High Park author pays tribute to her heroes

[attach]3017[/attach]Some people have just one hero in their life – if even that.

Eva Casino had three.

The 86-year-old mother of six raised three disabled children in an era when people with disabilities were shamed and looked down upon.

While three of her now-grown children, Bruce, 58, Eva Lynn, 57, and Michael, 51, were born without any disabilities, the Bloor and Keele resident’s three other children Paul, Mary Ellen and Ross were born with osteopetrosis, a severe congenital disease also known as Marble Bone or Albers-Schonberg disease.

Deafness, blindness and mobility issues are common in the disease, as is a shortened lifespan, brittle bones, anemia and stunted growth.

Still, Casino and her husband John did what they could for their children. Because of the critical nature of their disease, the Casino children were in and out of Sick Kids Hospital much of their early years undergoing tests, blood transfusions and casts for their broken bones.

Sometimes all three would be in the hospital at once, leaving mom and dad to take turns staying at home with the other three children.

But there were happy times, too.

Paul, who lived to be 37, loved music and was a talented pianist. His sister Mary Ellen, who was as determined as her mother, attained a masters degree in social work before her death at age 39.

Ross, who died at age 17, was the most frail of the siblings. He was a kind soul often caressing his mother’s hand as she looked after him.

“They all had a good mind, but they were treated like they weren’t smart, (with people) even suggesting they be put in a mental institution because they were disfigured,” Casino says.

Throughout it all, Casino kept notes of her family’s ups and downs. After Mary Ellen’s death in 2001 and then John’s death in 2005, Casino began toying with notion of writing a book about her family.

She wanted to tell people about her three heroes as well as prove to people that a disabled child isn’t a burden, but a blessing on a family.

So Casino, who had no formal education apart from grade school, put pen to paper and in 2009 enlisted the help of her friend to type the manuscript.

My 3 Heroes: A Story of Love, Devotion and Persistance in an Age of Impatience was self-published this past spring.

“(The treatment of disabled people) is better now, but I think we have a long way to go to treat them like human beings,” says Casino, who since John’s death lives in a retirement home near High Park.

“Someone once asked me why I kept the children because there were places for them to go. If I had a choice I would have given my three normal children away and kept my three handicapped ones as they needed me more.”

The 75-page book chronicles her family life, with Casino paying tribute to Paul, Ross and Mary Ellen.

In the book she recalls how medical professionals told John and her not to become too attached to their children because they wouldn’t live long.

“I don’t know how I could have done it without prayer and without people praying for me,” Casino says.

Even after the minister of education deemed Mary Ellen “uneducatable”, Casino found a school for her daughter to attend.

Eventually Mary Ellen found a safe haven at a school for the blind in Brantford.

Paul, who was partially blind, graduated from York with a music degree.

Casino cared for Ross who was confined to his bed and received injections for the pain.

It is not hard to view Casino as a hero herself.

Like many mothers, her love for her children knew no limits.