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What if the wave that broke your neck gave you the life you were meant to live?
In this episode of Living UN-broken, Amit and Ankit Sharma sit down with Josh Basile — quadriplegic attorney, father of two, board member of United Spinal Association, and founder of the Determined to Heal Foundation. At 18, a wave slammed him into the ocean floor, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He spent four weeks on a ventilator — and when he found his voice, he never stopped using it.
Josh talks about being face down in the ocean unable to move, the mentors who gave him hope, following in another quadriplegic's "wheel tracks" through law school, and why he had to change Maryland law before he could get married without losing his caregiving benefits.
We get into the conversations most podcasts won't have:
- The "superpower of perspective" — and how paralysis unlocked it
- Why the average U.S. quadriplegic gets only 4–6 hours of care per day
- The marriage penalty that would have stripped his caregiving
- Navigating SSI, Medicaid buy-in, and the 1619B program
- Sailing to Cuba, hang gliding, and adaptive skiing with his kids
- The ADA: what it got right, what's still broken
- "The only person that's going to stop me is me"
Whether you're living with a spinal cord injury, a caregiver, or simply someone who needs a reminder of what resilience looks like — this one's for you.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Josh Basile is an attorney, advocate, and founder of Determined to Heal Foundation and Spinalpedia. He's spent 20 years transforming access to care and employment for people with disabilities.
Learn more: determinedtoheal.org | spinalpedia.com
ABOUT LIVING UN-BROKEN
Hosted by brothers Amit and Ankit Sharma — conversations on resilience, wisdom, and transformation.
Website: livingunbroken.org
YouTube: youtube.com/@LivingUN-broken
WhatsApp community: livingunbroken.org
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Donate via livingunbroken.org
CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open
00:12 Welcome, Josh
01:26 The wave that changed everything
04:04 Back to school — magna cum laude from law school
05:08 Finding independence through technology
07:33 "The only person stopping me is me"
08:38 Marriage, kids, and the marriage penalty
10:58 Determined to Heal & Spinalpedia
12:47 Biggest barriers for people with disabilities
15:48 The ADA — what it changed
18:55 Opportunities for disabled entrepreneurs
23:00 Sailing to Cuba and hang gliding
25:25 Adaptive skiing with his kids
27:34 The superpower of perspective
31:17 Gratitude for the injury
36:14 If you could lead the country
41:22 If you could be any animal — the eagle
42:44 Closing thoughts
