Former international cricketer Chris Cairns has opened up on the major medical emergency which saw him placed on life support and left him paralysed in both legs.
The 51-year-old collapsed last month in Canberra, Australia, where he has lived and worked for several years.
The former Black Caps all-rounder suffered an aortic dissection, where blood rushes through a tear in the aorta causing it to split open.
Cairns needed emergency surgery and suffered from a wide range of complications, including a spinal stroke – a disruption in blood supply to the spinal cord.
Many people do make a full recovery from a spinal stroke, but it can often take years for the paralysis to disappear, meaning the cricket star has "a long road ahead".
Six weeks after his ordeal began, Cairns updated his social media followers on his condition and thanked those who worked hard to save his life.
In a video shared on Twitter, the 51-year-old said: "Just over six weeks ago I suffered a type-A aortic dissection which essentially means there’s a tear in one of the major arteries of the heart.
"I had several surgeries and grafts, and thankfully the specialists were able to save the heart itself.
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"One of the complications that arose was a spinal stroke which in itself will provide me with possibly the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced in rehab going forward."
He continued: "Huge thanks to the team here at Canberra Hospital and St Vincent's in Sydney. To the surgeons, the doctors, the nurses, the specialists – you saved my life.
"Thanks also [for] all the well-wishes that have been sent to my wife, Mel, and I. Uplifting, humbling and so, so special."
The New Zealander finished by saying he would continue to keep fans updated on his progress as time goes by.
Cairns played 279 times for his country across 62 Tests, 215 ODIs and two T20s in an international career spanning 17 years.
The all-rounder finished his ODI career just 50 runs short of the 5,000 mark, and remains New Zealand's sixth highest Test wicket taker.
After retiring, he went on to work as a commentator for Sky Sport in his home country, before taking his family to Australia for work as chief executive of virtual sport firm SmartSportz.
