Former Black Cap Chris Cairns has experienced his "best day of rehab yet" in his journey of recovery from life-saving surgery in August.
Cairns is living at the University of Canberra hospital as he recovers from an aortic dissection - an often fatal rare heart condition - which left him on life support.
The 51-year-old underwent four open-heart surgeries to save his life, but the stress it left on his body saw a blood clot form resulting in a spinal stroke on the operating table, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
He has since started a rehabilitation routine as part of his recovery which includes five hours of work in a gym six days per week.
Cairns got to see his commitment to the programme pay off on Wednesday when he used the hydrotherapy pool for the first time.
In a social media post after the workout, Cairns shared photos of the experience and what it meant to him.
"Best day of rehab yet," Cairns wrote.
"First time standing unaided and to walk/float my way up the pool! Man! I’ve heard freedom is the oxygen of the soul... being able to swim and kick my legs today was the most free I’ve ever felt."
It comes after Cairns revealed earlier this month he had accepted he may never walk again.
"It is now about understanding I can lead a full and enjoyable life in a wheelchair but at the same time knowing it will be different," Cairns said at the time.
Cairns said during the interview his background in elite sport was helping him adjust to his new reality though.
"Having rehabbed during a sporting career you understand mental discipline is required."
"I know that some people in rehab facilities don't have that background and they struggle with motivation to get up every day. They are not seeing many gains. Having that background and single mindedness will play a role in helping me get to where I want to get to.
"It would be quite easy to give up and accept, maybe this is it. I will try and squeeze everything I can in over the next 12-24 months.
"Having been in a career when bones and muscles take six weeks to repair, there is no timeline here. I may get a flicker in three months in one muscle but it may take nine months."
Cairns played 62 Tests and 215 ODIs for the Black Caps throughout his career while also appearing regularly for Nottinghamshire between 1988 and 2008.
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