Former Australian middle-order batter Damien Martyn, who was admitted to a hospital in Gold Coast last week, has been released from the hospital following a serious bout of meningitis.
54-year-old Martyn, who played 67 Test matches for the Baggy Greens from 1992 to 2006 in addition to making 208 ODI appearances, fell seriously ill last month and was rushed to hospital, where he was placed into an induced coma while doctors treated him.
A few days back his former Australian teammate shared the positive news about his recovery by stating that he has woken up from a coma, and on Thursday (January 8), he shared more good news about his release from hospital.
According to Gilchrist, Martyn still needs time to get fully fit, but he has been released from the hospital.
“The wonderful news is that he has been released from hospital,” Gilchrist said on Kayo Sports’ live Ashes coverage on Thursday.
“He’s still got a bit of a journey to go to be fully recovered, but it’s terrific and wonderful to know he’s back home, and his family express their gratitude and thanks for all the support,” he added.
Former Australian skipper Mark Waugh was also part of the show, and he termed Martyn’s recovery as a miracle.
“It’s almost a miracle, really,” Waugh said. “He was looking in really bad shape when he was in the ICU.”
Gilchrist praised the medical staff who treated Martyn and said, “The word from the medical staff was the ambulance officers who treated him as soon as they saw him could not have done it any more perfectly, which nipped the infection in the bud. He still has a bit of a journey to go; it was extreme, but great news.”
Martyn’s record for Australia
Martyn played 67 Tests and 208 ODIs for Australia from 1992 to 2006. He made his international debut for the Australian team during a Test match against the West Indies at The Gabba in Brisbane on November 27, 1992. He scored 4406 runs in 109 innings of 67 red-ball matches for the Baggy Greens, and in ODIs, he has a total of 5346 runs to his credit.
Martyn played a knock of unbeaten 88 runs from 84 balls against India in the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup and also won the Player Of The Series award in the 2004 Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in India. In that series, he amassed a total of 444 runs for the Australian team.