Jarrod Lyle's widow on life one year on from losing her husband.

It’s been one year since Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle died from acute myeloid leukaemia.

The professional athlete passed peacefully on August 8, 2018, with his wife Briony, and two young daughters Lusi and Jemma, aged six and two at the time, holding his hands. He was just 36.

On Thursday night’s episode of The Project, Briony spoke to co-host Carrie Bickmore about the moments leading up to his death, and what life is like for her family a year on from losing their husband and father.

Speaking of their final month together after Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care in late July 2018, Briony shared with Bickmore how they had watched her on TV on the night he passed.

You can watch a snippet from Briony Lyle’s interview with Carrie Bickmore on The Project below. Post continues after video.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be long for him. He was in a coma and had been for a couple of days, so we all made a point of being there and we put the television on,” Briony said.

“We put the bed down and it was Anh Do’s Brush with Fame and it was yourself [Carrie]. It was the episode of you, and you got to the point where you were talking about sometimes you see [Bickmore’s eldest son] Ollie from behind and he reminds you of Greg [Lange, Bickmore’s former husband who died of brain cancer in 2010].

“Jarrod’s aunty said to me ‘Bri it’s time’, and he died.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jarrod Lyle (@jarrod.lyle) on Nov 5, 2017 at 2:00am PST

In 2018, Bickmore appeared on Brush with Fame, saying the best thing she and Greg chose to do together, before his death, was having their son Ollie.

“One of the things we chose to do was have our son, Ollie. I think… it’s probably the greatest thing we ever did together. He’s a gorgeous boy and he’s so much like [Lange] in so many ways,” the 38-year-old said.

“This sounds so weird but often I’ll see him in the shower, the back of his body, and his frame is just a miniature version of Greg. They’re very, very similar. It was a great thing for both of us, to have him and have that focus.”

Jarrod was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia days after making a stellar debut on the professional golf circuit. He was just 16.

Despite his health obstacles, Jarrod always came back to golf, returning in 2012 before the cancer reappeared in 2013 for a second time, and for a third and final time in 2017.

On July 31, 2018, Jarrod’s family announced his decision to cease treatment on their Facebook page Jarrod’s Gift.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jarrod Lyle (@jarrod.lyle) on Mar 21, 2018 at 4:29pm PDT

“He has given everything that he’s got to give, and his poor body cannot take anymore. 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. But he has reached his limit,” the post read.

“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.”

Briony also told Bickmore about having to explain to her young daughters that their father wasn’t going to get better.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jarrod Lyle (@jarrod.lyle) on Jul 31, 2018 at 5:18am PDT

“We made the decision to start palliative care and drove home early that morning and had to wait till Lusi woke up. I had to say to her that the medicine is not working and that Daddy is going to die,” Briony said through tears.

“It was immediate sadness for her, which I had never seen before. She walked into his hospital room which she had been into so many times before and just walked over and held his hand. In the corner of his room there is a little whiteboard and there is a section that said do you have any questions for the doctor? And she wrote ‘why isn’t the medicine working’?”

You can watch the Briony Lyle’s full interview with Carrie Bickmore on The Project below. Post continues after video.

It’s been nearly a year since Aussie pro-golfer, Jarrod Lyle, passed away after a long battle with Leukemia. On the green, he was larger than life but I sat down with those closest to him to learn more about the man who became one of the sporting world’s true fighters. pic.twitter.com/znNZzbs2c2

— The Project (@theprojecttv) August 7, 2019

The Lyle family continue to honour Jarrod’s memory by raising funds and awareness for Challenge, a charity that supports kids with cancer.

But for Jarrod’s family and friends, they remember him as a no-fuss Aussie bloke who loved being around people, would help anyone and, as his good friend and comedian Andy Lee put it, “just wanted to have fun”.

Jarrod’s autobiography My Story is now available to pre-order through children’s cancer charity Challenge. You can find out more about Challenge here. You can also donate to Challenge through Jarrod’s Gift, which is dedicated to helping sick kids and their families enjoy ‘the little things’ in life.