Former Australian cricketer Damien Martyn has thanked his family and friends after a life-threatening battle with meningitis. Martyn was taken to a Gold Coast hospital on December 26 after becoming seriously ill with meningitis – a potentially fatal condition involving infection and inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
However, the cricketer made a miraculous recovery and was discharged from the hospital after waking up from an induced coma while being treated in the intensive care unit. After successfully beating death, the cricketer wrote an emotional note recalling his fighting days and thanked the medical staff for their support.
“This post is a HUGE thank you to ALL my family, friends, and the many others who reached out to me! On December 27th, 2025, my life was taken from my hands when meningitis took over my brain and unbeknownst to me, I was put into a paralyzing coma for 8 days to help me fight this horrible disease. And I did this on his Marty X account!
“After being given a 50/50 chance of survival, I came out of an induced coma 8 days later unable to walk or talk. And yet 4 days later, with doctors in disbelief, I was walking, talking and proving to them all why I should be released from the hospital to start my recovery. I am so happy to be home to put my feet in the sand and thank all those people on the beach. They will not be shaken support,” he added.
“This experience reminded me how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change and how precious time is! There are so many amazing people in this world from the paramedics (at Mermaid Waters Ambulance), doctors and nurses (at Gold Coast University Hospital) to family, friends and people I didn’t even know. I feel like I’ve met all these fantastic people in the last 3 weeks. Thank you all for your support. you! Bring on 2026, I back!,” he concluded. Post X by Damien Martyn (Source: @damienmartyn)
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
January 17, 2026