'Long road to recovery' for Chris Cairns after suffering spinal stroke during surgery

It has been a tough few weeks for former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns. The Kiwi suffered a spinal stroke while he was undergoing emergency heart surgery last month. The stroke left him paralysed in both legs and he was kept on life support for a brief period of time as well. The former cricketer provided an update on his condition with a video on Twitter on Sunday. It is not a stretch to say that people were unsure whether Cairns would have survived this particular episode. However, things seem to be on the brighter side at the moment and hopefully, it will continue to remain so.

“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,” Cairns said.

“I had several surgeries and grafts, and thankfully the specialists were able to save the heart itself. 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 added.

‘SAVED MY LIFE’

Cairns would then go on to express his gratitude for the medical personnel who saved his life. He also thanked them for sending wishes to his wife and himself.

“Huge thanks to the team here in Canberra and 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. A long road ahead, but I’m grateful to be here,” the 51-year-old said.

Cairns had undergone emergency heart surgery in Canberra last month. During the procedure, he suffered a spinal stroke that drastically complicated things. The stroke resulted in paralysis of both of the former cricketer’s legs and life support was necessary for a certain period of time to help him survive as well. It was a scary situation for the friends and family of Cairns but things seem to have been going relatively well for him at the moment.

The Kiwi is a legend of the sport in the country and is quite well respected. He had an illustrious career for the Black Caps, playing 62 Tests, 215 one-day internationals and two T20 matches between 1989 and 2006. Cairns comes from a cricketing family as his father, Lance, was also a cricketer for the Kiwis.

MATCH-FIXING ALLEGATIONS

He was an outstanding player for New Zealand and had a successful career in the sport. However, Cairns’ achievements were overshadowed by match-fixing allegations, which the player vehemently denied, resulting in two court cases. He was cleared by the court on both occasions but claimed that the allegations had harmed his reputation.

In 2008, he faced allegations of match-fixing while captaining the Chandigarh Lions in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. The cricketer, on the other hand, denied all allegations and fought a number of legal battles to stay out of trouble. It got so bad that he had to take a job with Auckland Council driving trucks and cleaning bus shelters to make ends meet.