Young dad Dylan Watts dies days before his birthday after chest infection leaves ‘72 holes in his lungs’

A young dad has died just days before his birthday after falling ill with a lung infection.

Dylan Jay Watts, 28, from Moruya on the NSW South Coast, passed away on Saturday.

He would have turned 29 just three days later on Tuesday, March 18.

“He was severely ill with a bacterium in his lungs that led to 72 holes that would never repair,” his sister Caityln Watts said, adding doctors had earlier told him “he would be lucky to make it to his 30th birthday”.

As she grieves the loss of her brother, Caitlyn urged others to cherish their loved ones.

“Let this be a reminder that those you love can be gone in an instant so hold them close today and tell them you love them,” she said.

“There is a fragility in all of us, his memory and his story will be remembered by many who loved him and he will be forever missed.”

Watts was the father of an eight-year-old boy.

In a touching post announcing his son’s birth in 2017, he wrote: “Words cannot describe how much more purpose I feel with you to in my life!”

Dylan’s death has left his friendship group reeling after two of his mates passed away in separate incidents in 2021 and 2022.

Family friend Cheyenne O’Brien said that although Dylan had been unwell, his death still came as a “shock” to his family.

She has launched a GoFundMe to help assist his family to give him the “send-off that he deserves”.