A 28-year-old from New South Wales, Dylan Watts, died just days before his 29th birthday after a rare bacterial infection left 72 holes in his lungs. Despite years of worsening health, his family said the loss was still a shock. Doctors had warned Dylan he was unlikely to live past 30. His younger sister, Caitlyn, told Daily Mail Australia that his condition had deteriorated rapidly. “Last July, he’d already spent three weeks in the hospital after coughing up blood. The doctor said if he hadn’t gone in, he wouldn’t have made it.”

In 2021, scans showed only two holes in his lungs. But over the next few years, Dylan battled fatigue, coughing, reflux, and depression as the infection spread. Early this year, a lung hemorrhage landed him in the hospital again, and his condition worsened soon after.

Despite constant hospital visits and a backpack full of medication, Dylan stayed hopeful. “He really believed he could recover somehow,” Caitlyn said. His mother, Suzanne, brought him home with his puppy, Polar, just days before he passed away.

Caitlyn remembered her brother as protective, kind, and creative, with dreams of becoming a tattoo artist. “He always stood up for people who didn’t have a voice,” she said. A GoFundMe has raised over $3,300 toward funeral costs. Caitlyn urged others to appreciate their families, saying, “This shows how fragile life is. Hold your loved ones close.”