Damien Martyn, a former Australian cricketer, has shown promising indications of recovery after being placed in a life-threatening coma following a bout with meningitis. The 54-year-old, who was admitted in critical condition on Boxing Day, has awoken from his coma and is responding nicely to therapy, with doctors hoping to move him out of intensive care soon. His relatives hailed the improvement as amazing.
Damien Martyn was transported to a Gold Coast hospital late in December after becoming critically ill.
As his condition deteriorated, physicians put him in an induced coma to keep him stable while they treated meningitis, a severe infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. The announcement of his illness prompted anxiety, with former teammates, competitors, and fans from all around the world offering messages of support. In the days that followed, his family requested seclusion while noting that he was still under strict medical supervision.
“We would like to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support our family has received. We also want to express our deepest appreciation to the medical team at Gold Coast University Hospital who have been nothing short of amazing throughout this challenging time. This has been a trying time and the family ask that you respect their privacy,” the Martyn family said in a statement to the Courier Mail earlier this weekend.
It’s been an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours: Adam Gilchrist
Martyn’s close friend and former Australian teammate, Adam Gilchrist, stated on behalf of the family, confirming that the former batter had woken up from the coma and was now able to speak. Gilchrist described the past 48 hours as an unbelievable turn of events. Gilchrist also revealed that Martyn is in good spirits and deeply moved by the support he has received.
“It’s been an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours. 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’s like some sort of miracle. 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,” he said.
Martyn will remain in the hospital for further treatment and monitoring. Messages of support continued to pour in from across the world. Former India batters VVS Laxman and Ravichandran Ashwin, along with ex-Australia players Darren Lehmann and Michael Vaughan, were among those who publicly sent their prayers and encouragement.
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