In January, Nina Koppang suffered from blood clots in her lungs which in turn had affected the heart.
After an eight-month absence, she made a long-awaited comeback - and in mid-October she then received the news that she had taken a place in the Swedish European Championship squad.
- It was total joy to see her name in the squad, especially considering that I know how much it means to her to be included and how much she dreamed and thought about this during the time she was ill.
Maybe it wasn't something that was a priority during her illness, but I think it was always in the back of her mind somewhere, says Koppang's half-sister, soccer professional Stina Blackstenius, who is currently in Australia with the national team to prepare for the WC next year.
Setback directly in Slovenia
But once in Slovenia, where the EC is decided, Koppang received the next sad news: she had tested positive for covid-19 and was quarantined.
Meanwhile, Blackstenius has been helping his sister pass the time during the days in isolation.
- When I spoke to her, she didn't really know when she was going to come out, but I just tried to point out that she should continue to be hopeful that she would get another negative answer as soon as possible, that hopefully they have a long way to go in this championship and that she will hopefully have time to be there and that's how it turned out, says Blackstenius, who follows the Swedish handball ladies with great interest even though she is a lot of time zones away.
- It was perfect with jet lag this morning so I could get up early and watch Sweden's match against Denmark, even if it wasn't a positive result, it's clear that I want to follow the championship, partly because I think it's fun myself but also of course because Nina is there.