After recovering from a “awful” meningitis attack, former Australian batter Damien Martyn returned home on Saturday, saying it made him realize “how fragile life is.”
Martyn had to be placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit after becoming unwell on December 27, 2025, but he began to show signs of recovery during the first week of January.
However, the experience is now over for him.
“Bring on 2026 …I’m back! 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 wrote in an emotional note posted on his X account, accompanied by a picture of him standing on a beach.
Martyn claimed that the traumatic experience made him realize how fleeting life is.
“This experience has reminded me of how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change & how precious time is!”
The 54-year-old former World Cup champion also reflected on his struggle with the illness.
“On the 27th of December 2025 my life was taken out of my hands…when meningitis took over my brain, & unbeknownst to me I was placed into a paralysed coma for 8 days to help me fight this awful disease. And that I did! Fight that is!…. 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,” he stated.
Martyn, who represented Australia in 67 Test matches, 208 ODIs, and 4 T20Is, expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him during the difficult times.
“This post is A BIG thank you to ALL my family, friends and so many other people who have reached out to me! 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.
“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,” he wrote.
