By Kent Gray
In November 2017, we ran the inspiring story of Luke Joy’s victory at the 10th King Hamad Trophy, quoting from the refreshingly honest online blog the Abu Dhabi-based English professional pens.

Fast forward to last week and the 31-year-old was at it again, except this time his second victory in three attempts in Bahrain prompted a more solemn, introspective post. 

The first victory produced a bright respite from the mostly warts and all account of his challenging 2017. His latest post, however, has put his improved golfing fortunes, and the love of his life, sharply in focus.

RELATED: Joy confident MENA Tour lessons can (finally) help him crack European Tour Q-School

Luke and Lauren Joy

Joy takes up the personal story which both he and wife Lauren hope might help other couples: “This year has been probably my hardest to date. My performance [he also won on the EuroPro Tour] and golfing ability has been getting better and better thanks to the guys I have around me, but I didn’t quite realise how my golf would mean absolutely nothing to me with Lauren, my wife, being sick.”

After twice having her “horrendous” stomach and back pain misdiagnosed in the UAE, Lauren Joy sought a third opinion from a London specialist over the summer. She had a laparoscopy and was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis, a painful inflammatory condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found outside the uterus.

“My wife is a personal trainer, fit, in great shape and when she could barely walk for three to five days a month, horrendous stomach and back pain, we knew that the advice and pills we had been given [in the UAE] were wrong,” said Joy.

“We found out that it is very common but vastly misdiagnosed and often put down to period pain. Lauren’s case is slightly different as she is riddled with it, hence stage four, and the MRI showed it had spread to her bladder so she is having bladder surgery alongside removing the endometriosis.”

“She has had two injections in her stomach to limit the pain but the side effects bring on symptoms conducive to menopause. For a 27-year-old, going through all of this… it has been a tough year for Lauren and without the surgery happening now it would also make it almost impossible for us to start a family, something we both really want.

“I can’t heap more praise on Lauren for how she has dealt with it all. I’m so proud of her and if this helps one person/wife of a reader of this magazine then she will be happy opening up about it.” 

Lauren is due to have surgery in London this week. The long term outlook for her husband has vastly changed too.

Luke and Lauren Joy in FFA (“Forced Festive Attire”) during their Abu Dhabi Christmas last year.

“We’re in the process of getting her better with surgery but when I saw her in so much pain this summer it put things in perspective really quickly. I have dedicated half my life to golf but when we found out the severity of things in the summer and how much it would cost to put right, I was ready to throw in the towel to get a normal job to pay the medical bills.

“If it wasn’t for Lauren and my family being totally against the idea and supporting me, I would have stopped playing in a heartbeat and I think this week’s performance was a good way to cement that the wife is always right.

“It’s always great to get back in the winner’s circle and playing with something on the line, it’s the reason I get up in the morning and practice. This win was great and it’s a huge relief to get a cheque that will help take care of some of the bills that will be coming up.”

For golfing prosperity, Joy carded rounds of 71, 68 and an impressive eight-under 64 around Royal Golf Club to storm from six shots back starting the final round to -13 and into a playoff. He then edged fellow Brit Sean Towndrow in overtime to be crowned the 12th King Hamad Trophy champion.

Luke Joy | Blog https://t.co/EGte6RoUT1 @YasLinksGC @RemedyOak @mboltpga @KingHamadTrophy pic.twitter.com/ERun9aef9y

— Luke Joy (@JoyBoy59) December 6, 2019

“To say it was a bit of a whirlwind trip is quite the understatement,” said the MENA Tour regular who also plays on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and the EuroPro Tour.

“I wasn’t actually going to play the event this week, as to be honest funds are pretty limited at the moment and I had my brother in Abu Dhabi visiting for the F1. As it turned out I flew to Bahrain on the morning of the opening round as I had played the course many times before and when the organisers kindly offered to sort out my hotel for the week to keep my costs down and as a past champion, I wanted to support the event, even if my preparation was not exactly going to be ideal. It turned out to be a good decision.”

The post Joy tempered as pro reveals wife’s illness after second King Hamad Trophy win in Bahrain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.