Joshua Basile
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
1:00 PM
Joshua Basile, a 19-year-old quadriplegic who suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident at Bethany Beach last summer, was online Wednesday, July 6, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his innovative therapy program and his establishment of a foundation to help others who are newly injured.
Read the Washington Post article about how Joshua Basile perseveres despite his injury: "A Spirit the Waves Couldn't Break " (Post, July 4)
Photo Gallery: A Long Road to Recovery
The transcript follows.
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Joshua Basile: Thank you all for reading about me and wanting to ask questions about me and I'm happy to answer anything.
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Gambrills, Md.: Hi Josh -- Could you share some of the beach safety tips you presented at Bullis? Best wishes to you in your recovery!
Joshua Basile: First and foremost the rules of the beach should be treated like those at a swimming pool. When you're at the beach, when you think of the sand you think of it as being soft, but when sand gets hard, it's like concrete. So you need to treat the beach, the water, as if you're at the swimming pool. Because when you're at the swimming pool you don't dive into the water anywhere that's less than five feet. Most spinal cord injuries are caused by people diving into the water. Another thing is always talk to the lifeguards about the conditions. They will always tell you if it's safe to be in the water at that time. Always have at least two friends with you, so just in case if anything goes wrong, both friends can pull you out, one can stay with you and one can get help -- especially if you're at a beach without a lifeguard. Riptides: never fight a riptide. Even if you're an Olympic swimmer, an Olympic swimmer cannot fight a riptide. If you're caught in a riptide, you swim parallel to the shore. And do not fight it. Fighting it will only get you tired and you'll drown.
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Washington, D.C.: Very interesting and inspiring article. I am curious how your accident happened and your advice on how to prevent such accidents?
Joshua Basile: My accident happened -- I was at the beach. I was at the water, in waist high water, my back was to the waves, I was looking at my friends playing on the beach, all of a sudden a wave came behind me, threw me forward over my boogie board and I went head first into the ocean floor, shattering my 5th cervical. I then laid head first down into the water for two and a half minutes not being able to move anything. One of my friends on the beach looked at me, first thought I was playing around, and then looked at another friend and said "Can you see what's wrong with Josh?" My friend got to me and turned my face so it was not head first in the water and a bunch of my buddies came and pulled me to the shore where my eyes were rolled back into my head and I finally became conscious immediately. The waves were so powerful, they knocked off my shorts, which left me naked. And that's the story. Everybody was surrounded around me and my dad came down to me and he immediately said, "Josh, you really hurt yourself." And the first words that came out of my mouth were, "Dad, are we going to be able to play golf tomorrow?" As for advice on how to prevent such accidents, refer to the previous answer. And you can go to www.determined2heal.org for a link to a beach safety site and the mission statement for my foundation, Determined2Heal.
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Chevy Chase, Md.: Hi Josh, I'd first like to let you know how much I admire your courage for overcoming such adverse conditions. Also, I have a cousin who was partially paralyzed during high school, and I watched as his former friendships and relations with classmates dissipated as they all went off to college. How have you maintained strong connections with your peers who are now focused on their undergraduate careers?
Joshua Basile: I'm the same kid that I was before my injury. I'm just trapped in another body. I still have the optimistic personality that I always had before, and I have lifelong friends that are really dedicated to me, and I truly think that as long as you don't lose the personality that you have before, your friends will always be there. You have to get out, you need to get out of your house, you need to be part of your community, you need to understand that this spinal cord injury is not who you are. It's just something that's an obstacle. It's something that you have to realize that you have to live with, but you just have to beat it. The best thing that I can say to someone that has a spinal cord injury is to never give up hope, because once you give up hope, you've lost the will power to live. If you can keep that hope, then you can live a meaningful life. Because Christopher Reeve said this best, it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when they're going to find a cure for paralysis.
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Durham, N.C.: Josh-I read your story on-line and was moved by the clarity in which you recall what once was. The support your parents gave you, your dad's research and your mom's presence was also touching. What would be the one thing you wish you could still do, but can't?
Joshua Basile: I wish I could still play golf with my dad. Those were my favorite moments that I was able to spend with my dad.
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Washington, D.C.: Your story is very inspiring - not many people your age would have the maturity to see your situation as an opportunity to help other people. Are many research institutions interested in your aggressive therapy? Do you know if they have expanded using the laser treatment that your Dad started in you, on more people?
