Hawthorn's AFLW coach Bec Goddard OAM dreads to think what would have happened if she had not gotten a COVID-19 jab, after her own ordeal, and is backing the AFL's vaccine mandate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The 43-year-old and her partner contracted COVID in Canberra more than three weeks ago.
The pair have been able to get back to certain aspects of their life as they recover, however, Goddard still has no sense of smell or taste, unless she is eating one thing - a banana.
"Initially it was sort of cold and flu like symptoms and then it got much, much worse. I had uncontrollable fevers, lost my taste and smell ... and then I actually turned jaundice as well," she said.
"By about day 10, all of a sudden, my fevers stopped and I started to really improve. I was able to sit up and talk again, and my heart rate stayed at normal ... the blood oxygen levels, all that type of thing started to recover. So I just dread to think what would have happened if I wasn't vaccinated."
MORE IN CANBERRA SPORT:
The AFL has mandated vaccinations for all players and staff ahead of next season, which has been met with some hesitation and anti-vax rhetoric.
Goddard is backing the AFL's decision. She received the AstraZeneca vaccine in July, as a frontline worker with the Australia Federal Police, and said it likely prevented her hospitalisation.
"I really believe that it was one of the most important things that ended up with me not taking up a space at the hospital and also contributed to keeping people around me safe and healthy," she said.
"We want to be able to have fans back at the footy next year. We want to be able to have local footy and we want to have elite footy, and I think one of those things that we can do is go and get vaccinated.
"I understand that that word mandate is scary, but it is really about everyone else, it's not about me. Getting vaccinated is one thing I can do that keeps others safe and healthy."
Her partner's diagnosis four days earlier meant the pair were also separated, before Goddard herself received a COVID-positive result.
The inaugural Adelaide Crows coach said this was one of the hardest parts.
"That was quite difficult," she said.
"You're isolated from your partner and your loved ones, and your work, and you start thinking about the stigma associated with it.
"Like how did I get it? Where did I get it? What did I do? Did I not wash my hands properly? Did I not wear a mask properly, but the reality of it is that even if you've done all the right things, you can still get it."
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
