OFF PAGE ONE
Friday, April 13, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 9A
SPIRIT: Communicates through iPad, facial expressions
Continued from 1A
He recently launched
a business called The
Wheelman Designs, selling
T-shirts of his own design
through the e-commerce
website Etsy. His latest design
consists of a likeness of
himself with a mohawk
haircut and fluorescent
yellow high tops sitting in a
wheelchair, raising his arms
in triumph. Beside him are
the words “Rockstar” and
“The Wheelman” in bold
red. Another shirt is entitled
Bling Wheelman, referring
to Guardado’s love of bling,
especially an oversized
sparkly cross he wears most
days. The shirts, in an array
of sizes, cost $20.
So far, he has sold almost
60 of them, and recently
ordered
A.J.’s
Printed
Apparel in Hermiston to
make 50 more. He hopes to
earn enough to purchase a
wheelchair accessible van.
“I created this line of
designs with disABLED
people in mind,” writes the
artist on his website, “I work
on an iPad creating designs
with my right pinky. While
I’m physically dependent on
others, I am fiercely inde-
pendent at heart.”
Guardado communicates
with nods, smiles, eye rolls,
head shakes, exuberant
exclamations and the help of
his ever-present iPad. With
the pad, he painstakingly
guides an uncooperative
knuckle across the glass,
touching letters, words,
pictures and phrases that are
vocalized through a speaker.
His body bucks. Imagine
trying to use an iPad while
riding the Tilt-A-Whirl or a
mechanical bull and you’ll
have a sense of the focus
Guardado must have to
do things other people do
without a second thought.
To get the right leverage he
must sit on the floor, brace
himself on his left leg and
lean over the screen, concen-
trating like someone trying
to thread a needle while
running stairs.
Illustration by Jose Adan Guardado
The first The Bling Wheel-
man T-shirt design.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jose Adan Guardado must contort himself over his iPad using his knuckle to control the touch screen. Guardado
has cerebral palsy that causes muscle contractions that make it difficult for him to control his body.
Guardado’s buddy, Laurie
Ellis, helps smooth the rough
edges for him.
Ellis first met Guardado
when he was a 6-year-old at
A.C. Houghton Elementary
School where she worked as
special education assistant.
They quickly formed a bond.
Since there wasn’t much in
the way of communication
devices or software then, she
learned to read his expres-
sions and movements.
“In the beginning, it was
like ESP,” she said.
She soon realized the
little boy was crazy smart.
“He’s always been really
bright,” Ellis said. “And he’s
got an indomitable spirit.”
Eventually, technology
improved their communica-
tion and she glimpsed even
more of Adan’s inner world.
Guardado is starting
to prove himself to others
as well. He did computer
repair, designed 3D videos
and designed logos for
organizations such as the
Arlington Public Library.
He and Ellis, who now
substitute teaches in the
Morrow County School
District, stayed close through
the years. In his teens, Ellis
even picked up Guardado’s
homecoming date for him.
During his time at Irrigon
Junior/Senior High School,
he weathered two huge
challenges.
The first came when his
rickety power wheelchair
started to stutter and stop
at inopportune times. He
started a GoFundMe account
to buy a high-tech $18,000
motorized chair that would
allow him to venture out
into the community and to
communicate despite his
dysfunctional body. His
teachers, fellow students and
community members came
through with the cash.
Another challenge came
when he got an order from
the United States Immi-
gration and Naturalization
Service saying he would be
deported back to El Salvador
where many who knew him
worried he would die. With
efforts of Sen. Ron Wyden
and Rep. Greg Walden, the
order was eventually with-
drawn.
He recently obtained his
official U.S. citizenship,
but isn’t eligible for health
insurance for a while. He
encourages others to ask
Congress to remove the
waiting period.
“I need a therapist
because my body is hurting,”
Guardado wrote. “I need to
wait two years before I get
insurance.”
