Accessibility Matters^™ Episode 19: Josh Basile

Transcript for John Michael Griffin, Publisher of Accessibility.com, speaks with Josh Basile, Founder of the Determined2Heal Foundation and SPINALpedia.com, Community Relations Manager at accessiBe.

John: Good afternoon. I’m John Griffin. I’m the publisher of Accessibility.com and your host for these sessions that we call Accessibility Matters. Today I have an incredibly special guest. I think you’ll enjoy meeting him. I think you will find him refreshing in terms of uh, being an inspiration to anyone that listen to his general story. At 18 years old, he suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury that rendered him as a uh, quadriplegic. He did not accept what that could po--possibly imply to any person. And he became very, very determined to overcome what the barriers were that came along with that.

He was a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Maryland, attended the David A Clarke uh, Law School where he was Magna Cum Laude. Law clerked for the Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions, law clerked at the US Attorney’s Office in eastern district, Virginia. He has worked tirelessly as a nine-year -- for nine years as a trial attorney with a practice specialization in catastrophic injuries, personal injuries and medical malpractice.

He founded uh, the Determined2Heal Foundation as a 503 (c) (3) nonprofit. Their job is to do something that he did as an example for himself, simplify the transition into life for persons of paralysis by spinal cord injuries. At the age of 18 years old, he became the founder of SPINALpedia. His name is Joshua Basile. And he is married, father of one with another one on the way. My friend, Josh Basile. So, Josh, 18 years old on the boogie board, and something happened that the way you’re going is going to change history. Uh, but tell us how you got here, Josh.

Josh: John, well, thank you for having me here today. And um kind of my, my journey, um, my life was flipped upside down when I was uh, 18 years old. I was on a family vacation at the beach in waist-high water and then a wave in the ocean came behind me, picked me up and slammed me headfirst against the ocean floor. And that day, I uh, shattered my neck and I became a C4-5 quadriplegic. I’m paralyzed below my shoulders and um, it’s a -- it’s been quite a journey since uh, since that August day.

John: When you finally realized where you were at, how did you react?

Josh: I remember my friends ended up pulling me ashore. Um, I was -- because I was facedown in the water and I was paralyzed, I couldn’t flip myself over. And I ended up blacking out in the water. And when they pulled me to shore, I somehow coughed up the water and um, I just remember just like looking up and wanting my vacation to continue. But when my dad ran to the beach and saw my neck really on a-- at an angle, he knew, he knew something was very wrong and that um, our vacation was, was kind of ending right there.

Um, and I ended up getting the hospital’s critical unit. I was on a ventilator during the early days where I could only communicate with blinking my eyes. And when I regained my voice about four weeks after um, getting into the critical unit, I decided to make sure that my every word from that moment on would have purpose. And that’s really when I became an advocate for life.

John: Your description of advocate for life, where did you find that philosophy inside of you that that you had a determination that is so extraordinary? And and what assets did you come in touch with as you went through this period?

Josh: My -- I really think that the foundation of of who I am is my friends and my family, and really my caregivers. They are they are -- I could not have done what I’ve done without them. Like, they’ve they’ve really motivated me to be the best me. And they’ve given me the support needed to let me kind of wheel after my dreams and wheel after my goals. And earl--early on, I wanted to, you know, first you know, kind of heal my body and do a ton of physical therapy. And then after a certain amount, I was like, you know what, I’m ready to give back. And that’s when I started the Determined2Heal Foundation back in 2005 to help simplify the transition in the life for newly injured families, [crosstalk]

John: Right.

Josh: And provide -- and provide and provide mentors to them. I just, I learned from my own mentors what was possible. They kind of showed me like, all right, you can do it these these different ways. And you can still live a really fun and meaningful life. It just might be a little bit different. And I quickly learned um, early on in my journey that, you know, before my injury, I did things 1 million ways. And now I get to do it 1 million new ways, 1 million different ways. But it’s a matter of trying to have that willingness to try and the creativity to figure that out. And a lot of times, you know, doing it all on your own can be pretty scary. So, what if you could learn it from other people?

