Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / One Leg Up On Adapting With Viscardi Center Board Member Ken Kunken 9-21-24

Transcript

One Leg Up On Adapting With Viscardi Center Board Member Ken Kunken 9-21-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

0:01
Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett.
0:06
Speaker 2: Well, I want to thank pod Match for making this
0:09
Speaker 2: connection because through Popmatch, I've gotten to meet a lot
0:14
Speaker 2: of great people and now including Ken Counkin and Ken,
0:19
Speaker 2: your story is across all line sports, adaptability and having
0:24
Speaker 2: one leg up on life because you did play sports
0:27
Speaker 2: and that's kind of where your adaptability story started. But
0:31
Speaker 2: most importantly now you are on the board of directors
0:35
Speaker 2: a milema matter the Viscardi Center. I'm very honored to
0:38
Speaker 2: have you on today.
0:39
Speaker 1: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to be here.
0:43
Speaker 2: And why this drew me in is because you have
0:45
Speaker 2: done exactly what doctor Viscarti started, you know, out in Albertson,
0:50
Speaker 2: which is be that vocational counselor be a guide to
0:53
Speaker 2: people with disability to get them back out there after
0:56
Speaker 2: they've had to adapt to life. And I want to
1:00
Speaker 2: I wanted to say, first of all, what's it like
1:01
Speaker 2: being on the board of directors. Thank you so much
1:04
Speaker 2: for supporting Viscarti.
1:06
Speaker 1: It's great to stay involved with Viscarti. You know, doctor
1:09
Speaker 1: Viscarti gave me my start when nobody would hire me.
1:13
Speaker 1: Doctor Viscarti hired me to work for Abilities Incorporated, which
1:18
Speaker 1: was one of the corporations of the Viscarti Center, and
1:22
Speaker 1: he hired me to work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor
1:25
Speaker 1: there and I absolutely loved the place, loved the work,
1:30
Speaker 1: loved Doctor Viscarti. And as a result of me working there,
1:36
Speaker 1: I developed the self confidence to decide that there was
1:39
Speaker 1: still more that I could do, and I decided to
1:42
Speaker 1: go to law school. So I left to the Center,
1:45
Speaker 1: applied to Hostra University Law School. Doctor Viscarti himself wrote
1:50
Speaker 1: a personal letter of recommendation for me, and it's just
1:55
Speaker 1: been great to be involved with doctor Viscarti in the center.
2:00
Speaker 1: I worked for a bility.
2:01
Speaker 2: This book behind you, by the way, I'm noticing that, right.
2:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, that's my book. I wrote a book recently
2:08
Speaker 1: called I Dream Of Things That Never Were, The Ken
2:11
Speaker 1: Cumkins Story. It's available on Amazon. It's been out for
2:16
Speaker 1: almost a year now, and I talk about my time
2:20
Speaker 1: at Abilities and the Viscarti Center while I'm there. So
2:27
Speaker 1: I worked for Abilities inc. At the Viscarti Center for
2:32
Speaker 1: over two years, went to law school, and thirty years
2:36
Speaker 1: after I left the center, the president of Abilities inc.
2:39
Speaker 1: Called me on the telephone and asked me to be
2:42
Speaker 1: a member of their board of directors. So, starting in
2:46
Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, I've been a member of first
2:49
Speaker 1: the Abilities In Board of Directors, and then beginning in
2:52
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, a member of the Viscarti Center's Board of directors.
2:57
Speaker 1: So I'm so pleased in crap to stay involved with
3:01
Speaker 1: the center.
3:02
Speaker 2: Tell me about bringing disability advocacy into the DA Roll
3:07
Speaker 2: in NASA's DA. I was just in DA roll talk
3:10
Speaker 2: about that as well.
3:12
Speaker 1: Well, it was interesting, you know when I started in
3:15
Speaker 1: the DA's office. Firstly, they never had a quadriplegic working
3:20
Speaker 1: there before, and certainly not as a trial attorney. And
3:24
Speaker 1: when I started there, I went through, you know, first
3:29
Speaker 1: three years of law school, graduated from Hospital law school,
3:33
Speaker 1: passed the difficult New York State Bar exam. Began my
3:37
Speaker 1: work the DA's office by going through a four week
3:40
Speaker 1: intensive training program where they taught us all aspects of
3:44
Speaker 1: trial techniques from a prosecutor's perspective. I went to court
3:49
Speaker 1: my first day and I couldn't fit through the swinging
3:51
Speaker 1: doorways in the courtroom. They were too narrow to allow
3:55
Speaker 1: me to get through. In my electric wheelchair. So advocacy
4:00
Speaker 1: obviously never ended in terms of trying to make the
4:03
Speaker 1: courts and the court system more accessible, because that was
4:08
Speaker 1: the situation in every court whom I encountered. The swinging
4:12
Speaker 1: doorways were too narrow to allow me to get through
4:15
Speaker 1: to the prosecutor's table.