Joshua Basile: Right now I'm at Kennedy Krieger Institute, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins. I'm working out here every day for five hours, doing restorative therapy, a philosophy which Dr. John McDonald and Dr. Sidowsky created. They're actually using functional electrostimulation to re-educate the spinal cord, for what it used to do and what it wants to do now. Right now at Kennedy Krieger, I'm riding the ergometer, which is a bicycle, which has stimulated my own muscles through computer software to ride a bike with my own muscles. It re-teaches my spinal cord that it's okay to use those muscles through functional electrostimulation exercise. There is a link on my Web site to the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which is http://www.determined2heal.org/. Not only do they do restorative therapy here, they restore hope. Every other doctor I've been to before here, told me there was no hope for recovery anywhere after 6-12 months. Dr. John McDonald, after five years of working with Christopher Reeve, regained 98 percent of his sensation and could move all of the limbs of his body under water, so there is hope after the first year. And he's been able to do this with other patients. The laser has not been done with humans, I am the first human patient. There's more information you can get about the laser study at www.usuhs.mil/nes/anders.htm. And what the laser does, it lights up the spinal cord and feeds it to energy that it needs to regenerate axons, which are nerves.
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Washington, D.C.: Hello Josh-
I read your story and I must say you are a courageous young man. How did you adjust emotionally? Being 19 and so full of life.
Joshua Basile: Luckily, through the help of what I call "Team Josh," which is my friends and family who have been there with me since the beginning. Also there is a woman named Jane Altshuler. She has helped me get through all the mental blocks that I've come to confront during this long road to recovery. And the main thing I can say to anybody is to keep busy. Always have short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. It feels great to be able to accomplish things in such a state. And it gives you a reason to get up every morning. It gives you things to look forward to. As long as you have a mind, you can live a fulfilling life.
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Washington, D.C.: Josh, thank you very much for your willingness to respond to your accident in a way that benefits all of us, both walking and not. I know you must have an amazing support system, which was mentioned in the article. Does your foundation help support groups for those people or something along those lines in addition to all of your other offerings. I often wonder about the formal and informal caregivers. Work hard and keep your chin up! Determination can equal achievement of goals. You (and your support system!) are in my thoughts.
Joshua Basile: Thank you so much for your kind words. My foundation actually has three purposes. First is to provide information directly to newly injured spinal cord patients first hand, by delivering them a package of information and products that will help them on the road to recovery. And the information is that everything relates to a spinal cord injury, which is the cubitus ulcers ("pressure source"), bladder, bowel, accessibility, mobility, exercise and attitude. Other information is about all of the programs that Maryland and Washington, D.C., have to offer. Second purpose is to spread beach awareness and beach safety throughout the country -- especially to provide signs and warnings at beaches. Third is to raise money to support organizations that do research and rehabilitation for spinal cord injuries.
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Harrisburg, Pa.: Hi Josh, Will you talk a little about your thoughts and feelings when you consider how "medical professionals" have told you you won't be able to do this and do that - what you've learned about what others say you can or can't do and what you think of that. Best to you and your family - keep up the hard work.
Joshua Basile: Those doctors now have motivated me even more to push toward exercising even more. Unfortunately, many people with spinal cord injuries believe these doctors and they give up hope. I use their negativity and push myself even harder. Nobody really knows and doctors should not dish out such negativity, which just drains all of the positivity out of the patient and the family. This is one of the reasons why I need to deliver the care packages first hand to each individual about never giving up hope.
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Arlington, Va.: Hi Josh, it is your former neighbor Drew from River Falls. I sure am proud of you for dealing with your situation the way you are. You were a special kid growing up and I cannot express I admire your spirit. I have been reading your replies and your words are so well thought out and mature. You have grown into a great man Josh. Keep working hard for yourself and to educate other people.
Joshua Basile: Thank you. And If you want to come see me and a bunch of your old River Falls friends, we are having a fundraiser at the Bethesda Row Landmark theater on July 23rd. We are renting out the theater for the movie "Murder Ball," which won an award at the Sundance film festival. It is the most popular quadriplegic sport in the world. It's full contact, quad rugby. It goes into their lives as athletes and as people living with paralysis. We welcome anyone that wants to support my foundation's cause. You can contact us through www.determined2heal.org. Details about the time will follow.
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Washington, D.C.: Josh, your story is inspiring! I was wondering what goals you have set for yourself in terms of the future? I know when I was injured, what kept me going were the goals that I set for myself, as in, getting back to school and working towards the future. Is there one thing you want to work towards?
