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Arizona Cardinals wide receiver and future Hall of Famer, Larry Fitgerald, tested positive for Covid-19 in late November. The diagnosis forced the 37-year-old star to miss two weeks of action and brought an impressive streak of 246 weeks with at least one catch to an end.
The 13 days spent in isolation was a scary time for the veteran receiver. Fitzgerald shared his story with reporters this week and admitted that his “mind wandered to dark places” and he prepared for the worst-case scenario for the benefit of his family.
Fitzgerald said the scariest part about contracting the illness is that no one really has any concrete answers about ailments or recovery time.
“I think the scariest part, and I think anybody that’s had it, is nobody really can give you any answers,” Fitzgerald said. “You learn new information every single day. You feel symptoms and you ask, and nobody really can tell you, ‘It’s gonna be better,’ or, ‘This is how long it would usually last.’
I mean, there’s no real answer, so your mind kind of wonders and you’re sitting at home, and you’re watching TV and you see the cases and you see the deaths across the nation, and all these things are running through your mind and, obviously, you worry. But, fortunately, I was able to get through it and I feel much better.”
The quarantine time helped Fitzgerald tackle a ton of projects at home, read a lot, and get his affairs in order just in case.
Fitzgerald also revised his will and estate planning and thought little about returning to the field and more about not dying.
“It was more so the immediate future, like, you know, staying alive and things of that nature,” Fitzgerald told reporters. “Football, and how long I play football, didn’t really cross my mind.”
Fitzgerald also spent a ton of time watching NFL games and looking at his phone, admitting to getting “about 200-400 text messages and calls a day.”
Fitzgerald still hasn’t recovered his ability to taste and smell and lost 9 pounds in the two weeks at home. Fitzgerald returned to practice Wednesday claiming this is the best he’s ever felt and the break helped heal a few nagging injuries.
[via ESPN]
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