Former Australia batter Damien Martyn has woken from a coma and is showing remarkable progress after falling seriously ill with meningitis on Boxing Day, doctors have said. The 54-year-old, who was admitted to a Gold Coast hospital last week, has been able to speak with family and respond to treatment.
Close friend and former teammate Adam Gilchrist, speaking on behalf of Martyn’s family, described the turnaround as extraordinary. “It has been an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours,” he said. “He is now able to talk and respond to treatment. He has responded extraordinarily well since coming out of the coma to the point where his family feels it is like some sort of miracle.
“It has been so positive that they are hopeful he will be able to move out of the ICU into another part of the hospital, which is representative of what a great recovery it has been and how quickly it has flipped around. He is in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There is still some treatment and monitoring to go but it is looking positive.”
Gilchrist added that Martyn’s wife, Amanda, had been deeply touched by the messages and support from fans and the wider cricket community. “She just really wants to say she is convinced that the love, goodwill and sense of care that they felt from everybody, via messages and via the coverage in the press, really helped him,” he said. “They just feel blessed so many people have wanted to support him in his time of need. He will remain in hospital and continue to receive treatment but the turnaround has been miraculous.”
Martyn, who played 67 Tests for Australia between 1992 and 2006, was recalled to the side in 2000 after a six-year gap and became a key figure in Steve Waugh’s dominant team. He was also part of the Australia squad that won the 2003 ODI World Cup.
