LISTEN: Jeremy Jarmon Describes his Experience on the COVID-19 Frontlines with Paul Finebaum

by:Nick Roush05/09/20

@RoushKSR

[caption id="attachment_298336" align="alignnone" width="595"] @DoubleJJ99[/caption] You probably know Jeremy Jarmon best for his All-SEC 2007 season on Kentucky's defensive line. You also hear him before every Kentucky football game on the UK Sports Network. You probably did not know that he's now a nurse, working on the frontlines during the coronavirus pandemic. Friday afternoon Jarmon joined The Paul Finebaum Show to share his unique perspective with football fans across America. When the pandemic first hit his community in Gallatin, TN, his eyes could not believe what they were seeing. "It was an unbelievable sight," he said. "Dozens of ambulances rolling in with those patients, patients that we knew that we had relationships with, some of which passed, some of which improved. From the family aspect it's absolutely a scary situation having a newborn, no immune system, and that's the case for all of the nurses. The med-surg unit I'm on, we've got nurses that are pregnant, Paul; nurses that are actively breastfeeding their kids that are still coming in and working, putting in overtime, completely being selfless and risking their lives not having a lot of information. "It was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen, that I've ever been a part of watching the community come together with drive-by parades for the staff, churches making meals for the staff. At hotels people are offering up rooms for nurses to stay free of charge, unsure of whether they were going to transmit the virus to their kids and to their families. It's just something I never thought in my life I would experience. I'm so proud of the team I'm a part of now here at Sumner Regional." Jarmon's son, Jeremiah, is three-months-old. To make sure he isn't bringing the virus into his home, once he returns from work Jarmon immediately throws his clothes into the washer. He then washes himself thoroughly. "I'm keeping these nails manicured, Paul." For Jarmon, the coronavirus is personal. Not only is it changing how he's interacting around his newborn, he's seeing families suffer. "I find myself looking at the TV and saying, this is a real family. This is a real family with real people, real Christians out here that are being affected. Real communities -- I just think there is so much information some of it bad, some of it good. I think the No. 1 thing you can do is have proper hygiene, proper nutrition." The cleaner you are, the more unlikely it is that you will come in contact with the virus. The healthier you are, the more prepared your body will be to fight coronavirus if you do contract it. As more and more people discuss the next steps in fighting coronavirus and reopening the economy, Jarmon is one of a few that falls in the Venn diagram that includes "former SEC football players" and "medical professionals." Like most, he's not ready to say when we will be ready for college football. "I still think we gotta get more information before we're making those kind of decisions. Hopefully those decisions aren't being based on the monetary aspects. That's where maybe the government can come in provide insurance to schools. We understand that you have some outstanding bonds out here from construction projects, but if we need to put this thing on hold, let's have a plan in place to do that without penalizing the schools. "Me more than anybody, being an analyst for UK Sports Network, I wanna see some football this fall. But I don't want to see football at the expense of people losing loved ones, friends, family or grandparents. It's not worth it at that point. It's just not. I do think Kentucky's going to win the East if there is a football season, Paul." You heard it here first, folks. Kentucky is winning the SEC East. Sharpie. [audio m4a="https://kentuckysportsradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Jarmon-on-Finebaum.m4a"][/audio]

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