4:18
Speaker 2: Wow, And so how did that change? Did you find
4:21
Speaker 2: they were able to adapt, you know, for your needs
4:24
Speaker 2: to do your job right?
4:26
Speaker 1: They really tried to help me in any way that
4:28
Speaker 1: they could, and I found them to be very supportive.
4:31
Speaker 1: And Dennis Dellon, who was the district attorney at the time,
4:36
Speaker 1: was a very progressive, forward thinking, self confident district attorney
4:41
Speaker 1: who really did his best to make things more accessible
4:45
Speaker 1: for me and to give me the opportunity to show
4:48
Speaker 1: what I could do. And I will always appreciate his
4:52
Speaker 1: help and support for that.
4:57
Speaker 2: Ken, I want to ask you about your you know,
4:59
Speaker 2: how this all started because you were a football player,
5:02
Speaker 2: and did you enjoy your time playing the game? Let
5:05
Speaker 2: me get this right here. You were a football player
5:07
Speaker 2: at Cornell and you actually broke your neck in nineteen
5:11
Speaker 2: seventy Up until that point, how fun was it to
5:14
Speaker 2: play college football? And did you stay in touch I
5:17
Speaker 2: know you actually went back to Cornell to get your
5:20
Speaker 2: undergraduate but did you stay in touch with the athletics
5:22
Speaker 2: department even after your injury.
5:25
Speaker 1: Absolutely. I got hurt at the beginning of my junior
5:28
Speaker 1: year in college. I was playing on Cornell's lightweight football team.
5:32
Speaker 1: At the time, they called it the one fifty pound team.
5:35
Speaker 1: Now it's called sprint football, and I broke my neck
5:40
Speaker 1: making a tackle on a kickoff in a game against
5:43
Speaker 1: Columbia University, and as a result, I'm a quadriplegic, almost
5:49
Speaker 1: totally paralyzed below my shoulders. I found my coaches and
5:54
Speaker 1: teammates at Cornell were very supportive, encouraging, visited me a
6:00
Speaker 1: lot when I was in the hospital, even started a
6:04
Speaker 1: fund for me to help pay for some of my expenses,
6:08
Speaker 1: and they've They've been absolutely great and continue to be great.
6:12
Speaker 1: I've stayed in touch with the original coach, unfortunately since
6:18
Speaker 1: passed away, but his son was also one of the
6:21
Speaker 1: coaches at the time, and I've stayed in touch with him.
6:25
Speaker 1: But I was fortunate when I got out of the
6:27
Speaker 1: hospital to go back to Cornell and earn my undergraduate
6:32
Speaker 1: degree in industrial engineering, and as a result, i'm the
6:37
Speaker 1: first quadriplegic to ever graduate from Cornell.
6:41
Speaker 2: Congratulations on that. That's a huge That's a huge deal.
6:45
Speaker 2: And do you find that your experience has kind of
6:50
Speaker 2: made even Cornell more accessible for students today?
6:54
Speaker 1: You know, it's great. I you know, when I was
6:57
Speaker 1: up there, I convinced them to put in a couple
6:59
Speaker 1: of I wouldn't call them curb cuts there, and they
7:02
Speaker 1: were like little ramps to get up curbs. And I
7:05
Speaker 1: even convinced them to put in a ramp to my
7:07
Speaker 1: dorm room, which had ten steps to get to my dorm.
7:11
Speaker 1: So they started making some modifications when I was up there,
7:15
Speaker 1: but certainly as a result of the Americans with disabilities
7:19
Speaker 1: that they've made tremendous strides now and making the campus accessible.
7:24
Speaker 1: I've been up there recently and I'm going up there
7:26
Speaker 1: again in a few weeks, and it's incredible to see
7:29
Speaker 1: the changes in that school.
