Just 10 days after having a surgical procedure to have his appendix removed, Galway inter-county star Michael Lundy was the man who got the crucial second goal for his club Corofin as they beat Mayo's Castlebar Mitchels to retain their Connacht title on Sunday.
"It was kind of a sudden thing. It came on Wednesday week it was, it came on Wednesday night, got an awful pain in my stomach and went to the doctor he told me I probably have appendicitis," he said of that diagnosis last week.
"I went into the hospital then and they checked and said that it's going to have to go, so that Thursday evening, they got it done fairly swiftly. I got the keyhole surgery and the appendix was gone."
Given the proximity of the Connacht club final, Lundy had concerns about his potential participation.
Corofins' Ciaran McGrath and Micheal Lundy lift the trophy ©INPHO/James Crombie
"I was just worried and the first question I asked was, 'What's the story with regards to playing and how quickly can I come back?' he said.
"In fairness, the doctor, he understood my circumstances and he said, 'Take it as it comes. See how you progress. Some people could react differently to surgery'. And luckily enough, mine seemed to be successful enough and the pain was gone there later on in the week and it was grand when I went running on Thursday evening. I did a bit myself and did a light training session with the team on Friday and it seemed fine and tested in in the warm-up in contact and it was okay and went from there."
While Corofin have enjoyed plenty of success in recent years nationally, provincially and at county level, Lundy missed Galway's 2016 Connacht inter-county triumph as he was in the New Year for the guts of a year.
"It was one of those things. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I got a year visa to go and live in New York which is something not a lot of people get a chance to do, and it's something that I always wanted to do to go and travel," he said of his time, living in Queens working for a construction company in the Big Apple and also played football for a Galway club there.
"I was unlucky that I missed out on the Connacht title but I was happy that I got the experience then and it was a nice year away from everything here in Ireland."
He added: "I suppose you're a bit jealous of the lads there, they're after winning a Connacht title but then a couple of hours later, you walk in and you're in the middle of Manhattan and you realise you're in New York and life isn't too bad after all."
The ample diversions both sporting and otherwise that are on offer in a big city were attractive for Lundy, who particularly enjoyed attending basketball matches in the city.
"I was a big fan of the basketball. I love basketball and I'd still follow it so any basketball event... I was happy enough to see LeBron James playing over there so I was lucky enough to see him."
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