And with my foundation, we created SPINALpedia.com, which now has over 21,000 videos broken down by physical functionality. And all the videos are made by people with paralysis. So, you could put your exact movement in and have mentors to give you ideas on how to [inaudible 00:06:43], how to brush your teeth, how to make a meal, how to drive a car, how to go sailing, how to control a computer. You name it, there’s a video for everything these days. It’s just a matter of kind of organizing it and making it accessible for people. Um, but with with advocating, you know, I just as I went along, I knew my best asset um, was going to be my mind and my voice. Physically, I’m very limited in what I can do. Like it’s just -- that’s just the reality of being a quadriplegic, paralyzed below my shoulders.

But my mind and my voice, I knew I can strengthen it and get it to another level where I can almost be a force or creative, be -- basically have a superpower of skills and talents that I could unleash on the world. And that’s why I just, I really focused on school, and became a product of uh, the state’s vocational system. There’s incredible disability support programs that help pe-- um, people with disabilities get an education, get training in a field of their choice. And it took me a little longer than most people, but I plugged away at it each and every day.

And um, it’s uh, a -- the next thing you know, I’m graduating and became a barred attorney in in Maryland and Washington DC. And um, I have a consulting firm and work at a prestigious law firm. And I love all my nonprofit work as well. Um, I am a proud board mem-- board member of the United Spinal Association. And um, I just, I love being able to get out um, in the community, but really being able to empower others in the community to live their best life and recognizing that it’s -- a lot is still possible and a lot can be done. It’s uh, it’s fun, it’s fun. I’m -- I think my favorite thing is like, I’ve always set forward lots of goals. And the truth is I’ve basically hit almost all in the sense of when I put my mind to something, I figured out a game plan. You know, you got to start somewhere, you got to have baby steps, you have to have the ability to know, you have to, you can’t just get to your goal on one leap. It takes time and effort.

But if you put effort and you put the hours in, goals are attainable, no matter what your physical and mental abilities are. Um, and just um, I think one of the most proud ones that I -- I’m excited for right now is that I’ve I’ve now gotten all these educational stuff, work stuff, check it off my belt, and now I fell in love and um, in a few months this March I’m gonna become a father of a baby boy, which I’ve been dreaming about my whole life. So, I’m really, really excited for 2022.

John: Your journey, which you didn’t ask for that was aided by love is going full circle. And uh, and you’re going to be a dad to a baby boy. Uh, and you know, the the circle continues to grow. I want to go back though to SPINALpedia. Um, SPINALpedia is, it’s an accessible tool. You were inspired to do this because of what you were receiving, or did you just -- How did that evolve, because that’s, that’s really uh, and that’s a huge accomplishment of 21,000 videos of of sharing.

You know, uhm there are -- there are organizations, you know, recovery organizations like AA and so many, so many, you know, you know, really noble uh, endeavors that are out there for persons with with not just disabilities, but difficulties. The strength of those organizations have beating at their soul, you know, next to their souls, kind hearts; people who are giving of themselves, um, you know, and and and taking no measurement for that except their own. Talk a little bit more about that, because that’s an extraordinary accomplishment.

Josh: So, with the process population, um, when I started my dream with my story, my journey, my lessons learned, I thought, you know, in the early days that my story could could go a long way. And I quickly realized, my story is great within my unique world, which is my physical ability. And there’s other factors involved in that. But with a spinal cord injury, every single vertebra of the spinal cord branches out to a different part of the body. And each body part basically becomes a new world of independence and functionality. If I was one level above my injury, I’d be on a ventilator. one level below that, I’d have my biceps, one level below that, my triceps one level below that, I found that my pointer finger, and each finger after that is another level. And you just go down your, your spinal cord.

