A HIGHLAND Paralympic hero is on the comeback trail and setting his sights on more glory – just two months after surgery which could have left him paralysed.
David Smith only returned to his north hone on Christmas Eve after nine days in hospital and a gruelling nine weeks of rehab work.
He had to have an operation to remove a tumour from his spinal cord, which left him unable to walk for days.
The Aviemore cyclist had to have a similar growth removed four years ago – and then went on to secure victory for Team GB as a rower in the mixed coxed fours at the London Paralympic games in 2012.
Now he has set his sights on grabbing more gold at the next Paralympic Games in 2016, this time on two wheels instead of the water.
Mr Smith, who previously represented Great Britain in karate and bobsleigh, has switched sport again and has been training to compete in the cycling events at the Rio games in Brazil.
But he has been having to relearn how to ride his bike after losing sensation in his arms as a result of the operation, meaning he has been unable to hold the handlebars on his static training machine.
Despite the challenges, Mr Smith is still confident he can return to elite level competition, with the para-cycling world championships in summer 2015 his first target.
He said: “It’s been weird to go through it all again.
“In some ways it has been a tougher challenge getting through it this time. The tumour was more aggressive and they had to make a bigger incision on the back of my neck to remove it.
“It’s meant my nerves have been harder hit this time around and I’ve lost more function in my upper body, in my left arm particularly.
“That said I’d been through it before and I knew what I had to do to get through it.
“I would say it was mentally easier but physically a lot tougher.”
The sportsman started back on its bike just six weeks after his operation as he hit the comeback trail.
He had rehab at the home of an osteopath friend in Bath – and the process will continue after the Christmas break at the Olympic Training Centre in London.
The 36-year-old is then hoping to start taking part in races, with a number of Highland time trial events on his horizon.
The new tumour was diagnosed during this year’s Commonwealth Games – just weeks after hundreds of people lined the streets of Aviemore to see their sporting hero carry the Queen’s Baton through the town.
Mr Smith, who was born with a club foot, immediately went public about his condition, leading to hundreds of well-wishers getting in touch with him.
He said: “The support has been amazing, quite overwhelming at times.
“It’s been different because the last time I had surgery I didn’t really tell anyone. But this time I’ve been getting great support from people and from British Cycling too, which has helped.
“You can’t reply to every e-mail but I do read them all and every single one helps.”
Mr Smith, who was made an MBE in 2013, added: “The last thing I thought about before the surgery was standing on a podium.
“It’s a great feeling and I want to be there again.
“I always have in the back of my head in training that nothing can be as hard as surgery.”