Damien Martyn, the former Australian batter, on Saturday opened up on his miraculous recovery from meningitis and an induced coma. The 2003 World Cup-winner had fallen ill on Boxing Day (December 26, 2025) and had to be taken to a hospital. The 54-year-old then stayed in an induced coma for eight days. In a long post he shared on social media, Martyn also thanked the fans for their support of him and his family during the tough times.
Martyn stated that his life was taken out of his hands on December 27 as meningitis took over his brain. He revealed that he was given a 50-50 chance of surviving. He also said that once he made his way out of the induced coma after eight days, he was unable to either walk or talk.
“This post is A BIG thank you to ALL my family, friends and so many other people who have reached out to me! On the 27th of December 2025 my life was taken out of my hands…when meningitis took over my brain, & unbeknownst to me I was placed into a paralysed coma for 8 days to help me fight this awful disease. And that I did! Fight that is,” Martyn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“After being given a 50/50 chance of surviving, I came out of the induced coma 8 days later…not able to walk or talk. And yet 4 days after that, with the doctors in disbelief, I walked, I talked and proved to them all why I should be released from hospital to start my recovery. So happy to be home, to be able to put my feet in the sand on the beach and to start thanking all those people that reached out to me and my family in their unwaivering support,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“After being given a 50/50 chance of surviving, I came out of the induced coma 8 days later…not able to walk or talk. And yet 4 days after that, with the doctors in disbelief, I walked, I talked and proved to them all why I should be released from hospital to start my recovery. So happy to be home, to be able to put my feet in the sand on the beach and to start thanking all those people that reached out to me and my family in their unwaivering support,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}‘How fragile life is’
The former Australian batter, who was involved in a memorable partnership with Ricky Ponting in the 2003 World Cup final against India, said that the entire ordeal has reminded him of how fragile life truly is and how everything can change within a second.
“This experience has reminded me of how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change & how precious time is! There are so many wonderful people in this world … from paramedics (at Mermaid Waters Ambulance), doctors & nurses (at Gold Coast University Hospital) … to family, friends and people," he wrote.
“I didn’t even know. I feel like I met all these fantastic people in the past 3 weeks, or they reached out to me through messages of love and support. I am so grateful to you all. Thank you! Bring on 2026 …I’m back,” he added.
It is worth noting that when the news about Martyn's health was made public, the cricket fraternity was quick to rally around the former Australia player.
Martyn represented Australia in 67 Tests, 208 ODIs and 4 T20Is for Australia, scoring more than 9500 runs across the three formats of the game. He was part of the Australian team that won the 2003 World Cup, hitting an unbeaten 88 in the final against India at the Wanderers, Johannesburg.