a year and a half ago set the his elite british oarsman Pete Reed his long career, which secured for him three gold medals in a row at the Olympic Games, namely in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
today, he sits in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down, writes the BBC. The barely two metres high man was this week hit by a blood clot in the spinal cord, which blocked the blood supply to a part of the spine.
It can, writes Reed on Instagram, kill the cells that transmits signals from the brain to the lower part of his body. Fate has been hard on the 38-year-old lieutenant commander in the british navy, but he appears to have retained livsgnisten.
- My arms are still strong, and my brain is still so average, as it always has been, writes Reed in a posting on Instagram.
- My personal support network is still bulletproof, and I am doing even as good as one might hope, writes Reed.
Show this posting on InstagramPublic SitRep: Today is #WorldStrokeDay so I thought I would update you on my current situation. Spinal strokes are very rare. They essentially starve the spinal cord of oxygen which can kill off the cells that transmit the signals late between the brain and (in my case) the lower body. Doctors can't be certain what caused my stroke. It was in the middle of my spine so I'm currently paralysed beneath my chest. Prognosis: there is no crystal ball. 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 In 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, the downs, challenges and triumph's. I'll keep the odd post coming. Until then, enjoy the rugby (if you're going to spend a prolonged period in hospital, it may as well be during the 2019 Rugby World Cup). Onwards. • Thank you for all the comments on my last post. Thanks also to all of you who have offered to help... right now I don't even know what to ask for. I feel like I have everything I need at this stage.
He states that the extent of the damage yet unknown, and it is probable that the paralysis in any degree will decrease. The chance that he regains his full mobility is, however, very small, writes Reed.
- I will keep you updated. Until then, I wish you good luck with the rugby’(if one must spend a long time in a hospital, then it must be like during the rugby WORLD cup 2019). Further, writes Pete Reed on Instagram.
Reed won gold at the OLYMPICS 2008 and 2012 as part of the uk's four without coxswain, while he at the OLYMPICS in 2016, won gold as part of the british otter.
He has also won five WORLD championship gold medals. Two in the four without coxswain and three in the otter. Reed worked up to his retirement diligently to ensure even an OLYMPICS-participation, but in april 2018, he acknowledged that he could not reach the necessary form.
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