Trans4mation

Once Customs4Cancer was launched, it became customary for Ned, his friends and their families to get together at the Restom home on a Friday evening. On this late spring evening, they sat in the television lounge round drinks and snacks chatting animatedly about the events of the past week. In the background the light was dimming over the stretch of natural bush in Ned’s backyard. On the wall in the front of the room, images on the screen of the mounted television tracked the week’s ticket sales for the raffle. The mood was optimistic. Video clips of supporters contributed to the happy mood resulting in spontaneous applause and shouts of, Yahoo!.

They watched the interview by singer songwriter Suzan Mutesi. She spoke to a sixty-one-year-old grandfather from the central coast who had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. His inspirational message urged cancer patients to take every chance on offer to live life to the full. He showed how he applied this in his own life by seizing every opportunity to surf with his grandson. His message was echoed in an interview with a central coast builder in his mid- fifties fighting melanoma. His advice is:

“Don’t panic. It will block you from working out how you are going to cope. Instead concentrate on a strategy on how you are going to get through this and don’t dwell on the negative.”

Reality television personality, Lizzie Sobinoff, is another strong supporter of Customs4Cancer and their efforts. The group in Ned’s room watched as she interviewed thirty-four-year-old, Elise Sprolls, a marathon runner from Sydney who holds a marketing position within banking. The day before receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer, she wrote in her journal about how happy she was with life, how lucky she was to have her friends and family and how great it was to feel so fit and healthy. This underscored to those who were watching just how indiscriminate cancer is. It spares no one. No one is safe from its sudden ambush. Ned Restom was testimony to this. All those interviewed, expressed their support for Custom4Cancer and were unanimous in commending the team for getting the raffle going in such a short space of time. Their views were summed up by Elise who said: “Thank you to the people who donate. They are helping people to live a little longer.”

It was at this point that a call came through on Adam Barnes’s phone. He glanced at the number and then pushed speaker phone so the others in the room could hear the conversation.

“It’s Michael Romeo,” he indicated, gesturing to Dean and Ned to sit down and switch off the television.

“Hey Guys,” came the now well-known voice from Brisbane.

Michael Romeo, the thirty-six-year-old family man, husband and father of a beautiful four-year old little girl, was in the terminal stage of oesophageal cancer. His story was integral to launching the Customs4Cancer campaign. The group in the room in Gosford fell silent. In the pause that followed each one was grappling with their own thoughts. Each one had been touched by the journey of the courageous young man who fought so bravely against a life-ending sentence that seemed as untimely as it was unfair. No one escaped the comparison between Ned, who had received a reprieve, and Michael, who had not. They heard Michael take a deep breath on the other side of the line. Then came his voice:

“Guys, I’m not going to make it to the end of the campaign. I want to wish you all the best. It’s been an honour to be part of it.”

A few days later Michael Romeo died.

Ned and his team were deeply affected by this loss. Ned wrote a eulogy on social media. In it he said:

Michael Romeo, a brave warrior, an inspirational young man, who gave us the courage and strength to own our situation, take control of the outcome, accepting what is and letting go of what was…Words cannot express what I’m feeling right now. You have given me lessons, experiences, knowledge and so much more.

Please remember to tell his story.

Before his death Michael Romeo published much of his story in a book called, Terminal Velocity. The opening paragraph reads:

“Up until January 2019, I was a healthy thirty-five-year-old. I spent my youth keeping in shape, training, eating right and generally looking after myself. That all changed when I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer…Overnight my life was changed, and I started to see life from a totally new perspective. It is one that I hope can help others.”

Helping others find hope in the fight against Cancer was the driving force that initiated the Customs4Cancer raffle campaign. The goal was to have the chequered flag come down on the winner on World Cancer Day 2021.

February 4 traditionally marks World Cancer Day. It is the date signposted on the annual calendar when people throughout the world from all the diverse cultures and countries on earth stop to acknowledge a common enemy. Divided by oceans and separated by ideologies, we are united by a universal experience of being human: The grief and loss associated by disease. The lonely fight of individuals ravaged by cancer touches a common nerve. The incalculable price of the loss of human life to communities and society caused by the relentless attack of cancer places us all on the same battle hill.