But I realized if you could branch out stories, branch out activities of daily living within each world, within the process, world physical functionality wise, you can give people the support, the ideas, the bill -- the ability to learn, at a much more productive level. Um, so, it’s like, I just I just knew if I could organize it in a way to make it easier for people, it would create a lot of hope, a lot of empowerment, and a lot, a lot more people living their best life. It’s it’s incredible what happens when you’re -- when you first see something that you can’t do, um, but you then see uh, I’m sorry. When you first see somebody else, doing something with your level of injury, it just like kicks you in the button says you can do it too. But if you didn’t see that video, if you didn’t see, have that idea, you just never wouldn’t have known if it was possible.

So, it’s like giving people that, that that spark, giving the people that, that edge to be able to like push them in the right direction. It’s just, you you end up living such a more, more active lifestyle. And um, living with adventurous wheels is a program that we had with my foundation. And it was really taken off before COVID. So, we ended up creating about 20 different events, adventures for families, and I would organize it and then have the nonprofit fully sponsored. Meaning that if you come to one of our events, you don’t have to pay a dime. All you have to focus on is making smiles, making memories with your family.

So, we we brought in about, say about 400-500 families going indoor skydiving, where we put the indoor skydiving suit on you and then you wheel up to the door and instructors literally lift you out of your wheelchair and 100-plus mile per hour winds lift you up and you just hover in place going whether five feet 15 feet, and two instructors on either side of your body, holding on to your arms and legs and you’re you’re literally flying. We do in ton of sailing events, surfing. I invented a sport called slingshot golf. I had to find a way to play golf again. I have two patents on it and I love it. And uh, we have 20 different adventures we would bring families on. In in 2019, we had we brought about uh, 500 families uh, or we -- No, 150 families doing about 500 events. And um, I just, I miss that so much.

John: You’re a trial attorney, by any measurement that is, you know, an incredible uh, accomplishment. Could you talk a little bit about how that, how you overcame that and you became a full-time…? You’re in the kind of rough and tumble part of defense of the laws that that involve malpractice, uh, personal injuries, catastrophic injuries, uh, tough cases, um, you know, tooth and nail kind of thing. Uh, talk a little bit about that, because you’re, you know, you’ve distinguished yourself as, you know, a warm-giving uh, accomplished person. Um, that’s tough -- That’s -- You chose, you chose something that obviously needs um a vision that is educated and understanding and can’t be fooled. You’re not -- there’s no guesswork in your defenses. So, uh, talk a little bit about that.

Josh: No, I I absolutely love being a medical malpractice and catastrophic injury attorney. And we we take on cases for families that have been injured. So, it’s all plaintiffs work. And with with that, it’s the focus is basically almost being on a journey with these families. Because these cases, it can take anywhere from two to four years to litigate. And when they come to us, most, most clients are looking for someone to represent them. But when they come to our forum firm, at Jack H. Olender & Associates, it’s -- they get some -- they get a lot more. They not only get incredible trial attorneys, but they also get a trial attorney that’s lived through kind of what they’ve gone through.

John: Yeah.

Josh: Which is not the same. So, most, most attorneys are nerds, which I love nerds. I’m a nerd. But I’m also an empathetic nerd. Like, I’ve I’ve lived through a catastrophic event. And I’ve not only survived, but I’ve thrived. So, with families, a lot of times when we get them, I help them kind of beyond just the the the litigation. I help them get into different state programs to get caregivers. I help them to kind of manage life and kind of live as independently and productively as possible, not only for the individual, but for the family members.

And the big thing that I love to bring to the table and my favorite thing is building out life care plans. So, life care plans is when, basically, when you when you bring forward a case, the life care plan really puts out kind of what the damages are, in many ways of what if you are able to get to a settlement or verdict, the life care plan is what kind of the the dollar amount at the end of the road is. And what I’ve become an expert at is really knowing what it costs to live your best life with caregiving, with adventures, with vocation, with every single thing that it costs with nursing care, medical expenses, equipment. There’s all these different components to building out a life care plan. And many, many attorneys unfortunately, just use boilerplate from the last case, or you know. But it very much needs to be customized for that individual, with their age, their physical abilities, their mental abilities, their personality, and their family and support.