7:34
Speaker 2: You know, I got to ask you because you're also
7:37
Speaker 2: on the criminal trial attorney side of things as well.
7:40
Speaker 2: So to getting into law, was you know, expanding the
7:45
Speaker 2: rights of disabled I don't like to really talk about,
7:49
Speaker 2: you know, focus on the disability, but going to law
7:52
Speaker 2: did that was out a focus for you.
7:55
Speaker 1: You know, that was one of the focuses when I
7:57
Speaker 1: was working at the Viscardi Center. One of the things
8:00
Speaker 1: that I did was I spoke before groups and organizations
8:05
Speaker 1: on the topics of affirmative action and non discrimination for
8:09
Speaker 1: people with disabilities. And often after my talks, I'd be
8:13
Speaker 1: asked questions, and while I'd certainly do my best to
8:16
Speaker 1: answer those questions, I was always careful to caution the
8:20
Speaker 1: questions that they should really consult with a lawyer about
8:23
Speaker 1: their concerns. And I guess it didn't take long before
8:27
Speaker 1: I started to think, you know, there's no reason why
8:29
Speaker 1: I couldn't become that lawyer. So that was one of
8:33
Speaker 1: my aims when I went to law school. But while
8:36
Speaker 1: I was in law school, I also have an older
8:39
Speaker 1: brother who was two years older than me, who was
8:42
Speaker 1: working as a trial attorney at the time for the
8:45
Speaker 1: Legal Aid Society, and I got to watch him in
8:48
Speaker 1: court a number of times. And I did an internship
8:52
Speaker 1: at the District Attorney's office and absolutely fell in love
8:56
Speaker 1: with the office and trial work in general. So that
9:01
Speaker 1: convinced me that what I really wanted to do was
9:04
Speaker 1: to be in the courtroom, and the opportunity to be
9:07
Speaker 1: in the courtroom almost on a daily basis by working
9:10
Speaker 1: at the District Attorney's office was really exciting for me,
9:15
Speaker 1: and I really appreciated the opportunity to work there.
9:18
Speaker 2: I got to ask you this because obviously, whenever someone's
9:22
Speaker 2: disability is in the workforce, people tend to think of
9:26
Speaker 2: that first. So how were you able to say, break
9:29
Speaker 2: the eyes and ice and say, you know what, I
9:31
Speaker 2: have a brain. I'm not just in this chair, but
9:33
Speaker 2: I have a brain and I have a lot of thoughts.
9:35
Speaker 2: In other words, how did you make sure to let
9:38
Speaker 2: your legal prowess over? How did I say it but
9:44
Speaker 2: define you and not the disability if you will.
9:47
Speaker 1: You know, that's an interesting question. Right before my first trial,
9:51
Speaker 1: my bureau chief asked me to come to his office
9:56
Speaker 1: and discuss this, and he specifically asked me how am
10:00
Speaker 1: I going to handle my disability in front of the jury.
10:03
Speaker 1: And the question kind of took me by surprise because
10:07
Speaker 1: my response was I wasn't planning on mention it at all.
10:11
Speaker 1: My feeling was once the jury saw me in the
10:14
Speaker 1: courtroom and saw how I functioned, they were not going
10:18
Speaker 1: to base their verdict on my inability to walk. They
10:22
Speaker 1: were going to base it on my confidence and skill
10:24
Speaker 1: as an attorney, and I can tell i'm speaking the
10:29
Speaker 1: jurors after my trials that I was correct. Once I
10:33
Speaker 1: started talking, they told me they completely forgot about the
10:37
Speaker 1: fact that I was in a wheelchair and treated me
10:40
Speaker 1: just like they would treat any other attorney. And I
10:43
Speaker 1: might add that after I started doing trials at art
10:46
Speaker 1: District Court Bureau, I was approached by a defense attorney
10:50
Speaker 1: who told me he overheard some of the prisoners talking
10:54
Speaker 1: about me in the pens behind the courtroom, and one
10:58
Speaker 1: of the things they were saying was that I was
11:00
Speaker 1: a really tough assistant district attorney, and they hoped they
11:04
Speaker 1: didn't get the guy in the wheelchair as they prosecuted.
11:08
Speaker 2: I guess in a way that's a compliment, right.
11:10
Speaker 1: Sure was it? Show was, and that's how I took it.