Despite his worries, Ellis
said he doesn’t dwell on his
problems.
“He’s always been an
inspiration to me,” Ellis said.
“He’s always has a smile on
his face.”
On Wednesday, Ellis sat
in Guardado’s bedroom in
his grandparent’s home and
chatted with him about the
business. Ellis contributes by
packaging the orders (though
Guardado prints the labels)
and serving as a sounding
board. She’s an artist too
with her own Etsy site.
This summer, they will
attend two festivals together
— Umatilla Landing Days
and the Watermelon Festival
in Hermiston — where they
will set up booths next to
each other and sell T-shirts.
They are obviously
close. When Ellis worked at
Tonia’s House, a residence
for runaway and homeless
girls in Pendleton, she some-
times brought girls to meet
Guardado.
“They’d hang out with
him a little bit,” Ellis said.
“They saw how hard he was
working and were able to see
outside themselves.”
Lately, she’s noticed
Guardado has gotten a little
restless.
“As he’s gotten older, he
seems more frustrated,” she
said. “He wants to get out
and be independent.”
With the proceeds of his
shirt sales, he may finally
realize that dream.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0810.
PLEA: ‘This has left
us with frustration and
completely destroyed’
Continued from 1A
“I plead guilty, your
honor,” he said.
Eight members of Rodri-
guez’s family came to the
proceeding, and his sister,
Susanna Aguero, addressed
the court. She said words fail
to describe their pain.
“This has left us with
frustration and completely
destroyed,” she said. “We
trusted Conor so much — we
gave him a home and food
when he had nowhere to go.”
Aguero called Dayton a
coward for not being in court
to face her family and said
he had no reason to kill her
brother. Dayton may be going
to prison for a long time, she
said, but “we are waiting for
an absolution that will never
come.”
Family members wept
while Aguero delivered the
statement. She also called for
justice and said law enforce-
ment from the beginning of
the case shut doors in the
family’s face.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office initially inves-
tigated the case and declared
there was no foul play. But
in August the sheriff’s office
decided Rodriguez’s death
was a homicide and blamed
Dayton for the crime. The
sheriff’s office has yet to
explain what led to those
changes.
District Attorney Dan
Primus and his chief deputy,
Jaclyn Jenkins, asked the
family if anyone else wanted
to speak. Members through a
Spanish language interpreter
said they have much to say
but too much emotion to say
anything.
Primus
relayed
that
message to the judge and
more. He said the family is
tight knit, and families who
lose a loved one to crime can
struggle with why it happened,
which his office often cannot
answer. He said Rodriguez’s
mother wants Dayton to be
forthright with who else could
be involved in the murder.
Dayton, too, spoke. He
apologized to the family and
said life in prison was a just
sentence. But he gave no
answers.
“I can’t properly describe
why I did what I did,” he said.
“That’s all I can say — I’m
sorry, guys.”
Brauer called Rodriguez’s
death a tragedy.
“There can be no explana-
tion of conduct like this,” the
judge said. “This is without
reason. No excuse for it.”
Brauer said he would
deliver the justice the law and
plea deal allows.
“You’ve done the crime,”
Brauer said. “Now you will
do the time — a life sentence
with a 25-year minimum.”
Brauer gave Dayton a year
for the corpse abuse, which
will run at the same time as
the murder sentence.
Fisher after the hearing
explained the original plea
deal required Dayton to
“debrief” the state on what
happened, but prosecutors
were “beyond adamant” that
Dayton did not comply with
the terms. The defense could
have fought to preserve the
manslaughter deal, Fisher
said, but there was little
chance of prevailing. Fisher
said Dayton opted to forgo
that effort and take the murder
rap.
Primus afterward said
the state was pleased with
the outcome. He said there
are questions concerning the
circumstances of the crimes
and the events that followed,
and as a father himself, he
can relate to Rodriguez’s
mother wanting to have all the
answers possible.
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