Australian golf’s greatest battler can fight no longer with a gut-wrenching message from his wife Briony this evening outlined the impending heart-breaking end to Jarrod Lyle’s third fight with cancer.
Lyle, 36, twice a winner on the Web.Com Tour and one of the most revered figures in Australian golf, first fought leukemia in 1999, then again in 2012 before his third fight began in July last year.
Lyle returned to hospital in May, almost six months since his third stem cell transplant to ward off leukemia.
‘Earlier today, Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care,’ Briony wrote on Facebook.
‘He has given everything that he’s got to give and his poor body cannot take any more.
‘We’ll be taking him closer to home in the next couple of days so he can finally leave the hospital.’
He had previously been in great spirits about his recovery and returned home to Torquay to resume what he and Briony had thought would be a ‘normal’ life with their daughters, Lusi and Jemma.
Doctors have told the Lyles that there is no trace of leukemic cells in his body, but the damage done in the fight to regain his body’s immunity levels has taken an exhausting toll and made his past month a torturous and painful trial in the search for a workable cure.
‘Jarrod knows he is loved and the thousands of prayers and well wishes that have been sent his way have kept him going through some incredibly tough times,’ Briony wrote.
‘But he has reached his limit and the docs have finally agreed that they can no longer strive for a positive outcome.
‘My focus as of today is on our girls and doing whatever I can to get them through the challenges ahead.
‘Jarrod will be closer to them very soon and will spend as much time as he can with them.
‘When it’s appropriate, I will post details of a memorial service.
‘In the meantime, we ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.’
Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty Images
