Long battle still ahead for courageous Jarrod
TORQUAY golfer Jarrod Lyle is facing another bone marrow transplant to combat his leukaemia after a positive update on clearing the first of many hurdles.
Lyle was declared in remission last week but only to the extent that his blood counts have returned to normal for the first time since his latest round of chemotherapy.
Bigger hurdles are to come with a full transplant that will leave him at high risk of infection when his immunity levels are at zero like a newborn baby.
Lyle’s wife Briony was upbeat at the prospect of the former PGA Tour pro clearing the first hurdle in his latest fight to regain a normal life.
“What has happened since he began chemo has been great and really important,” Briony said.
“But the word ‘remission’ might be a bit misleading in this instance because he’s not ‘cured’ yet. “Jarrod is still very ill, is at high risk of infection and is taking huge amounts of medication daily.
“Jarrod will return to hospital at some point in the next week or so for ‘consolidation chemo’ to try to keep things as they are for the moment.
“He will still need to have a full bone marrow transplant if he’s actually going to be cured.” Lusi and Gemma, the two daughters Lyle wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to father with Briony, are the heartbeat of his world.
Lyle, 36, made a comeback to the PGA Tour in 2014 and played 20 events on a medical exemption.