The Power of Soul 2012

Local Sarasota County love birds Matt and Gini Carroll have known each other since the age of 8…

Matthew Joseph Carroll was born in Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) in 1972. He is an avid guitar player and has was involved in the Sarasota music scene in a variety of bands throughout the years.

Gini was born in 1971. She graduated from USF (the local college branch) with honors. A photographer in her spare time, this well known community figure has been serving up great food at the Tommy Bahamas restaurant on St. Armand’s circle for the past 14 years.

“We actually met when we were around 8 years old at the Longboat Key Youth Center Summer Camp. Back then, I was living on Anna Maria Island with my folks but we ended up meeting there (on the Sarasota County / Manatee County divide) because our parents worked on LBK…” says Gini.

The two married happily on July 26th, 2007 at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron after romance reigniting in 1998. But shortly thereafter devastating news from the doctors and nurse practitioners of SMH arrived.

Gini’s childhood sweetheart Matt was diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the Liver in 2009.

Since that time, Matt has slowly lost the ability to work as his condition has progressed. Now, he stays close to home with his 2 dogs Jackie and Cullen to keep his spirits up.

Forced to constantly monitor his health, he’s forces to keep himself isolated as much as possible from the general public to protects his weakened immune system.

Matt has had many trips to hospital over the last four years, 3 in the last 30 days actually.

Last year Matt and Gini received an incredible gift — hope from the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, Florida… you see, they agreed to put his name on the life-saving transplant list.

Despite immunodeficiency troubles making it tough for Matt to leave the house, he is in fairly good health (considering his circumstances). His good countenance combined with his own desire to live a healthy lifestyle into his elder years makes him a prime candidate for a liver transplant.

“The Power of Soul” team hopes to help them get through this medical crisis with a bit more cash in their pockets. If everyone donated just $10, the quality of life would greatly improve for the Carroll family.