ONE OF US:
Challenges of disease made him stronger, patient advocate says
(Reprinted from the Florida Times-Union and edited)
By CHARLIE PATTON
Times-Union columnist
JACKSONVILLE, FL - The first symptoms Ben Carrino felt were nausea and dizziness.
"I woke up with what felt like a really bad hangover," he remembered of the November day in 1997 when he first experienced what doctors initially thought was vertigo. After further tests, Carrino, at the time a 20-year-old college student, was diagnosed as a victim of Multiple Sclerosis.
Strike that. Victim is the wrong word, at least in Carrino's view. "We're not victimized," the 27-year-old from Ponte Vedra Beach said. "We can still live normal lives. There's no reason to feel ashamed or hopeless. Reach out and ask for help if needed."
MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that can result in symptoms including loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision, and paralysis. Though it is treatable, there is no known cure. In the days following diagnosis, Carrino endured "an emotional roller-coaster." He decided to contact the North Florida chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Since then, Carrino said, he has lived a full life while becoming an advocate and spokesman for the MS Society.
He participates in an annual MS Walk, and the annual PGA Tour MS 150 Bike Tour, a two-day bike ride from the World Golf Village to St. Augustine and back, which this year will be Sept. 17-18.
He holds a business degree from the University of North Florida and works as a customer adviser for Zurich Insurance Services. He's active in his church, and he's engaged il to Pam Foster.
Although MS may have a genetic component, it rarely occurs in parents and children, which is why it's unusual that Carrino's mother was diagnosed with MS about three years ago. His message to her, he said, is the message he tries to convey to everyone he meets who has MS. "The cup's always half-full," he said.
Spreading that message, Carrino said, has become so important he hopes to one day make his living as a motivational speaker. He has spoken at the Seven Bridges Grill and Brewery during the first MS Social Hour, a program designed to give young professionals who want to know more about MS an opportunity to meet. Carrino talked about the challenges posed by MS, and the opportunities. "I'm a stronger person, stronger and more confident, than I was when I was first diagnosed with MS," he said. "I want to spread that word."