So, we have an incredible team of seasoned attorneys and just I kind of was spoiled being able to join probably -- the, the pre-eminent for him in my -- in Washington, DC and Maryland. And being able to join them right out of law school was, was incredible. But I worked, I worked really hard to get there. I interned for a federal judge, I worked for the US Attorney’s Office, the help [inaudible 00:19:14] Uh, basically every single thing you could have done in law school. I worked my wheels off. And um, I remember I got an internship at the, the law firm, my last semester of law school, and I ended up working 35 hours a week while being a full-time student while trying to graduate Magna Cum Laude. I was, I was not sleeping much that, that semester.

But at the very end, I finished my last exam. And my boss came up to me. It was like Josh, congratulations. I was like, Mr. Olender, thank you so much. It feels great to be done with law school. He’s like, congratulations, Josh. You’re gonna be my newest associate. I literally felt like I was gonna jump out of my wheelchair -- [crosstalk]

John: Wow.

Josh: -- in joy. But it’s um, hard work, um, hard work pays off. You put a lot of energy and love and effort into the world, good things happen. Um, they don’t always happen as fast as you want, but putting yourself out there, a lot of opportunities can arise.

John: Just a remarkable, remarkable life. You know, you you took a shattered situation and uh, pieced it all back together again. And you ever think that, that this was your destiny? That that you were, you were chosen somehow in the fates to uh, to lead uh, others behind you?

Josh: Just I love, I love to live at -- with full energy, full heart and do everything to the best of my abilities. And I love to be able to contribute in a -- in a meaningful way. So, like, you know what, I think if I did not have my injury, I would have found ways to contribute in a meaningful way. But my injuries has brought it to a new level of good because like, before my injury, I’m gonna be honest with you, I knew nothing about disability, I had no family member or friend, or classmate that ever had a significant disability. And, you know, if you don’t live with it, or have someone, that you, that you love, or you know, work, a field of work that really all you do is touched by disability, it’s um, it’s a world that you might not know much about. And, you know, we’re, we’re starting to have many more conversations in today’s world, which is incredible.

Again, in the last five years, I’ve heard more businesses talk about diversity, equity and inclusion than ever before, in in the previous 15 years, of of being within the disability world. And I I love that we’re going in this direction. But the, I’ve just found that, since my injury, there has been so many opportunities to contribute, and to do good things and to like, just be able to get -- put myself out there and, and, and find, you know, barriers to break down and things to overcome. Like I, I, I love, I love how a disability gives me the ability to creatively kind of problem solve every day. Like it’s, it’s almost like a puzzle.

Every day I wake up, I need to kind of figure out how to tackle the day in a creative way or, or thinking outside the box or just -- and sometimes just being able to grind it out. And it’s it’s, it’s almost become its own sport to me. Sports were a big part of my life before my injury. I was a college tennis player when I got injured in uh -- during the summer of 2004. And just sport in general, the competition, and being able to like really put myself out there and, you know, practice, practice, practice and then deliver when it came to game day. I love that. It’s just, it’s changed.

You know, now my field of like, my sport field is the advocacy world and changing laws, changing rules, changing mindsets. And it’s, you know, if, if you practice at it, um, and you’re pretty good at just changing perspectives and changing the way people think and see the world; the disability narrative needs to change. And having conversations like we are today, for any listener that’s made it to this point, I’m hoping that that what they’ve heard today, it’s changed them a little bit, in a good way.

John: We started uh, Accessibility.com, on, on the 30th anniversary of the ADA, that was the day we launched. Um, and one of the things that’s strikingly clear is that um, the voice of -- the voice of society in terms of disability, inclusion, and equity and and -- is absolutely changing. We’re kind of at a watershed moment. It’s not proceeding as fast as everybody would love to talk about. But on the other hand, um, the examples that we see day to day, the technology that’s coming along, the technology that provides so much in terms of possibilities, defines accessibility. Without it, those possibilities are not there. You certainly can speak to that, you know, and you could fill books on it.

