Melbourne Renegades star Josie Dooley is striving to get back to the cricket pitch as the 24-year-old opens up on her inspiring recovery after suffering a stroke while vacationing in Hawaii

Melbourne Renegades and South Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josie Dooley has spoken on the ‘terrifying’ ordeal of how she spent 18 days in an intensive care unit after she had suffered a stroke while on vacation in Hawaii.

She and her partner had travelled to the island of Kauai to surf during the off-season in April of this year before the talented cricketer began to experience unbearable headaches.

She had attributed the pain to jetlag and the after-effects of a Hen party she had attended in the days before she left, but things quickly became more serious.

‘I was getting these weird rushes of pressure, really aggressive. Then it would stop, so I wasn’t really thinking much of it,’ she said in an interview with Channel 7.

After waking up at 3am with the pain persisting she went to the emergency room where she was sent home with an information sheet about migraines.

But the pain persisted into the early hours of the morning with Dooley stating that it was so bad that she couldn’t see. She was re-admitted to hospital and her condition started to worsen.

Her partner, Michael Wegener was given the news that Dooley had hydrocephalus, a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up around a person’s brain.

‘It was basically fluid on the brain, so there was a blockage. We didn’t know at the time and we found out later, so she had a benign tumour which caused an obstruction,’ Dooley’s mum, Leanne, said to Channel 7.

Dooley was set to be transferred to Honolulu but things became much more serious before the flight could take off.

‘I was on the plane ready to take off and then that’s when I fully crashed. That’s when I had a stroke and went into heart and lung failure,’ Dooley said.

She was stabilised by doctors, with Dooley subsequently being transferred to Honolulu on the next flight.

The 24-year-old was taken straight to hospital where she underwent a procedure to drain the fluid on her head.

‘I remember, mum was by my bedside and I remember I was holding her hand. I was just so scared,’ Dooley said.

Although she couldn’t speak while she was in the ICU, she said: ‘In my head I was like: “I’m going to die.” I remember saying: “Goodbye” and saying: “I love you.” It was just terrifying.’

Twenty-eight days later she was flown back to Australia where she would begin further treatment, including learning how to walk again.

‘I knew how to walk, but my brain and my body just couldn’t… I didn’t know where the ground was,’ she added.

But with cricket being such a big love of hers, Dooley had asked her parents to fetch her cricket bat from home so she could practice hitting shots in hospital, with her dad holding her up.

‘I think at that stage, I was like: “Why not try and dream to get back to professional cricket”. I’m someone who is very goal-driven.’

While she had been unable to play in this year’s WBBL, Dooley still played a part in uplifting her Renegades team-mates to win this year’s title.

Her shirt had been hung up in the MCG changing rooms ahead of their final clash against Brisbane Heat, with Dooley having written ‘don’t f*** it up’ on the front of the shirt.

Renegades captain Sophie Molineux called Dooley ‘the heart and soul of the team’ before branding the wicketkeeper-batter ‘inspirational’.

‘She’s just everything that the Renegades are about, it’s Josie to a tee,’ she said. ‘She’s so inspirational, not just to us that know her, but to anyone that knows her story.

‘For her to be as involved as much as she could be this season for us, just to have her presence and being around, she’s just as much a part of this season as any other season she’s been around.’

Her recovery has been a truly inspiring story, with Dooley now targeting a return to the cricket pitch.