When Oak Park’s Charlie Romano was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997, the father of two who managed a car dealership, was unsure just what the diagnosis meant.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” Mr Romano recalls. “I thought multiple sclerosis was someone stuck in a wheelchair who can’t do much.”
Now a wheelchair user himself, Mr Romano is anything but stuck.
He credits Brain Link, an organisation providing support for people with an acquired brain injury, for turning his life around.
“It made me learn a lot about myself and I was determined not to be any different to what I was before.”
Mr Romano joined Brain Link’s eight-week peer support program, LifeMoves, soon after bring diagnosed. He now works as a program facilitator, providing support to others like him.
The program recently won the ‘team volunteer award’ in the Victorian Disability Sector Awards.
Mr Romano says being surrounded by people who are all experiencing the same thing is the key to LifeMove’s success.
“We get people to share their stories, and others relate to what you are saying.
“We also get into the emotional side of things and talk about the physical challenges and perceptions people have.”
He says it’s exciting to be recognised by the award.
“It’s a nice feeling, a really good feeling.
“I get comments like, jeez, I could really relate to that, I’ve been through the same things,” he says.
“It’s very nice to be recognised by people like that.”
