Paralympic rowing champion David Smith has revealed in a heartbreaking voice message that he is paralysed and only has a few months left to live. The Scottish gold medallist from the London 2012 Games used voice-activated technology from his hospital bed to announce that his long-standing fight with cancer is nearing its end.

The 47-year-old Paralympian expressed to his local newspaper his fear that he may not return to his home in Aviemore again, except for his funeral, after battling a spinal tumour that eventually spread to his brain. He informed the Strathspey Herald: "On Thursday, I was moved to palliative care... and told that I have four months to live.

"I'm going to fight with every will in my body, but I'm also aware my time on this planet is coming to an end."

Born in Dunfermline in April 1978 with a club foot, David underwent numerous procedures to break and reset his bones. He has faced multiple cancer diagnoses over the years, and in 2010, he underwent surgery to remove a tumour found within his spinal cord, which led to temporary paralysis.

He had to withdraw from the 2016 Rio games, where he intended to compete as a cyclist, due to another tumour. In 2018, David disclosed he'd been warned that surgery to remove a tumour pressing on his spinal cord could leave him paralysed from the neck down.

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Just hours later, the brave Scot attended the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards on Thursday to receive an award. Thankfully, the effects of David's surgery were temporary, but last year he disclosed he'd had emergency brain surgery after three tumours were found.

The discovery came after he suffered blurred vision, tiredness and headaches in August 2025. However, he put the symptoms down to watching too much television whilst recovering from a broken rib until relatives convinced him to see a doctor in October.

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He was immediately rushed for a six-hour operation to remove a tumour the size of an orange and had another urgent procedure to address fluid accumulation on his brain. Doctors confirmed the tumours are benign, though David was receiving radiotherapy to reduce the remaining two growths.

However, he has now revealed his heart-wrenching prognosis through an electronic decoder, which printed out his words in a Facebook post. He said: "There might be a few spelling mistakes in these words that might not make sense as I'm using voice activation and I'm trying to learn how to do that.

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"With my Scottish accent it reminds me of the scene in the lift in Glasgow (Burnistoun, BBC Scotland) when the two guys were trying to reach floor 11 and the machine kept asking them to repeat the number. I can see it's already not getting this right..

"I know it might be hard to read, especially for my friends and everyone who supported me back in the valley after my brain surgery.

"All I want to do is get back home. I didn't realise the next time I will be returning home might possibly be for my funeral."

He recalled how he was given the devastating news after starting to feel "a little bit sick" on Wednesday. He said: "By3 pm I was completely paralysed from the neck down. But I'm gonna try and push as long as I can.

"It's kind of crazy to have started the week going down to the gym, travelling to Holland to speak to Nike and then end the week lying in a hospital bed unable to move. I feel this is harder for my family and friends than it is for me since I feel like I've had so much time to prepare for this.

"I'm always humbled to see my face appear on the wall in Kingussie High School. I just wish I could've attended in person to talk to the youngsters about the importance of chasing a dream. I am now planning to get my medal framed and to give it to Newtonmore Primary School - as even growing up in a small Highland village you can travel the world and represent your country."