Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns had a tough time last year as he suffered an aortic dissection and had to undergo heart surgery in Australia.

To make the situation worse, Cairns had a spinal stroke during the surgery, which left him paralysed from the waist down.

In the aftermath of the paralysis, Cairns wasn’t sure whether he will be able to walk again. However, the 52-year old worked hard on his recovery in recent times and he is now feeling ‘good to be standing tall’.

Taking to Twitter, Cairns on Thursday (January 13) shared a video of his rehabilitation and wrote: “It ain’t pretty, but it’s progress. Working hard since I got back from Xmas break. Not in danger of winning any Olympic medals just yet, but good to be standing tall and heading in the right direction. #notdoneyet #babysteps #spinalstroke #aorticdissection #survivor.”

Chris Cairns is now living at the University of Canberra hospital in a special rehabilitation facility. During the Christmas break, he had gone back home and uploaded pictures of himself playing cricket in a wheelchair with his family on social media.

Cairns represented New Zealand in 62 Tests, scoring 3320 runs and claiming 218 wickets including 5 centuries and 13 five-wicket hauls. He also featured in 215 ODIs, aggregating 4950 runs and taking 201 wickets. He was the Player-of-the-Match in Black Caps’ Champions Trophy 2000 final triumph over India.

His last appearance for New Zealand was one of his only two T20I games against the West Indies at Auckland in 2006.

(Inputs from The Indian Express)