‘You are a huge risk to people when you have something so contagious’
IT’S more than three months since Siobhan Killeen contracted Covid-19, and she still hasn’t come right. At 27, and after recovering from a serious hamstring injury, the Dublin footballer would expect to be in peak condition but for the virus. She knows she is edging closer to where she was physically before she tested positive in March when the virus came at her suddenly.
Killeen is a radiographer at the Mater Hospital. She took on extra shifts on the weekend after St Patrick’s Day. It was all hands on deck across the health service and radiographers play a key role in diagnosing Covid-19. She was happy to help as the country went in to the early phase of the pandemic. On Sunday afternoon everything was normal but soon Killeen started to feel symptoms and they escalated quickly.
“I had done some overtime on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I was feeling great and trained each of those days.
I was fine and had gone for a cycle just before my symptoms started. I was well and then the symptoms came on me all of a sudden.
“I had a temperature and was sweating and I remember giving out about the heating. Then I started to get aches in my legs. As an athlete, I always have aches and pains. I’m coming back from an injury so my right leg is constantly at me but this felt different. I had a headache and within an hour of my fever starting, I thought, ‘Oh crap, this is something I need to be careful of ’.”
As she had none of the respiratory symptoms people were told to look out for, she hoped she had picked up something else. But as a frontline worker, Killeen knew she had to act fast. She was concerned about her patients and her family, and says her experience highlights how young people are vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19.
She called in sick to work on the Monday, was tested later that afternoon and was given her results the following day. Yet when news broke that she had tested positive, she was criticised. People accused her online of only being able to get quick access to a test because of her role in the Dublin football set-up.
“There was a backlog for tests at the time so I got a backlash online for having got the test so quickly. Rather than a hospital worker, people saw the Dublin footballer.
“I took no heed to it. I am happy with how it was done because I wasn’t tested for my own interest, it was for my patients and my colleagues.”
However, the diagnosis was tinged with guilt. Contact tracing has not determined how Killeen picked up the virus but she was worried she may have passed it on.
“It’s weird finding out you have it, because there’s an immediate concern for your own health and you are a huge risk to people because you have something that is so contagious.
“You are a danger to people. You are a danger to your family and I was fearful I could pass it on to my mother and father who I live with. They are both in their 60s.
“I was asked during the contact tracing if I had any underlying conditions, and my mother and father would have answered yes to some of those. They were vulnerable and, statistically, are considered a risk. That’s where my biggest fear was.”
Killeen isolated at home until she was well enough to get back to normal. She tested negative and was able to get back to work.
“I’m probably very much nearly there [recovered]. I have days where I feel extremely tired, and others where I feel back to normal. So I think I am nearly there.”
With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, she is back training with her clubmates. She said the imminent return of sporting action is to be welcomed.
“We need something to look forward to.
“My dad is very keen to watch live sport and has been down at the park looking at a few teams training. That has given me confidence to go back and play, because it is important for players but also for spectators and fans who miss the games.”