On 1 February this year, PFAI General Secretary Stephen McGuinness was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.
On 15 February, surgeons at the Mater Hospital in Dublin removed three-quarters of McGuinness' stomach, as well as his large intestine.
Some eight months later the 48-year-old husband and father is around to reflect on what has been a traumatic period in his life. Things, perhaps, could have been different if McGuinness had paid attention to what his body was telling him. And so we are reminded of the expression: 'your health is your wealth'.
Nobody is impenetrable to ailments, either mild or severe.
In a frank discussion on RTE's Game On, McGuinness spoke initially on the feeling of invincibility around his health.
"From fatigue to passing of blood, those were some of things I didn't react to over the last year. I put that down to thinking I was invincible," he said.
"A former player, now acting as a representative to current players, I wasn't going to get sick. I hadn't been to a doctor in 30 years, never took a tablet for a headache in my life. There's no way I can be sick. Nothing is going to affect me.
"I couldn't deal with what had happened. I couldn't move out the the house for a few months, I couldn't talk to anybody"
"I didn't react to the warning signs. I should have been getting blood tests every year. I should have been going to the doctor when the warning signs were there. That meant the cancer had grown from my large intestine into my stomach. That meant a massive operation, they had to take away three quarters of my stomach as well as the large intestine. It took a lot longer recovery than what it should have been."
And then the recovery period followed. It wasn't just the physical pain that needed attention.
"I really struggled with the mental side of things," McGuinness revealed. "The mental scars were far more deep-rooted than the physical scars.
"I couldn't deal with what had happened. I couldn't move out the the house for a few months, I couldn't talk to anybody. I didn't want to see anybody, I was living from sleeping tablet to sleeping tablet. In my job players came to me with mental issues, now I have to deal with it.
"I didn't like myself being vulnerable, my family always saw me up and about, taking the kids to training, coaching my son's team. To then find yourself bed-ridden and to ask yourself who is that person? That's not me. I'm 6ft 2, 15st, not 11st 11lbs, crunched over and can't move. That took a good few months to get my head around that.
"The signals from my stomach to my brain weren't functioning because my stomach was removed. It took a long time for that to come back. I had to train myself to eat again."
"When I put on a few pounds my confidence started to grow again."
The @PFAIOfficial's Stephen McGuinness speaks to @GameOn2FM @mariecrowe about their advice to players in regard to Covid-19 vaccines and he also discusses the accuracy of purported figures for vaccination rates among footballers #RTESoccer pic.twitter.com/KBnMGxVCPA
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 6, 2021
The support from family and friends was key in McGuinness not wanting the days to rain or get dark quickly anymore.
Alan Moore, former Irish international, now working for Wigan as a scout, is a close friend. He would travel over from England and wait at outside the front door for McGuinness to emerge from the dark room.
"I should have been meeting people, locking myself away wasn't good. I didn't like myself being vulnerable.
"I wasn't the same person, now need to make sure I look after myself in my head and body. I'm stronger for it. I still take anti-depressant tablets and sleeping tablets but my friends and family were telling me I was getting better and urged me to keep going."
The football family also played their part.
"People at Shamrock Rovers and particularly Bohemians were really helpful to me. They helped me out in so many ways. I can't thank them enough. I'm lucky to be involved in a sport where people care about each other. I think of the battles I've had with the FAI and different clubs, but when it came down to it so many people were in touch to help. I can't thank them enough.
That's why we're involved in sport. It's not all about success. It's great to see people there to help you.
Now, even more so a representative for those who play the game, McGuinness is at pains to shout out that your health is your wealth and that warning signs, however small or trivial, should not be ignored.