Joshua Basile: Right now, within the first two years of an injury, is exercise. Every day I think about my long-term goals as you did. I've broken them down into baby steps so I'm always working toward the future. Because I'm quadriplegic, I cannot move my body, but I can educate my mind. I'm working toward a double major. I want to major in business and biomedical engineering to help design exercise and rehabilitative equipment for people living a life with paralysis. I'm hoping to publish a book of my poems also, which are lessons I've learned in life and the goal is to inspire anybody that needs inspiration. I'm planning on traveling the country with my role model Patrick Rummerfield to raise money for spinal cord research. Patrick Rummerfield, 25 years ago got in a car accident, broke his neck in four different vertebrae and after 17 years, he fully recovered. And now he works at Kennedy Krieger and he's an iron man tri athlete and a semi-pro NASCAR driver. He is my role model. I want to go around the country raising money for spinal cord research. Three weeks ago, Pat and I got into a real NASCAR and went around the track at over a hundred miles per hour. It was the first time two quadriplegics have ever been in a NASCAR together. Because once you're a quadriplegic, you're a quadriplegic for life. Pat is the only known quadriplegic to fully recover. He is one of the many ways over here at Kennedy Krieger that they restore hope for people with paralysis.
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Arlington, Va.: Dear Josh, just a thank you. I can't imagine doing what you have been able to do. It was hard enough recovering enough to function in a mostly "normal" fashion after an auto-accident and I had all 4 limbs functioning. The neck and spines are tricky things! You offer hope that through continuing hard work, I can one day function without back pain and the need for constant thought in that area. If you can do it with a much more serious injury, others can also do it!
Joshua Basile: Thank you.
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Washington, D.C.: What is the single most difficult part of your day?
Joshua Basile: Right now it's commuting up to Baltimore every day from D.C. Everything else is great. Also, another difficult part of my day is that I don't have enough hours in my day to accomplish all the things I want to do. I have so many projects that I want to accomplish.
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Manassas, Va.: Joshua, Your father is the doctor treating my husband for many kidney stones. He is a terrific man. When we'd see him pre-op, all our questions about you go unasked because of a reluctance to interfere with his work frame of mind. It was therefore good to read so much about how you are doing. Thank you for sharing your story. While you educate to help others avoid ocean dangers, the best lesson you are teaching is how to meet life's challenges with courage and confidence. Best wishes to you and your parents.
Joshua Basile: Thank you.
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Arlington, Va.: Josh,
I just want to say thank you for having the courage to share your story. I am studying for the Virginia bar exam and on a particularly bad day I looked at The Washington Post online and read your article. It inspired me to remember what's really important in life - your family and friends, and your spirit. You have been through so much and you haven't let it dampen your spirit. I'm so glad to see you live online to thank you personally for the perspective. Keep up the courage and optimism! The whole world could use it right now.
Joshua Basile: Once again, thank you all for coming out to talk to me online. It's my pleasure, and good luck on your bar exam.
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Arlington, Va.: What is the laser that your father used to speed up your recovery?
Joshua Basile: Refer back to the study and talk to the people from that Web site, www.usuhs.mil/nes/anders.htm. They're the experts.
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Gaithersburg, Md.: In setting up your foundation, will you look to working with similar groups so that you can eliminate redundancies in your efforts and share existing infrastructure, as applicable?
By the way, I saw you at CCC on July 4th and thought you looked great - a huge smile as everyone there congratulated you on the article and your achievements since the accident.
Joshua Basile: Yes, I really want to make this as simple as possible for the family in such a complicated time because in the beginning all the family is thinking about is surviving. It took me eight months to figure out some crucial information and I want to simplify so that the family knows that in the beginning of their injury. I very much enjoyed the fireworks at CCC. It was a great day.
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College Park, Md.: And how is your spirit: did you go through a depression? Did your parents? I know you have a great medical support system: what about your emotional/spiritual support system: whom does it consist of?
Joshua Basile: I actually never went through depression. This whole time I've probably only cried five times and the last three times it was because I realized how lucky I was to have the people in my life. It's been much harder on my parents than it's been on me. Whenever I've had something on my mind, the most therapeutic way for me to express myself is through poetry. Feeling sorry for myself is not going to do anything or help me get through this time. I have to have hope, because as long as you have hope, you have something to live for. Being productive allows me to keep my mind on positive thoughts and I know if I was idle, I would probably think about depressing things.
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Bethesda, Md.: Josh, Your friends from Bullis say hello!
Our two sons were at the school assembly you spoke to and were very moved by your presentation. Thank you for telling your story and making the students aware of how courage and perseverance can overcome huge odds.
Joshua Basile: That speech helped me a lot to motivate me to go to more schools. The response I got was amazing. My biggest motivator, through the speeches, is to get awareness out so that no other family has to go through what my family went through. Thank you.
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Bethlehem, Pa.: It is inspirational to see your positive attitude. How do you remain optimistic in the face of daily struggles? Many people with less problems have a difficult time dealing with them as well.
Joshua Basile: Refer to past questions that I've already indicated through being hopeful, optimistic and productive.
