Every morning on her way to work, Naomi Daley reaches down to tap a small stone beneath the statue of Shane Warne and whispers, “Thanks Warnie.”
Naomi didn’t just admire the king of spin for his ability to take out wickets – she says he literally bowled her a lifeline.
“I’ve been a huge Warnie fan for years because I loved the cricket era when he was playing with Mark Waugh,” Naomi, who works in hospitality at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, told Woman’s Day.
“He was only a few years older than me, so when the free heart checks came about I thought I may as well go along and get the all-clear.”
But instead of the reassurance she was expecting, the test results turned Naomi’s world upside down.
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The mother-of-four says she was “knocked for six” when further tests revealed she had been living with a hole in her heart since birth, along with serious abnormalities in her veins and arteries.
“It was such a shock – I’d never had any symptoms and I’ve always been quite active,” Naomi, 51, says.
“To hear that, without this discovery, I might have dropped dead in five to 10 years was terrifying.
“I have four children and a one-year-old granddaughter I need to be here for, and they were all so worried about me.”
UNEXPECTED HERO
Warne, who tragically died of a heart attack at 52 on March 4, 2022, may be remembered for taking 708 Test wickets, but his greatest impact could be the 88,000 lives estimated to have been saved or extended so far through the Shane Warne Legacy Health Check.
Launched at the 2023 Boxing Day Test, this free four-minute test measures vital heart health markers, such as blood pressure and heart rate, helping detect risks like heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.
More than 300,000 people have taken the test so far, and 26 per cent believe it may have saved or extended their life.
After the devastation of her diagnosis, Naomi drew strength from her loved ones as she endured open-heart surgery.
“They had to cut my sternum, which completely freaked me out. Thankfully, all went well, and I was released after a week.
“I bought myself a hospital bed and spent the next few months recovering, surrounded by my family before I could go back to work.”
Now back to full health, Naomi says not a single day goes by without her feeling grateful for the future she’s been given – and she has her unexpected hero to thank for it.
Naomi has since reached out to Brooke, Jackson and Summer Warne on social media, expressing her heartfelt gratitude to their late father.
She is now inspiring others, particularly Indigenous Australians like herself, to take the free check, reminding us all that protecting your heart matters – even if no one in your family has had heart problems.
“Bless Warnie, he really saved my life and he’s saving so many others,” she adds. “It’s heartbreaking that it took his passing for this to happen, but what an incredible legacy.”