11:14
Speaker 2: All. Right, Well, let me ask you this. By the way,
11:18
Speaker 2: I work with Arthur Idally. He's a criminal defense jurney
11:21
Speaker 2: here in New York City, so I get I'm kind
11:22
Speaker 2: of in the legal world through that, through the radio world.
11:26
Speaker 2: But talk about your book. I want to know more
11:28
Speaker 2: about what's in the book and what people can expect
11:30
Speaker 2: them when they buy it great well.
11:33
Speaker 1: I wrote the book I Dream of Things That Never Were,
11:36
Speaker 1: the Ken Cunkins story, based on my life. And I
11:41
Speaker 1: might add that the way I got the title for
11:43
Speaker 1: this book was while I was still in the rehab
11:46
Speaker 1: center at the Rusk Institute in New York City, I
11:50
Speaker 1: was asked to testify before United States Senate Subcommittee on
11:54
Speaker 1: Healthcare shared by Senator Edward Kennedy, and eight days after
11:59
Speaker 1: my testimony, Senator Kennedy sent me a glass paper weight
12:03
Speaker 1: in the mail that had an inscription on it that
12:07
Speaker 1: the Senator said his late brother, Robert Kennedy liked very much,
12:11
Speaker 1: and the words an inscription have always been so meaningful
12:14
Speaker 1: to me, you know. The inscription was a quotation that read,
12:19
Speaker 1: some men see things as they are and say why
12:23
Speaker 1: I dream of things that never were and say why not.
12:28
Speaker 1: That's why I got the title of my book, I
12:30
Speaker 1: Dream of Things That Never Were. And I discussed in
12:33
Speaker 1: the book my life and particularly what happened in my
12:39
Speaker 1: accident and what it was like going through rehabilitation in
12:43
Speaker 1: the hospital and how I was treated by the doctors,
12:47
Speaker 1: the staff, the medical profession in general. Once I had
12:51
Speaker 1: a physical disability for some reason they tried. It seemed
12:55
Speaker 1: to treat me as if I was totally disabled and
12:59
Speaker 1: that I couldn't think for myself. And while I was there,
13:03
Speaker 1: it seemed like the best they thought I would ever
13:05
Speaker 1: do would be to sell magazine subscriptions over the telephone.
13:11
Speaker 1: And I was convinced there was a lot more I
13:13
Speaker 1: could do than that. So when I left there, I
13:16
Speaker 1: went out back to Cornell, completed my undergraduate degree, then
13:21
Speaker 1: got a master's degree at Cornell in counseling and student
13:25
Speaker 1: personnel administration, a master's degree at Columbia in psychological counseling
13:31
Speaker 1: and rehabilitation, and started looking for a job. And I
13:35
Speaker 1: write about this in my book What That was Like.
13:38
Speaker 1: Here I had three Ivy League degrees, two master's degrees,
13:44
Speaker 1: and no one would hire me. It seemed everyone felt
13:48
Speaker 1: I was still too disabled to work. And I was
13:51
Speaker 1: very fortunate to come in contact with doctor Henry Viscardi
13:55
Speaker 1: Junior in Albertson, Long Island, and he offered me my
14:00
Speaker 1: first full time job.
14:03
Speaker 2: And thanks to that, amazing this is this is amazing.
14:07
Speaker 2: I love the story, Ken.
14:09
Speaker 1: Thank you well. I loved working there. I loved the work,
14:13
Speaker 1: I loved the people and It was a really tough
14:15
Speaker 1: decision to leave, but you know, being there really gave
14:19
Speaker 1: me the confidence and that those feelings of self esteem
14:24
Speaker 1: what increased my self worth was increased, and I felt,
14:28
Speaker 1: you know, there's still more I could do. So I
14:30
Speaker 1: went to law school, thrilled to get my dream job
14:34
Speaker 1: as an assistant district attorney, and absolutely thrilled to be
14:38
Speaker 1: contacted by the Viscardi Center to be on their boarder
14:42
Speaker 1: directors and stay involved with the center.
14:45
Speaker 2: I don't you remember, but Ted Kennedy Junior actually was
14:49
Speaker 2: there at Viscardi a while back. Obviously he has a
14:52
Speaker 2: prosthetic now, but he was even part of the Sports
14:55
Speaker 2: Night festivities. And you know, you look at Sports Night
14:58
Speaker 2: and all these athletes come through to support. What does
15:00
Speaker 2: that mean to you as a board member?
