FIGHTING FORM

DIAGNOSED WITH A LIFE-THREATENING CONDITION, THE AFLW SUPERSTAR WAS DETERMINED TO KEEP PLAYING

- Emma Levett

Richelle “Rocky” Cranston was the fittest she'd ever been. Competing in her fourth season of AFLW, she was training every day, running well and playing great football. So it came as a huge shock in 2019 to discover that, under that tough exterior, things were not as they seemed.

“I had some problems with vision in my left eye and went to hospital for tests. I had very high blood pressure – so high it had burst the blood vessels in my eye. They were amazed I hadn’t had a stroke,” Rocky, 35, from Geelong, Victoria, tells WHO.

“I’d had my blood pressure taken before, but it was so high the doctors thought their machines were broken or I had white coat syndrome, where I was really scared of doctors. It was a missed opportunity [for an earlier diagnosis].”