told him there was no chance I’d be able to play.
“I knew at that stage I had it (Covid-19). If there was any chance I could have played even 10 minutes, I would have, but it floored me and I knew I couldn’t play.
“I had my test before the game and obviously I couldn’t go near the match. I found out on the Sunday morning I had the virus.”
Jordan’s enforced absence was the first of a double blow for the Hannahstown men as fellow attacker Eoin McKeown was also ruled out after signing a contract with Irish Premiership side Ballymena United in the days leading up to the semi-final clash with Cargin.
To compound matters, Lámh Dhearg also lost Ben Rice to injury at half-time and the county champions progressed to the SFC final with a 3-9 to 1-16 victory at Hightown.
Cargin would go on to claim their third successive county Championship with a win over neighbours Creggan in the decider while the Red Hands, and Jordan in particular, were left to ponder what might have been.
“I wasn’t even fit to watch the live stream – I spent most of that Saturday in bed,” added Jordan.
“I watched it back on Sunday and, after we lost by two points, you end up thinking could you have made the difference?
“I was just so pissed off because we’d been training away since March and it was always in the back of our mind that we’d get another crack at Cargin in the Championship.
“All the training sessions and the work you do on our own... I then think I overcompensated trying to get back playing for the county.”
Jordan returned to play in the National League for Antrim but admits he was nowhere near full fitness
Although Jordan went on to feature for Antrim in their two Allianz Football League games against Wicklow and Waterford and their Ulster SFC loss to eventual champions Cavan, he was still struggling with the effects of what is now known as long Covid.
He was substituted before half-time in the heavy loss to Wicklow in Aughrim and in the subsequent victory over Waterford in Dundalk while he brought on for the final quarter in the narrow defeat to the Breffnimen.
The 27-year-old teacher also has a stark warning for those who still believe that the deadly virus only targets the elderly and people with underlying health conditions.
“I remember thinking, if the virus can do this to me, what would it be like for someone who has health problem or is older? It is scary,” stated Jordan.
“I didn’t even want to tell too many people I had it back in September and when I told my mates how bad I was, they couldn’t believe it.
“They saw the weight that I lost and I think it was a shock to them. My teammates also picked up on the fact that I was towards the back doing runs at training when I would normally be towards the front.
“I’ve only recently got myself back to the levels of fitness I was at before I tested positive – maybe two or three weeks ago. I still can’t smell a thing and my sense of taste is poor enough.
“In class, I wouldn’t have tried to make the kids overly conscious about the virus whereas now you try to promote hand-washing and distancing. You’d hate for someone to bring it back to their home.
“The day I got the virus, my dad had to help me down the stairs. I lay across the back of his car with a blanket around me.
“Not that I was flouting the rules or anything before, but it definitely gave me a kick up the backside.
“It really hits home how serious this virus is. I’m young and healthy and it completely floored me.”