15:02
Speaker 1: Well, one, it means a lot. But two, let me
15:04
Speaker 1: say I was there when Ted Kennedy's son was there.
15:07
Speaker 1: I got to meet him and speak with him and
15:10
Speaker 1: tell him about my involvement with his father, which I
15:12
Speaker 1: really enjoyed doing. But it means a lot to be
15:16
Speaker 1: involved with this center because not only did they gave me,
15:20
Speaker 1: did they give me my start, They've helped so many
15:23
Speaker 1: other people along the way, and it's taught me so much,
15:27
Speaker 1: and in fact, I got my family involved with the
15:30
Speaker 1: center as well. And now the current chairman of the
15:33
Speaker 1: board of directors at the center is Roy Danis, my cousin.
15:38
Speaker 1: Roy visited the Scarty Center when I was working there,
15:41
Speaker 1: took a strong interest in the center, and is now
15:44
Speaker 1: chairman of the board of directors there.
15:49
Speaker 2: I got to ask you this, as alumnus and as
15:52
Speaker 2: of a Scarti kid, basically from kindergarten to twelfth grade,
15:56
Speaker 2: when you see the students of VISCARTI, what does that
15:58
Speaker 2: mean to you?
15:59
Speaker 1: Ken Kunkin, Well, in a lot of ways I see myself.
16:04
Speaker 1: It means a lot. I've had the opportunity to speak
16:07
Speaker 1: at one of the Viscardi graduations, I've spoken to students
16:11
Speaker 1: on other occasions as well as I've spoken to individuals
16:16
Speaker 1: who went through some of the Viscardi training programs. It
16:19
Speaker 1: means a tremendous amount because I could see the desire,
16:23
Speaker 1: the motivation in the kids and the adults as well,
16:28
Speaker 1: who are there to make something of their lives. They
16:31
Speaker 1: just want the opportunity to show what they could do,
16:35
Speaker 1: just as I did. And if I could help pave
16:38
Speaker 1: the way for them by showing there's so much you
16:41
Speaker 1: can do with a disability, and that everybody needs to
16:45
Speaker 1: keep their expectations high for what somebody can do and accomplish.
16:50
Speaker 1: It makes a tremendous difference in everybody's lives, not just
16:54
Speaker 1: the people themselves, but the people they come in contact with.
16:59
Speaker 1: And I would just like to add that when you
17:03
Speaker 1: work at the District Attorney's office, they have a process
17:06
Speaker 1: that when people leave the office, they go through an
17:10
Speaker 1: exit interview, and in that exit interview they discuss what
17:15
Speaker 1: they felt were the best parts of the job and
17:17
Speaker 1: the parts of the job they liked the least. And
17:20
Speaker 1: I was told a number of times that the number
17:24
Speaker 1: of the people when they left said the best part
17:27
Speaker 1: of their job was meaning me, getting to know me
17:31
Speaker 1: and working with me. And I say that not to
17:34
Speaker 1: boast or to brag, because I know they weren't talking
17:37
Speaker 1: about meaning Ken Cunkin. They were talking about meeting and
17:41
Speaker 1: getting to know and working with somebody with a severe disability.
17:46
Speaker 1: And to them, it was a new experience for many
17:48
Speaker 1: of them. And I think firstly they appreciated the fact
17:53
Speaker 1: that it didn't mean additional work for them, that they
17:57
Speaker 1: were certainly gratified about, but also they seemed impressed by
18:01
Speaker 1: my attitude, my hard work, my determination, and it motivated
18:07
Speaker 1: them to do more in the job and in their lives.
18:11
Speaker 1: And I appreciate that. And I think more people when
18:15
Speaker 1: they come in contact with people with disabilities, realize that
18:18
Speaker 1: and come away with the same reaction.
18:22
Speaker 2: Ken, this is so powerful. Your first experience though, after
18:27
Speaker 2: this neck injury, did you have surgery and if so,
18:30
Speaker 2: what was that like, because this is nineteen seventies surgery,
18:33
Speaker 2: this is the twenty twenty four surgery, So talk about
18:35
Speaker 2: what the adaptation process was like in the seventies to
18:39
Speaker 2: becoming disabled.
18:41
Speaker 1: Well, I did have surgery nine days after I was hurt.
