Former Australian batter Damien Martyn recounted his miraculous recovery from meningitis and an induced coma. The right-hander had fallen ill on Boxing Day and was placed in an induced coma for 8 days. “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!”, said Martyn on his X account. He then said, “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 played in 67 Tests for Australia from 1992 to 2006 and scored 13 centuries. He was part of the Australian team that won the 2003 World Cup and hit an 88 not out in the final against India. Martyn also thanked people for being supportive of him and his family during the trying time. 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… pic.twitter.com/3Mt3DS6MZY — Damien Martyn🏏 (@damienmartyn) January 17, 2026 “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!”, he wrote. In his note, Martyn also thanked the paramedics and the Gold Coast University hospital. “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.” When the news of his meningitis had broken, many of his Australian teammates and Cricket Australia came out in his support. Adam Gilchrist had spoken on behalf of the Martyn family and said, “He is getting the best of treatment and [Martyn’s partner] Amanda and his family know that a lot of people are sending their prayers and best wishes.”
‘Was given 50-50 chance of surviving’: Damien Martyn back home after returning from induced coma
