Ex-swifts man tells of ‘excruciating’ pain
FORMER Dungannon Swifts manager Harry Fay has described the terrifying ordeal he went through after contracting Covid-19.
The Portadown man is now recovering at home after spending three days in Craigavon Area Hospital last weekend.
Mr Fay (57) said he began to feel unwell last Wednesday with chest pains and flu-like symptoms.
“I don’t know what possessed me but I rang 111 and they told me that I had all the symptoms of coronavirus, I needed to self-isolate and if my condition got any worse then I had to ring them back,” he said.
“The next day I
felt poorly and my chest was still very, very tight. I woke in the middle of the night again and the bed was soaking with sweat.
“I started getting real pains in my chest and the next morning the pain just got worse.
“My wife rang 111 and they told her to ring 999 straight away. The ambulance was there in 10 or 15 minutes and at that stage I was doubled over in pain.”
After arriving at A&E in Craigavon, the former Newry City player, who has also been on the coaching staff at Cliftonville and Warrenpoint Town, underwent a number of tests but it wasn’t until after he collapsed that he was finally swabbed for Covid-19.
“They said the virus had attacked the muscles in my chest wall and that’s what gave me the excruciating pain,” he said.
“They told me that I had tested positive for coronavirus and it was one of them moments where time stands still.”
Mr Fay returned home on Sunday and is still in isolation with his wife and daughter but he’s getting stronger every day.