18:45
Speaker 1: And when I was in the hospital, the medical profession,
18:48
Speaker 1: for some reason seemed to feel the less I knew
18:51
Speaker 1: the better, so they didn't tell me a lot about
18:54
Speaker 1: what was going on. I knew that I had broken
18:56
Speaker 1: my neck and the surgery was to fix the braain
19:00
Speaker 1: in my neck. I didn't know anything about a spinal
19:03
Speaker 1: cord injury and that that was the reason for my paralysis,
19:08
Speaker 1: And you know, it was very difficult to communicate with
19:14
Speaker 1: them and find out more. In fact, when my family
19:17
Speaker 1: met with a specialist about my condition. He told them
19:22
Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't survive the week, that if I did,
19:26
Speaker 1: I would have no movement, My life expectancy would be
19:30
Speaker 1: between five and nine years, and I'd probably end up
19:33
Speaker 1: living that time in a nursing home. The doctor actually
19:37
Speaker 1: suggested to my parents if he were my son, I
19:41
Speaker 1: would just let him go. That was the attitude back then.
19:46
Speaker 1: Fortunately it's changed a lot in the last fifty plus years,
19:51
Speaker 1: but that's what it was like back in nineteen seventy,
19:55
Speaker 1: all right.
19:55
Speaker 2: Well, as someone who's a sports fan stills to this day,
19:58
Speaker 2: the adaptive sports world has really taken off. I want
20:02
Speaker 2: to ask you have you played sports in the adaptive
20:05
Speaker 2: sports world since the seventies? Have you been able to play?
20:09
Speaker 2: And also do you ever check check out the wheelchair
20:12
Speaker 2: basketball program at Viscardi.
20:13
Speaker 1: You know, I've watched some of it, and it's thrilling
20:16
Speaker 1: to watch what everybody can do and I enjoy that.
20:19
Speaker 1: And uh, watching part of the special Olympics actually was terrific.
20:24
Speaker 1: I'm still an avid sports fan. I'm addicted to watching
20:29
Speaker 1: every New York Jet game that's on television and reading
20:33
Speaker 1: about them and just cheering people on.
20:36
Speaker 2: All right, So it's good to beat Joe Namath during
20:38
Speaker 2: your time at Sports Night when he was there or what.
20:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've met Joe Namath as well as a lot
20:43
Speaker 1: of other sports celebrities and it's great. In fact, one
20:48
Speaker 1: of the first things that I did when I went
20:49
Speaker 1: back to Cornell was when I went to I went
20:52
Speaker 1: to a Cornell football game. So I'm still an avid spectator,
20:58
Speaker 1: an avid sports fan, and it's great to see the
21:03
Speaker 1: modifications now that all lay up allow so many people
21:06
Speaker 1: with disabilities to compete. It's just great. I know, Viscardi
21:10
Speaker 1: has always been so active.
21:12
Speaker 2: And Joe Solonica as the man, he's like my mentor
21:15
Speaker 2: over there, Joe Solonica with the wheelchair program and just
21:17
Speaker 2: he and Mike Sweeney encourage sports and you know, for
21:21
Speaker 2: kids with disabilities. I always felt that sports was a
21:23
Speaker 2: great way to build character, much like anybody who was
21:26
Speaker 2: able by it. I mean, it just it's a great
21:28
Speaker 2: way to build character and helps give us an edge
21:31
Speaker 2: in a society that might view as a certain way. You know.
21:34
Speaker 1: You know, when I think of sports, I think it
21:37
Speaker 1: did so much for me because, for one, it taught
21:40
Speaker 1: me the importance of participating. I was never going to
21:43
Speaker 1: be contentious sitting on the sidelines watching other people do
21:47
Speaker 1: things and enjoy life. I wanted to be active and
21:51
Speaker 1: be a part of things and not just wait for
21:53
Speaker 1: things to come to me. But in addition, I think
21:57
Speaker 1: sports helped prepare me for the day that i'd be
22:00
Speaker 1: competing against people who were bigger, stronger, and faster than
22:04
Speaker 1: I was. And I think it helped give me his
22:06
Speaker 1: self confidence to know that I could compete and match
22:09
Speaker 1: up against anybody or anything as long as I worked hard,
22:14
Speaker 1: tried my best, continued to improve, and wasn't afraid to
22:18
Speaker 1: take chances or make difficult choices.
