‘Warnie saved my life’: How Shane Warne’s legacy is saving thousands of lives
Few athletes have ever meant as much to the Australian public as Shane Warne. The king of spin is still changing lives, with his legacy growing greater by the day.
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When she passes Shane Warne’s statue on her way to work Naomi Daley gently touches a little stone beneath it and says “thanks for saving my life.’’
“I say “bless Warnie forever’’ because he saved my life and many others,’’ says the 50-year-old Melbourne-based mother of four who works in hospitality at the MCG a few metres away from the statue of the man who is now her hero.
“Sadly it took Warnie to pass away for this to happen but what a legacy he has left.’’
What a legacy indeed.
Warne, who died of a heart attack at age 52 in March 2022, may have taken a staggering 708 Test wickets but the number which now takes the breath away is 78,000.
That, according to just released research, is the amount of lives saved or prolonged by the free four-minute Shane Warne Legacy Health Check which measures key metrics such as blood pressure, resting heart rate and enables participants to understand their risk of heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol.
“We have just clicked over 300,000 heart tests in Australia and done a year’s research,’’ said Ian Whitehead from Latrobe Health Service of the Victorian Government-backed project which started at the Boxing Day Test in 2022 when cricket patrons were invited to step up and be tested.
“The amazing statistic is that 26% per of people who had the test felt the health check may have saved their life.’’
This equates to 78,000 people from the total pool and if Warne is looking down from above he might well may be able to crow “I’m filling the MCG again.’’
With high pressure typically having no symptoms, the checks are seen as a way of getting people to have tests they would never normally seek, free-or-charge at a venue outside a surgery, not that the Legacy has any intention of trying to replace general practitioners.
“There are special moments in your career when you look back and think this is a game-changer and this is definitely one of those,’’ Whitehead said.
Naomi Daley’s story is typical of many people whose lives changed after having the tests almost as a matter of chance.
“When Warnie died it was a massive shock to everybody, me included, and then when they came out with the free heart tests I thought well if Warnie had a heart problem and is only a few years older than me it’s best I get checked and get the big green tick and be done with it.
“And, bugger me, I was sent for more stress tests and they found a hole in my heart that I’ve had since I was born and also some serious abnormalities with my veins and arteries going the wrong way.
“They said if it had not been detected I would have just dropped dead in five to 10 years. Warnie saved my life. No doubt about it. I actually said it like that on social media because I wanted his family to know how grateful I was.
“When the doctor told me about the results I was shocked. I thought “I have four kids and a one-year old granddaughter and I need to be here for my family.
“I had open heart surgery which was very traumatic but I got through it and had six weeks off work.
“I didn’t have any symptoms. I used to play cricket and netball and have always been pretty fit … it came out of the blue.’’
“I am Indigenous so, particularly for Indigenous Australians I would say “please, please get your heart checked. Even if you don’t have a family history of heart problems you really should take advantage of this free check while it is still around.’’
The heath checks done Boxing Day tests may look subdued if you are walking past but they contain behind-the-scenes drama.
Of the 13,416 patrons tested at the last Boxing Day Test last year, 15.6% had high blood pressure and 171 of those were so high they were given urgent medical referrals.
Picture that. You arrive at the MCG in a bucket hat for a bit of fun and a four minute test basically saves your life.
Whitehead says tests around the country have produced some incredible stories and the hope is with sustained government support the good stories will keep flowing.
“There was a 38-year-old male in a country town in Gippsland who took his mum to get a test. Her results were really solid. She said to her son “why don’t you do a test? He did and we were so concerned with his results we put him in an ambulance and he had a triple bypass the next day.
“Post Covid a lot of people had not gone for check-ups and monitored their health so this is a wake-up call. The fact that it is free and accessible and different locations is one of the keys.
“We want to do 400,000 over the next two years. If you are over the age of 45 as a male you should be getting your blood pressure checked every year.’’
Justine Cain, chief executive of Diabetes Australia who are also partners in the project, says “the health checks unfortunately confirmed what we already knew that a lot of people have diabetes and don’t know. There are 500,000 people living with diabetes in Australia who don’t know they have it.
“Anything we can do to address these numbers is great for Australia. What an amazing legacy Shane has left ...’’
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Originally published as ‘Warnie saved my life’: How Shane Warne’s legacy is saving thousands of lives
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