Elijah Taylor opens up on frightening ordeal when baby daughter stopped breathing properly

Elijah Taylor in action for the Tigers. Photo / Getty

Former Warriors second-rower Elijah Taylor has opened up about a frightening ordeal last month when his 11-month-old daughter began having seizures on the drive home after he'd played in an NRL match for the Wests Tigers.

Taylor has told the Sydney Morning Herald he was 'thinking the worst' after a horrifying drive following the Tigers defeat to Penrith on March 12.

"We were driving home after the loss and our baby started having seizures," Taylor told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"When we went to the hospital the doctors were freaking out straight away. They chucked her into the intensive care unit. She wasn't breathing properly. Man, I was scared. I was thinking the worst."

The 27-year-old, who made his NRL debut for the Warriors in 2011 before signing with the Panthers, spent the following two weeks in hospital alongside his young daughter.

She was eventually diagnosed with encephalitis - an inflammation of the brain that in severe cases can be life-threatening.

"It was scary because we knew there could be brain damage," Taylor told the SMH.

"We were told there was a chance she wouldn't recover properly. We knew she could be slow or could be epileptic or could be unable to function. We didn't know how bad it could be. It was an infection in her ear and it was putting pressure on her brain and that's why she was having the seizures. It was a really scary time."

Taylor told the Sydney Morning Herald that his daughter was recovering and hadn't suffered another seizure since the initial incident.