Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Australian cricket great Damien Martyn shared a health update, saying he has completely recovered from a life threatening bout of meningitis.
Martyn, who represented Australia in 67 Test matches, fell ill with meningitis on December 26 and was taken to hospital on the Gold Coast late last month, where he was placed in an induced coma. “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!….
“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,” Martyn shared in a social media post.
“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 unwavering support. This experience has reminded me of how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change & how precious time is!” the post further read.
“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 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,” he conlcuded. Martyn was instrumental in Australia’s 2003 ODI World Cup final victory over India, scoring an unbeaten 88 despite batting with a broken finger and forming a crucial 234-run partnership with captain Ricky Ponting.
