Damien Martyn back home after major health scare as he reflects on the fact that ‘how fragile life is’ after being in induced coma.
Former Australian cricket player Damien Martyn tweeted, “I’m back,” as part of a social media statement that was equal parts thank-you and a positive health report.
“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,” former Australia batter Martyn, now 54, wrote after returning home from hospital, where he was admitted after being taken ill with meningitis.
“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.”
Martyn was placed in an induced coma shortly after becoming ill on Boxing Day. Although things didn’t seem promising at the time, on January 4, close friend and former teammate Adam Gilchrist described “an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours”—doctors were prepared to release Martyn from critical care following a positive change.
“He has responded extraordinarily well since coming out of the coma to the point where his family feels it’s like some sort of miracle,” Gilchrist said. “It has been so positive that they’re 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’s been and how quickly it has flipped around. He’s in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There is still some treatment and monitoring to go but it’s looking positive.”
Martyn reported on Saturday that he was back home and feeling fine after his “life was taken out of my hands”.
“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,” Martyn wrote. “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.”