In April 2024, a devastating medical episode while on holiday in Hawaii left former Melbourne Renegades wicketkeeper Josie Dooley on the verge of death.
The Queenslander spent 93 days in hospital after suffering a stroke, caused by a benign tumour above her brain stem, resulting in heart and lung failure. Over 18 months later, the recovery process is ongoing.
Dooley’s cricket career was put on hold, but she became a source of inspiration for the Renegades as the Melbourne-based franchise won its maiden Women’s Big Bash League title last year.
Now aged 25, Dooley has set herself a new target – to represent Australia at the 2032 Paralympics in her hometown of Brisbane.
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THE HAWAIIAN NIGHTMARE
Following the completion of the 2023/24 summer, Dooley embarked on a surfing holiday to Hawaii alongside partner Michael Wegener, travelling to the island of Kauai.
But on April 16th, Dooley was driven to a nearby hospital after waking up in the night with severe headaches, the pain causing her to vomit and scream in agony.
Scans revealed she was suffering from obstructive hydrocephalus, a rare neurological disorder caused by a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in ventricles deep within the brain. Doctors would later discover a benign tectal glioma, a rare tumour that had been growing above her brain stem, blocking the ventricles.
Needing urgent medical evacuation to Honolulu, where she could receive treatment from professional neurosurgeons, Dooley was rushed in an ambulance to the airport but suffered a major cerebellar stroke after being moved onto the plane, causing takotsubo cardiomyopathy and pulmonary oedema, forms of heart and lung failure.
With her situation deteriorating, Dooley was removed from the plane, but after spending three hours fighting for life on the tarmac, emergency doctor Spencer Smith helped organise a second flight that safely transported her to Honolulu.
Dooley was successfully transferred to the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, where she underwent two neurosurgical procedures and a tracheostomy. By this stage, her distraught parents had arrived in Hawaii.
Details of the life-threatening incident were outlined in an award-winning feature from former teammate Kirby Short, who was entrusted with telling Dooley’s story, which had been closely guarded by her family for several months.
93 DAYS IN A HOSPITAL BED
The first few weeks of Dooley’s recovery were gruelling. She spent 18 days in ICU following her surgery, during which she experienced night terrors and paranoia while struggling with dizziness and vertigo.
It took her weeks to regain basic bodily functions such as eating, speaking and using the bathroom, while she still can’t remember her first 13 days in the ICU.
After 30 days in Honolulu, Dooley’s condition had improved enough for her to fly home to Brisbane, medically evacuated to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for further treatment. In total, she went 26 days without speaking, 35 days without eating and 52 days without walking independently.
“I’m extremely lucky,” Dooley told Fox Cricket.
“My parents and my partner were with me, so I wasn’t on my own for those 93 days, so I had such incredible support. They kept me motivated.”
While the rehab experience was traumatising for her loved ones, Dooley has fond memories of the recovery process, where every day she noticed gradual improvement.
“Coming from a sporting background and being an athlete, it probably was a lot easier for me in those rehab stages because I just thought of it like a pre-season,” she explained.
“Every day you’re getting huge milestones, so I actually really loved being in rehab and working towards all these goals.
“I was achieving such huge things in such a small amount of time that it kept me really motivated. I actually struggled more when I got out of hospital because you don’t have all that structure around you and the routine.”
‘DON’T F*** IT UP’: INSPIRED RENEGADES
Dooley, who represented Australia’s Under-19 team during her teens, was an integral member of the Renegades after making her debut for the club in 2019. Across 74 WBBL games, she scored 847 runs at 20.17 with a strike rate of 107.08 while taking 31 catches and completing 13 stumpings.
The Hawaiian ordeal understandably sent shockwaves through the squad, with some members visiting her in hospital in Brisbane, but her courage and resilience became a source of inspiration for the Renegades ahead of their 2024 season.
Dooley’s jersey hung up in the Renegades dressing room for every match of last summer’s Big Bash, including the final. On the kit was written: “Don’t f*** it up.”
After topping the standings, the Renegades defeated the Brisbane Heat in a rain-affected final at the MCG to win their maiden WBBL title. Dooley was on the bench for the entire match.
During the post-match presentation, Renegades coach Simon Helmot gave his winner’s medal to Dooley, draping it around her neck in the sheds.
“It was so amazing to be in the change room and be at the ground at the MCG. It was such a special night, one I’ll never forget,” Dooley recalled.
“To be there and be a small part of it was just so amazing to witness.”
Twelve months earlier, the Renegades had received the dreaded wooden spoon following a miserable 2023 campaign, with just two wins from 14 matches. It was a dramatic turnaround for the club.
“Winning that first title just gave them all the confidence and belief that they can do it, to be able to win and feel like winning is a habit,” Dooley continued.
“Once we got that first title, I think the girls have so much more confidence this year and are just backing their abilities.”
