AFL commentator and former coach Dani Laidley has revealed that she’s been diagnosed with a rare brain tumour.
The 58-year-old shared that she suddenly began getting headaches late last year and scans revealed the tumour. Laidley shared that the news came as quite a shock for her and partner Donna.
The news left her suddenly wondering if it was time to wind up her affairs and prepare for the end of her life.
“It was as blunt as ‘you have a brain tumour, here’s a referral, off you go’. Donna and I went really quiet,” Laidley said on the latest episode of podcast ‘The Imperfects’.
“For Donna to be quiet, you’ve got to understand, something’s not normal. We drove back in the car and we didn’t speak for quite a while.
“At that point in time, we didn’t know what sort of brain tumour. When you say brain tumour it’s like getting hit over the head with a sledgehammer.”
Luckily the football star’s prognosis is good. Further tests revealed that the tumour was benign, and she had surgery to have it removed as it was close to her spinal cord.
The health scare has meant that Laidley has had to take a step back from her work as an LGBTIQA+ advocate, forcing her to cancel a planned appearance at the Daylesford Chillout Festival.
She said she decided to share her news so people would understand why she was unable to meet some commitments, but also so other people would know that it’s like to go through the experience.
“I think it’s probably time not to keep it private but to put it out there like I’ve probably done with the rest of my life, to let people know and understand you can do these things but with the right care and empathy and team around you everything’s going to be OK.” Laidley said.
Laidley grew up in Balga, Perth and had a successful career as a footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne. She became the coach for North Melbourne, and later worked with Port Adelaide, Carlton and St Kilda.
Update: 1-0-425 13:22 An earlier version of this article suggested that Laidley had been unable to attend several events. This has been updated to clarify that only one event has been missed. OUTinPerth apologises to Dani Laidley for the error.
