In 1924, Lyons gave birth to her seventh child, the first born to an incumbent Tasmanian premier. The family experienced a number of difficulties over the following two years. She was bedridden with mumps for two months in mid-1925, shortly after which her infant son died of meningitis. A few months later she miscarried and was forced to carry the dead foetus for three months; the curettage procedure resulted in toxemia. In July 1926, her husband was severely injured in a car accident that caused the death of his colleague Michael O'Keefe, remaining in hospital for nine weeks.
