Sir Chris Hoy has shared an uplifting update amidst his family’s health battles, having enjoyed a cycling trip while on holiday.
The Olympic icon, who disclosed his terminal cancer diagnosis in February, recently took to social media to share that his wife Sarra is also facing a tough fight against an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis.
The 48-year-old expressed concerns about his children finding out about his illness from friends and the potential miscommunication that could arise. To protect them, he whisked his family away for half-term, hoping the media attention would have calmed by their return.
He optimistically stated: “Hopefully the dust will have settled. You know what? It may happen. If it does, we will deal with it.”
Although Hoy and his wife have been open with their kids about his cancer, they have yet to reveal the full extent of Sarra’s MS to their son and daughter.
During his getaway, Hoy managed to fit in some cycling and even posted a selfie from atop a hill, showcasing the stunning scenery, captioning it: “Worth the effort for the view! Keep pushing”.
Hoy has been told he has between two-to-four years left to live after initially mistaking his symptoms for a minor gym injury. Tests later revealed he had advanced prostate cancer that had spread to various parts of his body including his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine, and ribs.
Despite grappling with the challenges of their conditions, Hoy has been inspired by his wife’s unyielding optimism. He shared: “She says all the time, ‘How lucky are we? ‘ We both have incurable illnesses for which there is some treatment. Not every disease has that. It could be a lot worse’.”
Hoy opened up about how having children makes the reality of their situations even more heart-wrenching, knowing what is at stake. Nonetheless, he reassures them by saying no one lives forever and expresses hope to be around for “many, many more years”.
He reflected: “As unnatural as it feels, this is nature. You know, we were all born and we all die, and this is just part of the process. You remind yourself, aren’t I lucky that there is medicine I can take that will fend this off for as long as possible.”
An Olympian hero, Hoy claimed medals across four consecutive Olympic Games, making history from 2000 to 2012. His peak performance was at Beijing in 2008, securing three golds, followed by another two at the London games in 2012.