Parramatta Eels NRL legend Ray Price opens up on dementia hell that left him bloody and lost at 3am

Rugby league-back Ray Price has revealed he struggles with such severe dementia that he once walked bloodied and barefoot down a road at 3 a.m. before being rescued by a passing motorist – as he blames passivity on illegal tackles for his mental health struggle.

The 69-year-old is considered one of the toughest players of all time after excelling at rugby union before switching codes and helping the Parramatta Eels win four premierships in the 1980s.

But Price’s incredible ability to play through punishment – earning him the nickname ‘Mr Perpetual Motion’ – has come at a horrific price, with the ex-forward revealing he has been diagnosed with dementia.

At one point, the fatal condition caused him to wander down a road in his pajamas at 3am, his bare feet bleeding from walking 10km before being rescued by a motorist who recognized him and called triple 0, he said. the Daily Telegram.

Nicknamed ‘Mr Perpetual Motion’ for his ability to play through through penalty, Price (circled right, after the Eels’ 1986 premiership victory) says he and many other players of his era suffer mentally because head-high tackles fail. were taken seriously enough back in his time

Price sees the same neurologist as his fellow footy great Mario Fenech, whose shocking battle with incipient dementia recently made headlines when it was revealed his condition is so serious that he will soon require full-time care, despite being only 60 years old. is old.

The Eels legend has no doubt that he, Fenech and other players of their day were subjected to repeated blows to the head as a result of poor performance.

“I felt really bad for Mario and there could be a lot of players from our time who will be in the same position,” Price said.

“It’s unfair, but that’s the price we paid for that era of football.

“There is no doubt that the headbutts I suffered during my playing days caused my brain damage.

“I believe the umpires of the day had the weapons to stop these high tackles and they refused to do it. It is nonsense.’

Price sees the same neurologist as his fellow ’80s star Mario Fenech (pictured), whose recent TV interview about his own battle with headbutts and dementia left the Eels legend ‘heartbroken’

The former Eels and Wallabies star said he fully supports the modern emphasis on protecting players with concussions, which is nothing like what happened in his day, when he said players would continue to play despite being ‘stunned’ .

Price said he refuses to be paralyzed by his diagnosis, despite being told “my condition will get worse.”

“I just don’t want to lie down and die,” he said. “I have 13 grandchildren. What’s the point of turning around and dying?’

Price is no stranger to health battles. He survived colon cancer after doctors told him he had a week to live, and he and his wife Sandy (pictured together) were both diagnosed with melanoma in 2019, but they continued to fight.

His battle with dementia is the latest in a series of health problems for Price after he and his wife Sandy were both diagnosed with skin cancer in 2019. 15 years ago he also suffered from colon cancer.

“With colon cancer, the doctors said I wouldn’t last more than a week, but I said bulls**t and I refused to give up.

“If you give in, you will succumb to something that will kill you and I just don’t want that.”

As he and Sandy battled melanoma, Price showed his typical defiance in the face of the deadly condition.

“The doctors say it’s a one-to-one chance we could have it together. It’s been tough, but we’ll get through it,” he said.

People all over the world are suffering from the coronavirus, so who are we to complain?

“I don’t care what the doctors say… we’ll beat that bastard.”