Damien Martyn is awake and talking, a week after he was placed in an induced coma in a Gold Coast hospital with meningitis. The 54-year-old has been able to speak to friends and family, including ex-teammate Adam Gilchrist, and is said to have been overwhelmed by the support offered.
“It has been an incredible turn of events over the last 48 hours,” Gilchrist said in a statement.
“He can now talk and respond to treatment. He has responded extremely well since coming out of the coma to the point where his family feels it is something of a miracle.
“It has been so positive that they are hopeful that he can move from intensive care to another part of the hospital, which is representative of the amazing recovery it has been and how quickly it has been turned around.”
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Martyn, a graceful right-handed batsman who has played 67 Tests, suddenly fell ill late last month and was rushed to a Gold Coast hospital, where he remains.
As recently as Christmas Eve, Martyn was posting on social media about the ongoing Ashes series before falling ill with meningitis – an infection and swelling of fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Michael Vaughan were among the cricketing icons who sent their best wishes to him.
“He is in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There is still some treatment and monitoring to be done, but things are looking positive,” Gilchrist said.
“His wife Amanda would really like to say to everyone that she believes that the love, goodwill and sense of care that they felt from everyone, through messages and through press coverage, really helped him,” he said. “They just feel blessed, so many people have wanted to support him during his time [of] need.
“He will remain in hospital and continue to receive treatment, but the turnaround has been miraculous.”
Born in Darwin, Martyn made a Test debut at the age of 21, replacing Dean Jones in the 1992/93 home series against the West Indies and captained Western Australia at the age of 23.
He played 208 ODIs, averaging 40.8 and scored an unbeaten 88 runs as Australia defeated India in the 2003 World Cup final.
Martyn retired from Test cricket midway through the 2006/07 Ashes series and played his last match at the Adelaide Oval that summer. During his retirement he dabbled in commentary, but has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years.
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