Michael Klim
The Australian superstar swimmer Michael Klim shared a glimpse into his everyday struggle with a rare neurological disorder and how he is adjusting to his new lifestyle.
In July, Klim revealed that he had been diagnosed with CIDP chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in 2020. It is an auto-immune disease that causes the body to attack the cover that insulates and protects the nerves — the myelin — which leads to sensory loss.
The sporting icon shared on his blog that his condition is rapidly deteriorating following an operation he underwent in 2019, to reduce the CIDP effect on his body. “My health began to deteriorate drastically. I was experiencing issues with my (degenerative) back and CIDP combined,” he wrote.
“I started to fall over, I couldn’t walk up the stairs, I needed to rely on my partner Michelle and the kids to lean on, and I found myself laying down in bed all day because the back pain became unbearable,” he added.
While the disease impacts people differently in terms of the pace of spread, Mr.
Klim said that his legs and feet are the sources of his pain, as he is suffering from significant muscle and sensory loss and is unable to walk and play with his children.
“Physically, I’ve lost almost all my calves and muscle tone in my legs,” the triple Olympian wrote. “I’ve been fitted with special orthotics and a couple of different braces depending on the activity to help my foot drop. I’m also having frequent massages to keep the circulation moving in my legs. The process of putting all those additional things on gets tiresome.”
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Mr.
Klim detailed the method he is following to cope and adapt to CIDP. “My counsellor and I have come up with a strategy where I give myself an hour a day to feel sorry for myself,” he said. “I can whinge as much as I want and feel down.
“But after that, then there are still a lot of things I can do and be functional and still have responsibilities as a parent and a coach and as a partner, and I can still do them effectively,” he added. “I am trying to not let it consume me completely. But it’s hard.”