?I Might End Up in a Wheelchair?: Olympic Swimming Icon Opened Up on His Battle With Incurable Disease at 45

Michael Klim, one of the renowned faces of Australian swimming, has several Olympic medals and world championships to his name. The Olympian gold medallist, ais also known as the creator of straight-arm freestyle. The 45-year-old, retired from competitive swimming in 2011.

In 2019, he noticed that something was wrong with him. He noticed visible changes in his body that led him to find out the reason. A year later, he was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder, that made an impact on his mobility. During an interview, he got emotional about his condition and shared the details of the disease and people?s comments on learning about him.

Swimming champion, Klim reveals a heart-breaking fact about his condition

The Australian swimmer has been diagnosed with CIDP, a type of neurological disorder, where the body attacks the fatty protective covering of the nerve fibers. They can affect the function of body parts such as hands and legs. In an emotional chat with the interviewer, Klim revealed, ?I might end up in a wheelchair.?

He continued that people he had spoken to about his CIDP said that he was an Olympic athlete and hence got the great mental strength to get through this difficult phase. The world record holder during the 1990s and 2000s said, ?And it actually hasn?t necessarily been the case.?

READ MORE: 31-year-old Swimmer Breaks Two Guinness World Records After Losing Leg; Still Hungry For More

He said that this was not something that can be cured with some extra exercises and so forth. Expressing his helplessness, he said, ?And it?s more depressing.?
The retired swimmer, recounted the phases when he drank too much and tried to numb the pain.

Klim’s condition plateaued out

The symptoms of the disease came to light in 2019. It progressed quickly thereafter. Regarding the symptoms initially, Klim said, ?In 2019, I started to get symptoms that I didn?t realize were connected to my diagnosis.?

He shared that he had been dealing with chronic ankle problems, and degenerative back issues. Over time, he noticed severe muscle wastage in his legs. It causes difficulty with maintaining balance, and loss of function from knees down in addition to numbness in the thighs and feet. He continued that his condition declined to an extent that he was unable to stand.

WATCH THIS STORY: Here’s What Happened When Michael Phelps Raced a Great White Shark

?I always thought I?d end up getting a full recovery.? He said. However, he hasn?t had a recovery as such. The condition went through a phase of getting worse, becoming better but he said, ?I?ve just plateaued out.? The Olympian hopes to create awareness about the disease by sharing his condition and experiences dealing with it.