photo by david reed
photo by david reed Danny and his family, dad Sam and brothers Calvin and Ziad glass half full Quadriplegic Danny Kassab focuses on the bright side By Joyce Wiswell Danny Kassab can’t walk or run. He can’t lift weights, or even swat a fly. But to his brother, Ziad, he’s “the strongest person in our family by far.” Life changed in an instant for Danny at age 7. Excited to arrive at Bible School, he jumped out of his dad’s car and raced across the street without stopping to look. Danny made it to the other side, but a van that swerved to miss him instead plowed right into him at an estimated 60 mph. Danny’s father, Sam, picked up the crumbled boy and laid him in front of a large flower cross at the church, praying, “Please God don’t take my son, it’s not his time.” “Within 60 seconds,” said Ziad, who at age 10 also witnessed the accident, “three nurses came out of the church and did CPR, which saved Danny’s life.” Danny survived his massive injuries but at a heavy price — becoming paralyzed from the neck down due to a spinal cord injury. Doctors told the family he would probably only live a year. Fifteen years later, Kassab is still going strong at age 23. “It doesn’t really matter to me,” he said of his life as a quadriplegic. “I don’t feel like it’s a part of me.” A deep love of God keeps Kassab fulfilled. “I have a lot of faith and that makes me happy,” he said at his Rochester Hills home, flashing the beautiful smile that is his hallmark. “And I have a powerful imagination.” High-tech tools help with everyday tasks. Kassab gets around via a wheelchair he controls by sipping and puffing on a straw. That same technology allows him to watch movies, operate a computer and work on his fantasy novel. Unhappy with the home care nurses he hired to tend to his son, Sam Kassab decided to take matters into his own hands. At first, the plan was simply to ensure that Danny got top-notch care. As the family learned to care for Danny and word spread through the community, Sam got lots of requests from others in need. So in 1994 the former liquor store owner launched a home health care company, named Guardian Angel by Danny’s mother Faye in homage to the three nurses who saved Danny’s life at the accident scene. Today, Guardian Angel has 400 employees and 11 locations in five states offering skilled nursing, home health aides, occupational and physical therapy, speech language pathology, medical equipment, transportation and outpatient rehab services. The company is a family affair, with Sam as president and Ziad as vice president. Two of Danny’s relatives, his brother Calvin and his aunt, Deana Yasso, each became nurses to care for him full-time. “The entire family has grown around his injury and the company,” said Ziad. “We will never forget why we started this business. And now we look back and we’ve helped more than 10,000 people in the last 15 years.” Despite his lack of mobility, Danny likes to get out and about and does so often. He said he’s gotten used to the stares of strangers who sometimes don’t know how to react. “Stuff happens,” he said, again showing that smile. “Whatever happens to you is all in God’s hands. Don’t worry, be happy.” 22 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2009
lind like me A community’s vision: obstacle or grace? Jesus said: For judgment I am come into this world, that they who see not, may see; and they who see, may become blind. (John 9:39) I remember dating a woman about five years ago whose sister called her a magnet for losers for being involved with me. I was born blind with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that progressively deteriorates photo receptor cells in the retina. I depended on memorization and other senses like hearing and touch to accomplish my goals, and adapted to it so well that often others forget I’m blind when interacting with me. It’s entertaining when if I don’t shake a person’s hand in greeting, they actually get offended, briefly forgetting I don’t see their extended hand. My friends and I walk away laughing at these incidents. I learned Braille in second grade and became the best Braille user in Oakland County. I played songs on a little electric piano simply by listening to them. Hence, my parents got me into piano instruction at age 9. My instructor taught me everything by hearing rather than reading notes. This sometimes became discouraging because it took me longer to learn the material. Yet it enforced discipline and patience. During my high school and college years, I gained recognition in various areas such as power-lifting, the martial arts and piano recitals. Around that time I underwent sorrow at not being able to drive, especially when friends and cousins did so at their leisure. It is a fact that public transportation in Southeastern Michigan for disabled or lowincome people is one of the most poorly developed systems in the country. However, there are private and/or non-profit organizations that provide state-paid transportation for medical purposes. I use the Omar Binno SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS public bus system whenever I can, and at other times I get around with family or friends. In my teen years I began seeing the pity and condescension with which many of the elders in the community treat someone with a disability. Even my own mother was disheartening at times, especially when she expressed her view of how difficult it would be for me to gain acceptance by Chaldean women. My brothers and I laugh when we look back at this now, but I recall punching through a window in our house after one of her pessimistic speeches. Having the traditional Catholic background, I was familiar with its teachings and drew Most community elders treat those with disabilities as second-rate citizens. inspiration from our faith, and also from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Chronicles of Narnia,” fantasy stories that conveyed Christianity’s themes through fictitious characters and events. In 1990 Fox 2 profiled me as one of the few blind martial artists in the country. My martial arts and weightlifting instructors taught me proper form by letting me place my hands on their arms or legs in order to follow their movements. After high school I received my bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy. Technology advanced, and I quickly learned software that could read text-based information on computers. Readers/scribes were provided throughout school, but the annoying thing with people reading and writing my exams was that it took longer for me to complete them than other students. Learning daily activities like shaving, clipping nails and tying shoes was frustrating because my parents had to remember that I learned things by touch. I currently own my own studio and record for local artists and compose my own music. Again, a lot of this is possible through technology. Working in the studio constantly reminds me how fortunate I am to have been born during this time. Voice software reads programs used for recording music with a computer and external hardware like music synthesizers. The sadness of certain social situations is harsher than the physical challenges incurred by my blindness. Most community elders treat those with disabilities as second-rate citizens, unworthy of dating their children or relatives. Women were talked out of pursuing a relationship with me by their friends or family after hearing things like, “If you marry him, people will say you couldn’t do better so you married a blind guy,” or “Do you have any idea how hard it will be for you and how much you’ll have to do for him?” Other discouragements women encounter are the stares, whispering and finger-pointing by other members for helping me around in public. These negative stereotypes and misconceptions have made me realize that, not by words but by achievements, I help those who are truly blind in understanding the error of their ways and their lack of vision in seeing the unique beauty in each one of God’s creatures. AUGUST 2009 CHALDEAN NEWS 23