BLURRY VISION AND A ‘CONSTANT DEAD ARM’
Eighteen months following her near-death experience, Dooley is still on the mend, but a sense of normality has returned to her life. She has moved out of home, living with Michael and their dog, while at the start of this year she went surfing for the first time since her Hawaii trip.
“That was one of the huge goals of mine, to go out on my own and catch waves independently,” Dooley said.
“It was so surreal to be back on the water. I feel like only surfers understand how amazing it is to be in the water and to paddle out and catch some waves.
“I never thought I would do that again, so to do that was quite emotional, actually.”
Dooley’s vision continues to progress, but she currently isn’t allowed to drive due to her nystagmus, an eye condition caused by a disrupted connection between the brain and eyes.
“It was pretty terrible, but it’s definitely gotten better,” Dooley said of her eyesight.
“My eyes just keep jumping up and down. They don’t stabilise. It just makes focusing on an object really difficult and a bit blurry.
“We’re hoping that it improves.”
Dooley’s other main impairment is her left arm, for which coordination and fine motor skills have improved drastically, especially considering she couldn’t lift a mobile phone with it 12 months ago. However, the loss of sensation remains a source of frustration.
“I guess I’m just used to it now,” Dooley said.
“It almost just feels like a constant dead arm.”
Her cerebellum, which synchronises voluntary movements such as balance and coordination, was also affected by the stroke, further impairing her coordination.
“When I’m a bit fatigued, I get a bit wobbly on my feet,” Dooley added.
“Living in Queensland, with the weather at the moment, makes those symptoms flare up a bit more.
“But compared to where I was, I feel amazing.”
‘PRETTY TERRIFYING’: TWO-OVER CAMEO
While a return to professional cricket in the short term is unfeasible, Dooley made an unexpected appearance for Sturt last month, serving as a substitute fielder for two overs in a T20 match in Adelaide.
After one of the Sturt players got injured during the warm-ups, former teammates Emma de Broughe and Sam Betts asked Dooley if she was willing to help out in the field.
“They ended up putting me at point and mid-wicket, which was pretty terrifying,” the wicketkeeper laughed.
“But it was unreal to be back on the field with them. It was not planned, but I was really proud of myself.
“Obviously it was a huge goal of mine, so to have done that now is really special.”
The ultimate goal for Dooley is to play cricket again, but apart from the 12-ball cameo, she has only attempted a few net sessions since her stroke. If everything goes to plan, she hopes to make a return to grade cricket next summer.
“It’s a bit difficult to be on a cricket field with a hard ball coming at you when you can’t see very well,” Dooley said.
“Hopefully I can try some new medications and see if that helps my vision. Obviously I want to be safe doing it, so I don’t want to push it too hard.
“I will listen to my body, but at the end of the day, I’d love to get back out there.”
‘TRICKY’ JOURNEY TO BRISBANE 2032
Since June, Dooley has been training three days a week with the Queensland Academy of Sport’s para athletics unit alongside other disabled sportspeople. After undergoing testing from the Queensland Institute of Sport, it was decided that her impairment and abilities were suited for shot put and table tennis.
“They just assumed cricket would correlate to throwing, so that’s how I ended up in shot put, (while) I played a lot of tennis before cricket,” Dooley elaborated.
“I’m loving training in both and just being part of the para unit and training with so many incredible athletes who have a shared experience going through something quite traumatic. It’s been really cool to be a part of a high-performance program again.”
Provisionally classified in the F36 category, Dooley competed in her first para athletics meet in Brisbane earlier this month, putting her on track to feature in the 2027 World Para Athletics Championships. Her best attempt during the event would have been enough for her to secure a bronze medial at this year’s world championships in Delhi.
However, she hopes to eventually get transferred to F34, a seeded category that would allow her to compete at the Paralympics.
“The para system is a bit tricky, it’s quite hard to get all the classifying,” Dooley explained.
“That’s obviously the goal, to make the Paralympics, even to compete at Brisbane, at a home Olympics. It sounds pretty incredible.
“I’d love to be there in LA (in 2028) as well. We’ll just have to see how it all falls, I guess.”
SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT ‘STROKE-IVERSARY’
Dooley remains in touch with Smith, who refused to take no for an answer as her situation worsened in Kauai. He’s one of many people credited with saving her life.
“He actually sent us a Christmas card last year, which was so lovely,” Dooley said.
In April, Dooley celebrated her ‘stroke-iversary’ by hosting a Hawaiian-themed party for friends and family in Brisbane. Multiple Renegades teammates attended, along with the physios and nurses that aided her during the recovery process. Speech therapist Ashley travelled from Honolulu for the occasion.
“The last time she saw me, I wasn’t even able to sit up in bed,” Dooley said.
She added: “It was a really special night. I wanted it to be a celebration. I didn’t want it to be a sad day.
“I wanted to just thank everyone who got me through those horrible, horrible days.”
The Renegades will next face the Perth Scorchers at the WACA on Tuesday.
You can follow Dooley’s recovery on her @wave2recovery Instagram page
