Orchard Park, NY (WBEN) Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins returned to training camp Tuesday after coming off the COVID19 list. Dawkins says he got COVID less than two weeks after getting the second dose, and was hospitalized for four days.
From a football standpoint, Dawkins says his conditioning took a hit, "but I'm starting to feel more and more like myself everyday," working out without overstressing his body.
He called having COVID the lowest time in his life. "I had never thought I could get that low because I'm so animated. That hit hard, even with the mental stuff. It hit every part of me, and I was shocked," says Dawkins.
He says the hardest part was being in the hospital. "I was like, I'm in the hospital, my team is out there working, and I'm here. I can't help if I'm not present," says Dawkins. "I was in there for four days. They had me on fluids just trying to get me back. If there was a checklist it had everything. It was shortness of breath, the hot and cold, the cough, everything was at its worst."
When it came to the vaccine, Dawkins says he didn't know what to believe at first becomes of the unknowns, but he took the initiative to get the vaccine because he wanted to do what he thought was right. "The message I would say, is do what you're most comfortable with. I'm glad I had the vaccine when I had COVID. I wish I were fully vaccinated. I was right there before the fully vaccinated point. I think it would've been easier on myself," says Dawkins. He encourages people to do their research and follow what their heart says. Dawkins says he doesn't think teammate Cole Beasley was downplaying the vaccine, rather the information given to him.
Dawkins says teammates had questions for him. "They want knowledge of what was going on. I told them the honest truth. The quarantine period, being away from my family, letting them understand that's a point you don't want to get to," notes Dawkins.
Dawkins says the only to get into football shape is to play football.