Ed
Misquez
Associate Director and Co-Principal Investigator
Hi! The lady next to me is my wife, Kathy Sowa, and although you can't see them, the mountains in the background are the Organs (140 to 500 million year old Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks 8500 feet thick resting on top of Precambrian formations), east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Mesilla Valley, where I was born, is world famous for its chili (or is it chile) and hot and spicy New Mexican food. Before moving back to Las Cruces, Kathy and I lived and worked in Chicago, and way before that, while on the payroll for Uncle Sam, I even did a stint in Vietnam in 1968 as an Army field radio repairman.
But really, my life began on October 8, 1983 when I severed my spinal cord at T11-12, the last two thoracic vertebrate (that's about naval high), in an automobile accident. Before then, I considered myself a fairly sensitive guy-thought I was aware of people's needs, especially those with disabilities, even though, up to that time, I had had only brief encounters with them when opening doors for wheelchair users. Little did I know then that I would be undergoing the experience of a lifetime, especially from the perspective of being in the other person's shoe(s). Since then the adventure has been at times exciting and ordinary, at others joyous and painful, frightening and inviting, and still others enlightening and filled with a greater ever-growing sense of compassion. And, yes, I brought all the old baggage from pre-accident days. Ironically, my disability lent structure to my life and advocacy became the key word-one project lead to another. I helped establish the first independent living center and wheelchair basketball team in southern New Mexico and became involved in a number of community and university groups and boards struggling with disability issues. My old job as a production supervisor became untenable from a wheelchair, so in the summer of 1984 I returned to school at New Mexico State University and earned an associates degree in engineering technology and a masters degree in tech writing. My bachelors being from New Mexico Tech. A few of my favorite sites are listed below if you've a mind to check them out:
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