There’s a common denominator with all those people that we talked to on this session and we have it our advanced and so on and so forth is that people here, when you take everything else away, are driven by a kind heart. Um, and listening to you, your kind heart was there already. You accepted what it -- what had happened didn’t didn’t surrender the idea of parenthood, marriage, love University, uh, top of the class, uh, career in in law, you didn’t miss any basis um, in terms of putting a life together that that has meaning, and and means something for you. And uh, I mean, I’m proud to uh, I’m proud to have this discussion with you, and I’m proud to have you as a friend.

Josh: Thank you, John. Um, I really, really appreciate that. And it’s been uh, being able to, like get to know you more has been a blessing. And I very much look forward to like, continuing all the friendship, the conversations we’re gonna have, because you guys are doing incredible work at Accessibility.com. Being able to write the way you guys do, putting on events, the way you do, and just making sure that the world kind of hears and sees and understands accessibility better. Um, it’s uh, it’s one of the most important conversations, we can have to make this -- world more inclusive. And it’s -- there’s a lot that can be done. And there’s a lot that will be done. But it starts with conversations, it starts with written words that are searchable online, that people can find and read and absorb, and then try to implement. So, it’s, um, thank you for all that you do.

And choosing, I wanted to talk a little bit about choice because, you know, I, I had a lot of choices in life, and what direction I would go in. And, you know, some of those choices could be, you know, sideways, backwards, but I meant I tried my best to always choose as many forward moving goals when we wake up in the morning. We all, we have choices all throughout the day. And in many ways those choices are, you know, shaped, you know, how we see the world, when it comes to perspective. If you make certain choices and kind of see the world in the right way then it ends up becoming, instead of becoming always an uphill battle, like I can, I can always focus on what I can’t do. But if I always focused on what I can’t do, that’s gonna be -- that’s gonna be an uphill battle. That means any challenge that comes my way I’m gonna focus on all the ways that I would have done it before.

But instead, with my perspective, I focus on what I can do, which is mentally figure out a way around it. I might be doing it differently, I know. A lot of people think of, you know, that I’m totally dependent on others. But with my caregivers, I feel like I’m independent through them, they end up becoming an extension of my body, and we do it together. And physically, you know, I’m almost connected with their hands with their legs, to be able to accomplish a goal. And that’s just a perspective that I approach. And it works really in beautiful ways for me, and it doesn’t ever make me feel lesser. But that’s just kind of my unique approach to it. And it’s, I really do, try to instill that on families, that you know, you can see the world how you want to see it. You don’t have to see it in a negative way. There’s there’s ways of doing positive.

And then when you do find that you, you want to really find your voice, it’s all about learning that you need to become your own best advocate. Because nobody’s gonna fight harder for you than you’re gonna fight for yourself in your life. So, you need to learn every single thing you can and speak up every time that you need to, to be able to fight for yourself and fight for your future. Um, some people think of like accommodations in school and in the workforce, as a weakness. Like, to ask for an accommodation shows that you’re weak and you need help. I think the exact opposite. I think being able to ask for accommodation creates an even playing field and allows you to show your skills, lets you absorb and experience the world in a better, easier, more accessible way.

So, it’s just there’s -- there’s so much that if people can choose kind of you know, accommodations choose how they want to see the world. There’s, there’s, there’s so much that um, futures can hold for people. And I just love, love being able to connect people and share that, those types of messages.

John: You’re a remarkable guy, Josh. You’re an inspiration to all of us. Today is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King. It’s January the 17th while we’re doing this recording. Listening to you, uh, recalls to me, one of my favorite quotes that Dr. King gave us. He said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. You’ve stood in times of challenge and controversy., and that’s why Accessibility Matters.