Inspiring moment cricket great Chris Cairns hits a huge milestone as he battles back from spinal stroke, heart attack and bowel cancer setbacks that nearly killed him

New Zealand cricket great Chris Cairns has made huge strides in his recovery from a spinal stroke and heart attack after sharing an update on social media on Monday. 

Cairns, 53, has been wheelchair-bound after suffering a spinal stroke after a catastrophic heart failure due to an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the inner layer of the main artery.

He was then diagnosed with bowel cancer a matter of months later.

Cairns has been very open in showing his recovery, posting a number of videos in recent months, and on Monday he took to Instagram to show his inspiring progress. 

The former all-rounder can be seen walking on his own while using crutches outside his home, before eventually using just one walking stick. 

'Believing…always believing…,' he posted alongside the hashtags 'notdoneyet ' and 'howyouendure'.

Cairns underwent multiple surgeries, rehabilitation and chemotherapy during a brutal 12 months, and reflected on his ordeal last year.

'I'm no different from anyone else... there's no secret recipe. It's choice, fundamentally,' he told Between Two Beers podcast. 'The human race is gifted with an asset in the mind that allows you to choose your reaction to any situation.

'That is the most important thing you possess, and at times, people don't tap into that. It's easy to be a victim, easier for it to be someone else's fault... to be unlucky.

'I just never carried that mentality. Maybe that was through cricket or other things in my life... that choice aspect is always the most important.

'Of course, I will burst into tears or feel horrible, but I quickly try to transition out of that. The key things in all of this are choice and purpose.'