The talismanic Tongala goal shooter was set to join friend and existing coach Grace Hammond at the helm of the Blues’ A-grade netball team in 2025, but the return of a rare, life-threatening condition in January put those plans out of mind.
Brock was first diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis in 2020, and the condition was thought to have been successfully treated until it returned early this year.
Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, caused by a virus, bacteria, or, in Brock’s case, by the body’s immune system mistakenly attacking the brain.
Symptoms can include headaches, confusion, blackouts, seizures and paralysis.
After a few days feeling unwell but attempting to push through, Brock was eventually taken to the hospital by her boss at Goodstart Early Learning in Moama, where tests confirmed the encephalitis diagnosis.
Brock was admitted to the Northern Hospital in Epping, where she battled the illness for several months, before being moved to the acquired brain injury unit at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre.
“I don’t remember a lot from my first days in hospital, which is actually quite good,” Brock said.
“I’ve seen a lot of videos my family took for my neurologist to see during my states, and a lot of them weren’t very nice to see.
“I had catatonic states, I was nonverbal for a lot of the time, and I couldn’t walk or talk. It was not a very nice state to be in.
“I don’t remember a lot of it, but I remember coming out of it and learning how to talk and walk again.”
Brock spent around four months in the hospital until she was eventually released in May.
She then stayed with family in Melbourne before returning to Tongala a few weeks ago.
While Brock remains on a slate of medications, including half-yearly infusions, which should prevent the condition from returning, she said she had now almost made a full recovery.
“Overall, I’m feeling pretty good,” she said.
“Fatigue is one of the things I struggle with, and I definitely realised the first time through that that was one of my biggest side effects.”
Brock even managed a return to netball on July 12, taking the court off the bench against Barooga.
“I was going to take on that co-coach position with Grace this year, which was going to be exciting for us,” Brock said.
“It was a bit sad missing this year, and I didn’t think it was going to be a possibility to get back on court, so to be able to take the court against Barooga was amazing. I couldn’t explain the feeling.”
Both teams, and the gathered crowd, showed their support as Brock returned to a sport that has become a big part of her life, including at representative level.
It was an emotional moment for friend and coach Hammond.
“I’m not one to show a whole lot of emotion, and I’ve obviously cried quite a bit over the whole period of her sickness and getting her back,” Hammond said.
“When she went to run on the court, I got a bit choked up, and I said to her, ‘You’re still making me cry, I can’t even cheer for you to go back on.’
“That just sums up how much it means to me as the coach, her best friend, and all the girls felt the exact same way.”
Hammond said her squad was “over the moon” to have Brock back, and that feeling was shared throughout the club.
“Having her back around the club and just Tongala in general, it sounds cliche, but she’s the person that walks in the room, and she lights it up,” she said.
“She brings a whole other vibe to the club, and the playing group, and it wasn’t just the netballers that missed her, all the footballers were constantly asking ‘How’s Milly going, when is she back?’
“To have her back we’re ecstatic, we’re so grateful that she’s back and back on the court.”
Tongala is in the middle of a fight to make finals, and, having made her first start since her return at the weekend, Brock is hoping to do what she can to help her side push towards the postseason.
“I’ll obviously have a little bit of say here and there, but Grace has definitely got them where she wants them,” she said.
“I’ll hopefully be able to put some of my knowledge and input in where I can.”
While Brock was battling encephalitis, the community in Tongala, Echuca-Moama and surrounds stepped up to support her.
A GoFundMe, organised by Goodstart Early Learning Moama centre director Debra Mitchell, had over 158 individual donors, and raised more than $18,500 to keep Brock on her feet financially while she was in hospital.
“It was unbelievable. I honestly am lost for words,” Brock said.
“It covered all my rent and (other expenses) while I was unwell, so I wasn’t stressed about that.
“I was very thankful, and my partner and I were very grateful.”
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