The Gillin family is mourning the loss of their son and brother Aaron who died on Thursday morning at the age of 24.
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The Warrnambool man had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-wasting disease that confined him and his brother Christopher, 26, to wheelchairs and in need of 24-hour care.
Christopher said his beloved brother was at peace and no longer in pain. “We will miss you,” he said. "Watching wrestling, TV, movies and footy will never be the same without you but I will keep my promise to you and keep living my life.” His mum Mandy said the family was still coming to terms with the loss of Aaron whose health had deteriorated over the past few weeks. “It’s better for him but not for us,” she said. “It’s hard.”
The siblings created a muscular dystrophy awareness facebook page and led a campaign last year where local and national sporting teams and identities wore green shoe laces to highlight the condition “one lace at a time”. Muscular Dystrophy Australia has adopted the laces as a symbol to raise awareness about the genetic disorder.
Aaron will be farewelled on Monday, October 30 at Guyetts’ Eastern Park Chapel, Verdon Street, Warrnambool at 1.30pm Aaron wished for those attending the funeral to wear their favourite football colours, band shirts or a touch of green to support Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Warrnambool.
