Kam Martin hasn’t seen his mother, Marion Harris, in more than six weeks.

It hasn’t been by choice for the former Auburn running back, who has been staying with one of his aunts in Houston as he trains for this week’s NFL Draft. Despite being just 90 miles from his family in Port Arthur, Texas, over the last month and a half, Martin has had to stay away from his home as his mother battled — and overcame — COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“It was kind of like — it was all fun and games because people were joking around about (the coronavirus), and then boom, it hit,” Martin told AL.com. “Then it hit my family, so I had to just make sure that we were doing the right thing so she could get rid of it…. The craziest thing, I haven’t even seen my mama since my pro day.”

That was 45 days ago, when Martin spent the day with his parents, who traveled to Auburn by way of Atlanta for the running back’s chance to impress NFL personnel at Auburn’s pro day and then a celebration of Harris’ 42nd birthday that evening in Atlanta.

After that weekend, Martin’s parents returned to Port Arthur, and while at the airport, Harris recalled making fun of her husband, Howard, for wearing a protective mask to cover his mouth and nose, as well as some gloves to travel. This was before the coronavirus crisis became what it is now in the United States — back before statewide shelter-in-place orders were the norm, before sports completely grinded to a halt and before life as everyone knew it was altered for the time being as the country tried to flatten the curve and buy time in the battle against the deadly disease.

Less than two weeks later, on March 19, Harris began to feel ill. By March 23, she tried to consult her doctor but couldn’t make an appointment and instead had to resort to a remote checkup by phone. A day later, she went to an urgent care facility in Port Arthur, where she was tested for the flu and was given antibiotics for a viral infection.

On March 25, Harris exhibited another symptom as she lost her sense of taste and smell while still experiencing chills and generally feeling lethargic, though she did not have an elevated fever at the time. After being told she didn’t qualify for a COVID-19 test at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport testing site, Harris contacted a friend who worked for the Port Arthur Health Department, described her symptoms and eventually received a drive-through test on March 27.

The following day, while still awaiting results of the test, Harris woke up with a fever of 101 degrees and had shortness of breath. She was admitted to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont — where her husband had to drop her off but wasn’t permitted to stay with her — and she was given an IV and received a chest X-ray that showed possible pneumonia. Though doctors suspected she had the coronavirus, she was sent home out of precaution and told to self-quarantine.

By March 31, she got back her test results. She tested positive for the disease.

“It had gotten kind of bad, but I knew that she was going to beat it,” Martin said. “I was just telling her everything, what to do to beat it and stuff like that…. The coronavirus is kind of like the flu, but it’s so much stronger, man. She was strong and she did it.”

Harris isolated herself in her family’s Port Arthur home, where she drank plenty of hot liquids and taking the Tylenol prescribed to her by the doctors at the hospital. Howard, who was recently laid off from his construction job an hour away in Hackberry, La., tended to his wife while also quarantining in Port Arthur. Martin FaceTimed with his mom every day, checking in on her routinely — just as he did three years ago when his hometown was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey while he remained in Auburn early in his sophomore season — to make sure everything was alright.

He had his former high school teammates at Memorial High bring supplies by the house and leave them by the door, avoiding contact with his family, while some of his former Auburn teammates also sent care packages to his ailing mother as she fought to recover from COVID-19, which has claimed more than 42,000 lives in the US.

“I was making sure she had everything because I couldn’t really do nothing for her,” Martin said.

All the while, the former Auburn running back—who rushed for 1,564 yards and eight touchdowns during his four-year career on the Plains—remained with his extended family in Houston, where he has been training the last month and a half with former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The two have known each other since high school, when they went head-to-head as district rivals at Channelview and Memorial. That relationship continued into college, when they remained rivals at Auburn and Alabama before Hurts transferred to Oklahoma prior to his senior season. Hurts, who was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2019, has been throwing to Martin as the two have continued preparation for the next level, with the NFL Draft beginning Thursday and running through Saturday.

“It means a lot,” Martin said of their time together in Houston. “He’s a guy that’s about his business, and same thing with me, so like I knew once I got in Houston, I knew I was going to get some work with him to continue to get better with my craft. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

As Martin continued his preparations for the draft, his mother slowly but surely recovered from COVID-19. She posted on Facebook last week that she’d made a full recovery after nearly four weeks of exhibiting symptoms and two weeks after her official diagnosis.

“I wrote this all to say the virus is so REAL and I'm so BLESSED that God HEALED ME,” she posted. “I see so many people dying alone with no family, but GOD HEALED ME!!! Thank you to ALL my family and friends that Prayed for me, dropped things on the porch for me, cooked for my family thank you!! Thank you for all the text checking on me, to my AUBURN FAMILY THANK YOU!!! PLEASE be safe!!!”

Now, nearly seven weeks after he last saw his mom, Martin plans to see her this week. He said he intends to return to Port Arthur this weekend for the NFL Draft and watch it at home with his mom, dad and sister. Martin doesn’t know if his name will be called, and most major mock drafts project him to be an undrafted free agent, though he’s confident he’ll get an opportunity.

Martin is certain he will take advantage of whatever pro opportunity he may be given, but right now he’s most grateful for another opportunity — the chance to see his mom again, healthy after a scary battle with COVID-19.

“We’re very blessed, you know what I mean? Some people had it and it got worse, so we — we were very blessed that she got rid of it and she’s fine now,” Martin said. “Just can’t wait to see her again.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.