Jessica Halloran: The end of Jarrod Lyle’s brave fight but he was still thinking of others
BEFORE today’s news of his death, golfer Jarrod Lyle earned every word of the outpouring of love that greeted news his fight against acute myeloid leukaemia was nearing its end. Jessica Halloran looks back on a remarkable life.
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GOLFER Jarrod Lyle earned every word of the outpouring of love, every tear, that greeted the news that his fight against acute myeloid leukaemia was nearing its end.
As the world today mourns his death read Jessica Halloran’s story from Sunday which looked back on the remarkable life of a man who was much, much more than a golfer.
FULL STORY: Jarrod Lyle loses battle with cancer
IN a place by the beach Jarrod Lyle is close to his little girls, Jemma, 2, and Lusi, 6, as he receives care in the final days of his life.
His loved ones, including his wife Briony, a woman who personifies strength, are there to support Lyle as he fights until his last breath.
It’s the best place for him, says his long-time confidante David Rogers, and after being in terrible pain over the past month trying to find a cure for his illness, his friend is now comfortable.
Rogers has known Lyle for 20 years, says he is a “bit like a son” and was his “first pseudo manager” when the kid from Shepparton embarked on his pro career.
Rogers fell apart when he sat beside Lyle’s bedside this week.
“I was a bit selfish and I asked him to ‘keep going’,” Rogers said, then taking a moment to hold back a flood of tears.
“Knowing he is struggling, it was a surreal moment, that I was the one crying like a baby, and he said, ‘It is OK’. He comforted me which is what I am supposed to do.”
Rogers said Lyle comforting him typifies the golfer’s spirit.
They say people will forget what you said, what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.
Lyle’s friends say he treated everyone with great respect, from Tiger Woods to the marshals to the man in the bed beside him in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The former PGA golfer’s strength was his profound ability to connect to the everyman. He did that by allowing everyone in.
Just a few weeks ago Lyle, like everyone else, had hope he would survive. He’d fought off acute myeloid leukaemia as a 17-year-old in 1999 and again in 2012. His third bout with it began in July last year.
In June he was back in hospital, 205 days after a stem cell transplant, with blurred vision but hoping he’d get better.
From hospital, a place he couldn’t stand the stench of, he gave a stirring interview with his friend and journalist Andy Maher on SEN radio. He spoke about the “mystery” illness that had robbed him of his sight and how he was wanting to get out of hospital soon.
“It’s one of those things where there’s still a lot of things that I want to do in life,” Lyle said.
He wanted to watch his kids grow, be with the love of his life Briony. He wanted everyday things, to drive the car, pick his daughter up from school, things we sometimes, mindlessly, take for granted.
Lyle is courage personified. It can be seen in his willingness to share his life, be it on the radio or social media.
Briony often posted photographs and words that detailed his raw story of sickness. They showed the awful days. They told of the vomiting, swelling, mouth ulcers, food through IV, morphine after having another plasma transplant. He shared his feelings of being “miserable and scared”, “#nomoresmiles”. He shared it all.
His honesty helped those who have suffered like him, and he constantly interacted with them. He answered their calls, their emails. He was there for them.
Lyle’s final Instagram post came this week. Briony took the photo of him on his hospital bed. Under one arm was his youngest Jemma, he is gently kissing her forehead, and holding his hand is Lusi.
The heart-wrenching words underneath said it would be Jarrod’s final post as his body was no longer able to fight. While there is no trace of leukaemic cells the damage had been done in the fight to regain his body’s immunity levels.
There’s been a lot of dark times for Lyle in these final weeks when he has been gravely worried about his family’s financial future. Rogers is on a mission to make sure “the girls” are going to be OK.
“He is very scared and concerned that their lives won’t be what he wants them to be,” Rogers said. “He wants all his girls to be financially secure.”
Rogers, who is also the CEO of the Challenge cancer charity, hopes to raise $100,000 through the sale of Leuk the Duck merchandise. Former tour pro Tripp Isenhour started a GoFundMe page to raise $200,000 for the education of his daughters Lusi and Jemma.
Last Tuesday Lyle gave his final interview for his book being written by Mark Hayes.
“I feel like I am the luckiest golfer going around because so many people took an interest in me and took an interest in my fight,” Lyle told Hayes.
“To have so many friends around the world, whether spectators, whether they’re golfers, whether they’re marshalls, whatever, to have that kind of support, to go to every tournament, is a great feeling, it’s going to be hard to leave that behind but they know that I love them.”
“They know all the fighting that I did do was to get back out and play golf again …”
“It’s going to be hard but at some point ... it’s going to happen ...”
“They’ll get on with their lives. And ... I just feel very, very lucky.”
To purchase Leuk the Duck merchandise www.challenge.org.au
Originally published as Jessica Halloran: The end of Jarrod Lyle’s brave fight but he was still thinking of others