When professional cricketer Josie Dooley suffered a life-changing stroke, rehabilitation replaced her strenuous cricket training regime. Eighteen months on, the 25-year-old has a new sports goal – representing Australia at Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.
Since June 2025, Josie has been training three days a week at the Queensland Academy of Sport’s Para Sport Unit in shot put and table tennis.
Pictured: Josie Dooley prior to stroke playing professional cricket.
“They just assumed cricket would correlate to throwing, so that’s how I ended up in shot put, I played a lot of tennis before cricket,” Josie said.
“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.”
Fighting for her life
In April 2024, Josie had been holidaying with her partner, Michael, on a remote Hawaiian island when she suffered a near-fatal episode of hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of spinal fluid, deep within the brain.
“I was in a lot of pain, but I thought it was a migraine – I had no idea how sick I was and that I would end up having a stroke,” said Josie.
“By the time we got to hospital, I couldn’t walk. Michael had to carry me in. And then, I lost consciousness. I don’t remember anything.”
Even though Josie is young and extremely fit, hydrocephalus is a condition that can affect anyone from birth, and sometimes only presents in adulthood.
Josie’s mum, Leanne, remembers how stressful the whole experience was for the family back in Brisbane, while Josie was airlifted to awaiting neurosurgeons at Queen’s Medical Centre in Honolulu.
"Josie declined so quickly and we were beside ourselves at the airport,” said Leanne.
The family was at her bedside for nearly a month, including 18 days in intensive care. Once stable, Josie was medically evacuated to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) for further treatment.
Road to recovery
Pictured: Josie at STARS rehab facility.
The medical care Josie received at RBWH, as well as rehabilitation at our partner hospital, the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS), were crucial to her recovery.
STARS is one of the largest specialist rehabilitation services in the southern hemisphere, ensuring patients like Josie receive the care they need, leading to the best possible outcomes.
Josie was ecstatic about taking her first unassisted walk only two months after her stroke, with her loved ones and her cricket family by her side throughout her recovery.
“The STARS crew were amazing and looked after me so well. I’d have one or two physiotherapy and two occupational therapy sessions a day, as well as speech therapy. It was like I was back in pre-season training, which I loved," said Josie.
Sights on the 2032 Games
Five months after training began, Josie competed in her first Para Athletics meet in Brisbane, achieving a world championship bronze medal standard. Her goal is to be classified in the F34 category and qualify for the Paralympics.
“That’s obviously the goal, to make the Paralympics, even to compete at Brisbane, at a home Olympics. It sounds pretty incredible,” said Josie.
The extraordinary power of giving
At every step of Josie’s treatment and recovery has involved life-saving medical research, health innovation and patient care advancements.
By donating today, you too can make a difference to the lives of patients, like Josie, now and into the future.
“It makes such a difference, knowing that the team behind you is being funded to try to come up with new ideas and treatment innovations,” said Josie.
