AFLW superstar Tayla Harris has gone into detail about why riding down the iconic Big Freeze waterslide to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) could cost her two toes in a startling revelation.
The 26-year-old soccer star and boxing champion answered the call of AFL legend Neale Daniher, who is battling the incurable disease, to descend the Big Freeze slide at the MCG for the annual clash of the King’s birthday Monday between Melbourne and Collingwood.
But it could be expensive.
Harris has a debilitating circulation condition that reacts poorly to cold – a problem that causes the Big Freeze slide to end with participants plunging into a pool of ice.
The Demons premiership star said that while she wouldn’t hesitate to support Daniher’s brilliant cause, it wouldn’t come without a bit of pain.
Tayla Harris (left, pictured with partner Kodi Jacques, another AFLW star in their FightMND beanies) is about to ride down the Big Freeze slide to raise money with soccer legend Neale Daniher
But the Demons premiership star will go through significant pain to do so, and could even lose two of his toes
Harris, pictured with her border collie Beans, used to be able to take ice baths like this – but can no longer due to a painful circulatory condition
‘Two toes I could lose. This is going to sound like an excuse, but I have a little medical issue with my toes,’ Harris said Jase and Lauren from KIIS 101.1 Wednesday morning.
“I haven’t been in the ice bath for a little while…and I’d probably be kicked off another club if I did that, but I have frostbite, which is a circulation problem.
“They’re about to fall if they get too cold.”
Frostbite is itchy, swollen, and painful bumps and sores that usually affect the fingers or toes in response to cold.
What are frostbite?
Frostbite is itchy, swollen, and painful bumps or patches on the skin. They form after exposure to cold but not freezing temperatures. They usually affect the fingers and toes, but can also appear on the nose and ears.
They appear as purple-red bumps or lesions on the skin, and blisters containing clear fluid may also form.
Frostbite is caused by changes in your blood vessels in response to the cold and can also form due to poor circulation. They can cause significant pain.
Frostbite usually appears on the fingers or toes and begins as itchy and swollen patches on the skin
How are they treated?
- Corticosteroid cream or ointment to reduce itching and swelling
- Apply dressings to the affected skin
- Medicines or patches to dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow to affected areas
Source: Federal Government website, healthdirect.gov.au.
Incredibly, Harris even asked to have his toes amputated because they cause him so much drama.
‘I’ll just get over it [the toe pain] but I will suffer. These are my two little toes.
“I asked to have them removed, but apparently that’s not an option.”
But when Daniher asks you to do something, you do it.
The former Essendon skipper and Demons coach was diagnosed with MND in 2013, and instead of sitting around waiting for a sad and inevitable end, he decided to do something about it.
He started FightMND to try to find effective treatments and a potential cure, and campaigned tirelessly for it, launching the now-iconic Big Freeze slide and raising over $70 million for lifesaving research.
Neale Daniher (centre) and his daughter Bec (left), who works with him at FightMND, in front of a stunning mural of the Melbourne footballing legend by artist Vincent Fantauzzo (right)
TV star Samantha Armytage was one of many celebrities to take the plunge, descending the Big Freeze slide in 2016
So Harris knew that despite the condition, she just had to say yes to Daniher.
‘I pretty much got the call [to be asked to join the Big Freeze]and I was never going to say no,” she said.
“I don’t think anyone would be brave enough. It’s such an honor. There are a few things in life you can be really proud of and this is definitely one of them.
‘[Neale Daniher] is obviously inspirational and I just think about how he approaches things with such dignity.
“He’s such an inspiring person, without even saying anything, he just has an aura around him. He is incredible.
Harris is part of a star-studded line-up coming down the slide this year.
Joining Harris will be superstar actor Eric Bana, champion surfer Mick Fanning and Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne. Footy legends Jason Dunstall and Tony Shaw and popular host Abbey Gelmi will also slide alongside two other celebrities who have yet to be named.
It’s been a few years for Harris since the AFLW launched in 2017.
Not only has she been one of the competition’s best strikers in its history and a four-time All Australian, Harris has an unbeaten professional boxing record of 8-0-1 and recently won the Australasia middleweight belt ahead of a huge crowd of her. AFLW friends.
Oh, and she’s a celebrant in all the “free” time she has.
The 26-year-old Demons premiership star has been one of the AFLW’s top strikers since its inception in 2017.
Harris captured the Australasian middleweight title in April with a stunning knockout win over Connie Chan
But to many in Australia she is perhaps best known as the footy star who was the target of despicable, misogynistic and homophobic abuse in a now iconic photo of her eye-catching kicking routine.
She called the abuse horrific online with a photo of her acrobatic kick with the caption: “Here’s a pic of me at work… think about it before your derogatory comments, animals.”
The kick has since been immortalized in a statue in Melbourne, and Harris said in it ‘Kick like Tayla‘ documentary on Amazon Prime that she was happy to carry the burden.
“I don’t want this (despicable abuse) not to happen. I’m glad it’s happening to me and not to someone else who might not have been in the frame of mind to face something so confronting,’ she said. stated in the documentary.
“If it hadn’t happened to me, it would have happened to someone else and who knows how they might have handled it.”
Online trolls targeted Harris with despicable abuse when she posted this photo of her goal kick in 2019. It has since been immortalized in a statue
Harris (right) has a long-term relationship with Essendon star Kodi Jacques (left) and admits she will always speak out about online abuse – although she gets far less because of it
Racist, homophobic and threatening messages on social media continue to plague all of sport in Australia, with keyboard warriors emboldened by the rise of right-wing propaganda.
But Harris, who has a long-term relationship with Essendon star Kodi Jacques, has never been afraid to call her, and she says she now receives far fewer trolling and disturbing direct messages.
“I’m a savage, I’ll screenshot you and put you and your profile on mine for everyone to see,” she said in awe. Jase and Lauren from KIIS 101.1 Wednesday morning.
“It’s not an attempt to get people to pick on them…it’s just about accountability.”
“My DMs have gotten better, I think people are scared to text me stuff now because they know I’m going to call them.”
The Big Freeze will take place at the MCG ahead of the King’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood on Monday from 2pm, with the first rebound scheduled for 3.20pm. You can donate to Fight MND here.
