Jarrod Lyle is continuing to battle health issues after enduring his third bone marrow transplant last December.
The Victorian professional told SEN radio today that he had been hospitalised in the past few weeks because of unexplained loss of vision.
Wife Briony put his downturn into the public sphere through Instagram recently.
“It’s not the easiest thing to right down,’’ said Lyle. “Dealing with it isn’t crash hot either. Hopefully we’re getting closer to a diagnosis of what’s going on.’’
Lyle, 36, a winner of two professional tournaments, has had a 20-year battle with acute myloid leukemia. He had his first stem cell transplant as a teenager in 1999, another in 2012 after he turned professional, and a third operation at Christmas.
He has been told he has a rare condition that is impacting on his vision. “This could be something I unfortunately live with the rest of my life,’’ he said. “Or it gets better with the treatment protocol when they figure out which way to go. I’m hoping it’s the second version and I can get on with life again, but I guess you have to have that worst-case scenario in the back of your head that you have to live with blurred vision, not being able to drive, not being able to look after your kids that well or look after yourself that well. It’s a tough pill to swallow.’’
Lyle has two young daughters, Lusi and Jemma and admits they provide most of his motivation to fight.
“It’s one of those things, there’s still a lot of things I want to do in life. Watching my girls grow up, being there for them and being there for Bry, trying to help her out as much as I can as well are the three major things that keep me going every day.’’
Listen to the full interview embedded above.