Ziad Kassab
Born and raised in Michigan to parents who immigrated from Iraq, Ziad Kassab learned the value of family, hard work and turning a tragic situation into a positive lifelong mission.
According to Kassab, in 1993, his parents were raising their four children and operating a grocery store in the small Lapeer County village of Dryden when their seven-year-old son, Danny, was struck by a car and nearly died. Three nurses who were at a nearby church rushed to the scene and helped save his life.
Danny sustained significant injuries, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He lived the remaining 16 years of his life as a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, which changed the trajectory of the family’s future as they focused on Danny’s care and providing joy-filled life experiences.
After a year of disappointment with home healthcare agencies and caregivers, Danny’s parents were inspired to start their own healthcare agency - named Guardian Angel Home Healthcare for the nurses who aided their son after his accident.
Kassab says, “The first nurse hired for the business was one of the nurses that helped save my brother’s life after the accident. My mother felt they were his guardian angels that day...There’s a unique perspective when a family member is the patient. We want to give the kind of care that we wanted for my brother. We look at every patient as if they were Danny.”
Kassab also founded Danny’s Home Health Care in 2014 as well as other businesses along the way. Both home healthcare companies are based in Rochester Hills and collectively operate in six states.
After Danny’s passing in 2009, Kassab established a nonprofit organization in his younger brother’s name called Danny’s Miracle Angel Network (D-MAN) Foundation located in Berkley. He explains, “The foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of families and individuals living with physical and mental disabilities through education and specialty programs to help them achieve the highest quality of life possible despite huge barriers.”
D-MAN Foundation offers innovative programming that connects back to what brought Danny joy, including a Music Therapy Recording Studio and an Assisted Travel Program. The foundation recently hosted their 12th annual “Dream Comes True on Woodward Avenue” during the Woodward Dream Cruise in which about 100 wheelchair-bound individuals go cruising in the convertible of their choice. The fun and memorable event took place in the back lot of the Dawda Mann building on Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills and included music and food.
“I have a clear calling in life,” Kassab explains. “God works through people and the reward is in the giving. I love working in the healthcare industry but the joy that this foundation has brought is so special.”
He added, “After Danny’s accident, we did everything we could to give him the best quality life possible and to do things he would be doing without the chair. My brother, Calvin, became a nurse to better care for Danny. My sister, Cassidy, has her master’s in art therapy and is studying for her doctorate in psychology...We took Danny on trips to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday and a Bahamas cruise. He had the time of his life on the cruise – and when he died months later, we were so glad we went.”
He offers this life lesson: “We ended up losing Danny suddenly so it’s a reminder to live every day like it’s your last. Now is always the time to make a difference.”
Story: Tracy Donohue
Photo: Laurie Tennent
