Danielle Laidley reveals she has a brain tumour after shock diagnosis that hit her ‘like a sledgehammer’

• Former North Melbourne star and coach has rare condition  
• Struggle with gender identity became one of footy’s biggest stories 

By SHAYNE BUGDEN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Former North Melbourne star and coach Danielle Laidley has revealed she needs urgent surgery to deal with a rare brain tumour after receiving a shock diagnosis she says hit her ‘like a sledgehammer’.

The 58-year-old said she was recently diagnosed with a subependymoma, a type of benign tumor that develops in fluid-filled spaces in the brain.

Laidley’s tumor is also on her spinal cord, with the delicate location meaning she requires an operation to remove it as soon as possible.

‘I started getting headaches back around about October last year, and so I went to the doctors and had scans and CTE cans and MRIs and all that sort of stuff, and they found a brain tumour at the bottom of the back of my skull, on my spinal cord,’ she told The Imperfects podcast. 

‘[It’s a] very rare tumor. I can sit here today and use a quote from my surgeon: It’s not going to kill me, but being on my spinal cord, it has to come out.

‘It’s sort of like walking around with a stone in your shoe. Some days it really hurts, and other days it’s OK.’

Footy great Danielle Laidley (pictured) is bracing for surgery to remove a brain tumour that is sitting on her spinal cord

The shocking diagnosis forced Laidley and her partner Donna Leckie (pictured together) to prepare for the worst  

The shocking news forced Laidley and her partner Donna Leckie to prepare for the worst.

‘It really knocked our socks off,’ Laidley explained.

‘You start to think, “Well, what do I need to do to wind everything up?” and that sort of stuff. 

‘That took its toll.’ 

Subependymoma tumors can cause headaches, nausea and vision problems, among other symptoms.

More to come… 

North Melbourne Kangaroos

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Danielle Laidley reveals she has a brain tumour after shock diagnosis that hit her ‘like a sledgehammer’

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