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Carlisle, Pa.: Something else to add regarding riptides to help explain why you should swim parallel to the shore - riptides pull you from the beach toward the horizon, and aren't very wide (on the order of tens of feet wide), so that is the reason why you swim parallel to the shore. It won't take you very long to swim a few dozen feet to the left or right, out of the riptide, if you move parallel to the shore, and you will feel it immediately - you will feel the loss of the current and you will see that swimming back to the shore is now no longer futile. Another tip is that if you can't swim parallel to the riptide (if you aren't a strong swimmer), float on your back until you are no longer being taken out from the shore, then tread, wave your arms, and get rescued.
Joshua Basile: Thank you. Good advice with more details.
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Athens, Tenn.: Dear Mr. Basile, Where can I get more concrete information about the therapy that your father, Dr. Basile applied? And what level are you now? My son, whose was injured 5/23/04, was a C6 at the site and is now a C8. His spinal cord was not severed. You have given me hope. Many thanks and regards.
Joshua Basile: Please visit the Web site that I've mentioned before, www.usuhs.mil/nes/anders.htm. If anybody has any questions about the laser, you can go to www.determined2heal.org, where there's a contact link and I'll refer the questions to my father, Dr. Basile.
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Hyattstown, Md.: Joshua, I just wanted to say your story is inspirational and your attitude is inspiring.
I don't think people realize how many spinal cord injuries are due to beach accidents. Before going to the beach 4 years ago my sister in law warned me. She's a nurse in a hospital with a spinal cord injury unit in Virginia. At that time, they had something like 35 - 40 patients...1/2 of whom were there because they underestimated the power of the waves and they paid a harsh price.
When you stop and think about it, it's stunning.
Good luck to you in your future endeavors. You'll do wonderfully in life!
Joshua Basile: Thank you. We need to get the message out about how dangerous the beaches are.
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Great Falls, Va.: Josh, you are an inspiration. I am a professor of occupational therapy in Winchester, Va. My students learn from textbooks, articles, research, and clients. Can you tell me some of the best and worst experiences during your rehabilitation for this online discussion? On another note, would you like to be a guest in one of my lectures this fall?
Joshua Basile: The most difficult thing regarding rehab is the time that is spent at the rehab site. If we can get the rehab done at homes, it would be much more efficient and productive time wise. And it's also been very difficult to get it paid for by insurance, and insurance companies need to know that the more rehab in the beginning, the lower the lifetime cost. Christopher Reeve, when he was first injured, went to the hospital 12 times. After meeting with Dr. McDonald, through the functional electrostimulation, in the last five years of his life, he only went to the hospital four times. Exercise is such a critical aspect to staying healthy for anybody that's able bodied or anybody that's disabled. I would love to come speak. Visit my Web site, www.determined2heal.org, and there's a link to contact me.
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Arlington, Va.: Josh,
I commend you on your strength, determination and perseverance. My nephew is 22 and recently sustained a fracture at T-4. His impairments are not to your extent, but significant. How can we best support him through physical therapy and adjusting to the knowledge that his life will never be the same?
Joshua Basile: His life will never be the same, but that does not mean it's ruined, it means it's different. You need to restore the hope for him, keep him busy and educate him as much as possible. And he needs to come to Kennedy Krieger. He needs to get the best doctors.
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Rockville, Md.: We just came from the beach and your situation really got our attention. What has been the response to the idea of posting more signage or making changing in terms beach development? Good luck in your recovery!
Joshua Basile: Right now I need the support of as many people as I can. I'd love to get the governor of Maryland to help get signs up at the Ocean City beach and I would love to get help from the governor of Delaware to get his beaches to have more signs. I just need the support of as many people as possible. If anybody out there wants to help to get this done with me, contact me on my Web site and we can work together. There were 42 head, neck and spinal cord injuries alone at the Delaware beaches that actually went to the hospitals. All of those numbers were from the hospitals. The people that actually own homes at the Delaware beaches need to push their town's legislatures to publicize this issue and push it forward. I need everybody to get on this issue. Everybody needs to come together to get these beaches safer for these children. Nobody wants to come back from vacation and come back with such an injury.
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Arlington, Va.: Congratulations Joshua on your strength and perseverance in the most difficult of situations. You are truly an inspiration. The body has an amazing power to heal, especially when the mind and attitude are positive and I have no doubt that you will make incredible strides and lead the way for others facing the same challenges. All the best to you and your parents who obviously have immense love for you and devotion.
Joshua Basile: Thank you.
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Takoma Park, Md.: Is there any hope that you will walk again? Because if there is, I'm sure you will. Best Wishes!
Joshua Basile: There's always hope.
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Joshua Basile: Thank you to everybody that's been online today and I really enjoyed being able to share what I have to offer to everybody.
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Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.