Harrogate family speak of tragedy behind new bakery

A Harrogate family have spoken of how the loss of their 12-year-old son led them to set up a bakery in his memory.

Reef Carneson died in June last year after battling cancer since he was a baby. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at just five months old.

Although Reef’s death left his parents Lydia and Ryan — who are originally from South Africa — grieving, the family resolved to try to do something positive.

‘He was a miracle’

Reef was the first to undergo a bone marrow transplant in Pretoria, South Africa, when he was just 11 months old.

Lydia says she and her husband, Ryan, were told that Reef would have “just days to live”.

However, Reef was a fighter and pulled through.

Lydia said:

“We realised that he was a miracle.”

Complications from his condition led the couple to take him to America in 2011 for treatment for graft-versus-host disease, which meant his body was rejecting new bone marrow.

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The family settled in Los Angeles where Reef’s condition improved until he was diagnosed with skin cancer.

He seemed to be improving but his health began to deteriorate over the years.

Following the election of President Donald Trump, the family was forced to leave America when the immigration rules were changed and their work visas became void.

Lydia, who also has British citizenship, took Reef and the family to Chapel Park in Newcastle where they settled in February 2021.

Four months later, Reef passed away after his cancer had spread.

Moving to Harrogate

Lydia and her family decided to leave Newcastle in search of a fresh start.

She said:

“We could not stay in Newcastle. The memories were too much.”

Once in Harrogate, Ryan, a trained pastry chef, tried to find work but found the grief too much to handle.

Despite the heartache, the couple decided to make a fresh start in their lives.

Reef dressed in his chef outfit ready to help his dad.

Reef dressed in his chef outfit ready to help his dad.

In January this year, the pair launched IndulgenceByRyan in an effort to make something positive out of their grief.

The business was inspired by Reef, who Lydia says always wanted to be like his dad and would often help him in the kitchen.

Lydia said:

“It’s so difficult to function normally when you have such grief.

“We had always thought about the bakery because it is something that we wanted to do and he [Reef] always wanted to be like his dad.”

She added that she hopes the family’s story will help others who may be grieving the loss of a loved one.

The bakery specialises in cakes, cookies and chocolate and recently has taken on a partnership with Harrogate’s fairytale boutique, Beyond Imagination Emporium.

It does not currently have its own shop in town and is currently deliveries only. Lydia says owning an outlet in Harrogate is “the dream”.

“We would like a nice place for people to meet up and have coffee.”