It’s been over two years since Shane Warne died, but for son Jackson, it still feels like “he’s here” today.
Warne passed away in March 2022 from an unexpected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand.
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Since then, Warne’s children have been on a mission to raise awareness for heart conditions around the country with the Shane Warne Legacy.
Jackson has brought the four-minute heart and diabetes test to the AFL’s Gather Round in Adelaide this weekend.
The free, non-invasive screening has already saved lives after being rolled out in and around the MCG during last year’s Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan.
Speaking to Sunrise on Friday morning, Jackson proudly said they had 1,523 checks on Thursday night, which was fitting given the No.23 was Shane’s number.
“If I can be honest, life without Dad, it still feels like he’s here. We have got so many signs and I still feel him every single day,” Jackson said.
“For example, our goal yesterday for the amount of checks we wanted to get was 1,500, and we ended it at around 9.30pm last night with 1,523 … it could have been any number but to end on 23, I think that was a sign from Dad saying ‘good work, good start, let’s keep it going.‘
“To get (Dad’s number) is amazing. Life without Dad, it’s sad but we’re trying to turn a negative situation into a positive and I think we’re doing it.”
Jackson said living out his grief in a public way can be hard at times, but he takes solace from the fact that it’s saving lives.
“Of course it’s hard. Everything’s hard,” he said.
“But I think the amount of people I’ve met across the last two years has been awesome because everyone has a Shane Warne story.
“Everyone always says he was generous with his time, always saying yes to photos and always putting a smile on people’s faces, which I think is a massive positive.
“He was always an entertainer. I’m grateful I’ve met so many people over the last two years. I wish he was still here but it is cool his legacy is saving lives.”
Adelaide Oval was always a special place for Warne with his 56 Test wickets, although his dream would have been to play AFL at the famous venue.
“He’s taken a lot of wickets here. It’s fitting that our second initiative for the legacy is here during Gather Round. The first one being at Boxing Day, the second one being here,” Jackson said.
“It was his dream to play AFL and represent St Kilda. If you asked him at his peak playing cricket, what would you rather be doing, he’d probably say AFL. He loved AFL so it feels right that our second initiative is here.”
Jackson added that her sister Brooke is arriving in Adelaide on Saturday morning and is the biggest Collingwood nuffie he has ever seen.