Triple Olympic rowing champion Pete Reed has revealed heartbreaking news that he is paralysed from the chest down after suffering a spinal stroke.
Team GB hero Reed - who won gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 - admitted to fans there is a “very small chance” he will make a full recovery.
The 38-year-old had been in training for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo before calling time on his career in 2018.
He broke initial news of his stroke three weeks ago before offering a detailed update on his condition to followers on Instagram .
“Prognosis: there is no crystal ball,” Reed said. “There is a very small chance I will make no recovery and a very small chance I will make a full recovery. Much more likely it will be somewhere in between. To what extent depends on the extent of the damage (which we can’t see) and how well I rehab.
“All the other news is great. My arms are still strong and my brain is still as average as it ever was.
“My personal support network continues to be bombproof (thank you so much) and I am handling myself every bit as well as you would hope.
“I’m keeping a diary of this whole experience - the ups, downs, challenges, triumphs.”
A spinal stroke is caused when the spinal cord is starved of oxygen due to the blood supply being interrupted.
“Doctors can’t be certain what caused my stroke,” he added. “It was in the middle of my spine so I’m currently paralysed beneath my chest.
Reed followed his lengthy update by sharing a picture of a disabled shower, highlighting how he is recovering with a positive mindset.
He captioned the snap: “You see a disabled shower. I see a tricep-dip rack and a shower.”
