Elbasani’s new vision creates a Focus on Independence

Barry Elbasani, of Raytown, is, in many ways, just your average guy. He is finishing his Masters Degree at Drake University. He enjoys watching Inside the NFL and driving his Ford. The difference is, Barry’s Ford E 150 van had to be outfitted with $63,000 worth of computers and modifications just so that he would be able to drive.

It was in July of 2002, at the age of 28, that Barry’s world changed dramatically. Barry had a shallow-water diving accident. His neck was broken; leaving him with paralysis from the chest down and a desperate need to re-discover himself, his life, and his dreams.

Before the accident, Barry had recently completed his Bachelors in Psychology, had an interest in sales, and was busy searching for a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

Since the accident, Elbasani has undergone extensive surgeries and months of rehabilitation. He is enrolled in the Masters program at Drake University and has recreated his life’s purpose. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, and the situation, that life left him in after suffering a traumatic spinal cord injury; Barry has taken his experience and has turned it into a vehicle to help others.

One thing Barry discovered quickly was putting his glasses on and keeping them in place was not as easy as it once was. After spending one afternoon afraid to move his wheelchair after his glasses had fallen off and landed near the wheel, and unable to simply bend down and pick them up, Barry decided that it was time to do something about it, and he called up Dr. Daniel S. Durrie, MD of Durrie Vision.

In 1999, Dr. Durrie, after becoming inspired by watching Christopher Reeve struggle with his glasses, began performing free LASIK eye surgeries for quadriplegics. “People with spinal cord injuries are so dependent on caregivers; it is a great feeling to give them back a piece of their independence by taking away the need for glasses or contacts,” said Dr. Durrie.

It was in 2003 that Barry Elbasani rolled into Durrie’s office. Barry was just hoping to gain back a bit of his independence by eliminating his dependence on eyeglasses and in turn, the need to constantly rely upon his father to help him clean them, put them on, and adjust them throughout the day. However, Barry received more from his visit with Dr. Durrie than just good vision.

Barry Elbasani and Dr. Durrie formed the nonprofit group, Focus on Independence (FOI), in 2005 shortly after Dr. Durrie performed Barry’s LASIK procedure. Together Barry and Dr. Durrie have built FOI based on a shared vision and desire to help eliminate an easily fixable problem. “It is a great feeling to be able to give something back to people who have already lost so much,” Elbasani said.

Eventually, Dr. Durrie and Elbasani’s desire is to take FOI nationwide, but for now, they agree that the most important thing is to “concentrate on getting a good local foundation for Focus on Independence,” said Elbasani. To that end they are currently working towards helping their 50th patient. “[Focus on Independence] is a wonderful way for Durrie Vision to give back to the community. Most of my staff is involved, we all help move the patients from their wheelchairs to the operating table and back, and we all feel just great after each surgery. It is a win-win situation. The staff of Durrie Vision is as happy as the patients are,” Dr. Durrie said.

Focus on Independence has even caught the attention of Dr. Robert Maloney of Maloney Vision Institute in Los Angeles. In 2006, Dr. Maloney began offering free LASIK surgeries for quadriplegics. Dr. Maloney says, “[That] for many people glasses are a real nuisance, but to quadriplegics glasses are an actual disability. With the Focus On Independence program, we aim to make day-to-day life a little bit easier for these patients.”

Barry Elbasani, Dr. Durrie, and Dr. Maloney all share the same desire to reach out to every individual that would be able to benefit from corrective eye surgery.

It is estimated that more than 150,000 people in the United States would be able to qualify, and that number is rapidly growing. Each year there are approximately 11,000 new cases of high-level quadriplegia, people with C4, 5, or 6 injuries each year. The financial strain that these individuals face is enormous and so are their needs. By eliminating even just one of these needs, one which would most likely always remain on their financial wish list, Barry Elbasani hopes that Focus on Independence, with the help of talented doctors like Daniel Durrie and Robert Maloney, can help make the lives of these individuals a little bit better the same way Dr. Durrie helped him.

Barry Elbasani will be receiving his Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Administration in December of 2007, and hopes that he will continue to be able to reach out with understanding to those, who like himself, have suffered from a spinal cord injury.

Focus on Independence, Inc a not-for-profit organization that’s mission is to increase the independence of people that have been disabled due to spinal cord injuries by reducing or eliminating their need for glasses and contact lenses with vision correction surgery. For more information about Focus on Independence, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit them online at www.focusonindependence.org.