22:23
Speaker 2: And I gotta ask you this, Doctor Muscarti has been
22:27
Speaker 2: a huge mentor to you, obviously, So tell me about
22:31
Speaker 2: the biggest message or biggest thing that he taught you
22:36
Speaker 2: in your time with him. He brought you up basically
22:39
Speaker 2: into the abilities world. So tell me about his mentorship
22:43
Speaker 2: if you will, like, Well, the biggest thing you learned from.
22:45
Speaker 1: Him, Well, you know, when I first met doctor Vescarti,
22:50
Speaker 1: I was amazed at seeing so many people with disabilities
22:54
Speaker 1: in the workforce doing productive jobs, and not just entry
22:58
Speaker 1: level positions, but positions of responsibility. I hadn't seen that
23:03
Speaker 1: before I met doctor Viscarti and visited the center, and
23:07
Speaker 1: doctor Viscarti told me that he had high expectations for
23:11
Speaker 1: me when he saw what I was doing and you
23:15
Speaker 1: know what I had achieved through my education, and he
23:18
Speaker 1: helped give me the encouragement, you know, to know that
23:22
Speaker 1: there was a lot I could still do, and showed
23:25
Speaker 1: me by example, one to observe him and how he
23:29
Speaker 1: was leading his life. But two, all the other workers
23:33
Speaker 1: at the center and the students going there. You know,
23:36
Speaker 1: not only were they leading active lives, but just seeing
23:41
Speaker 1: the expressions on everybody's faces. It was such an upbeat place,
23:46
Speaker 1: you know, with people just filled with joy and happiness
23:49
Speaker 1: at the opportunity to be themselves and show everybody what
23:54
Speaker 1: they can do.
23:57
Speaker 2: Well. This has been so special, and we can talk
23:59
Speaker 2: for hours. I want to have you back on for
24:01
Speaker 2: another conversation. But before I go, obviously you're in the
24:06
Speaker 2: power chair today. When was your first powerchair and what
24:09
Speaker 2: was that experience like to get that first chair?
24:12
Speaker 1: You know, my first chair was while I was in
24:15
Speaker 1: rusk On going through the rehab and the chairs were
24:19
Speaker 1: not as well designed as they are now, which is
24:22
Speaker 1: you know, quite a difference, and it was great to
24:25
Speaker 1: be able to move from one place to another by
24:28
Speaker 1: myself without needing the assistance of attendance. But I might
24:33
Speaker 1: add that as soon as I left the center and
24:35
Speaker 1: I went up to Cornell, I wasn't able to use
24:38
Speaker 1: my powerchair at all because the whole campus is on
24:42
Speaker 1: steep hills and there were steps in front of every building.
24:46
Speaker 1: And when I first went up there, there was not
24:48
Speaker 1: one ramp or curb cut on the entire campus. So
24:53
Speaker 1: it was actually years after I got out of the
24:56
Speaker 1: Rehab Center until I was working at the Viscardi Center
25:00
Speaker 1: to that I really had the opportunity to use my
25:02
Speaker 1: power wheelchair, and it made a tremendous difference that feeling
25:06
Speaker 1: of independence.
25:10
Speaker 2: And doctor Chris Rosa. Today, Viscardi is doing a heck
25:13
Speaker 2: of a job leading the team. I'm sure you and
25:16
Speaker 2: IM on a daily basis, or at least monthly weekly basis.
25:19
Speaker 1: Right right, I just saw Chris last week, and I'll
25:22
Speaker 1: be seeing him.
25:23
Speaker 2: Again at the golf outing Monday.
25:26
Speaker 1: That's right.
25:26
Speaker 2: For the golfbouting Monday, I should promote that here on
25:29
Speaker 2: the show. That's right, That's.
25:30
Speaker 1: Right, and I'll be seeing them again at the end
25:32
Speaker 1: of September on two different occasions. And as I indicated,
25:36
Speaker 1: it's now. My cousin Roy Danis is the chairman of
25:38
Speaker 1: the board of directors there and he works closely with Chris.
25:42
Speaker 2: I gotta say, I'm going to shoot the drop the
25:44
Speaker 2: link to the golf outing and people want to join
25:46
Speaker 2: and see what Viscardi is about. I highly recommend going
25:49
Speaker 2: to golf body. I love the Golf Outing. A couple
25:51
Speaker 2: of years ago it was it was great. And what Viscardi,
25:54
Speaker 2: doctor Muscarti, has done for my class and so many people,
25:58
Speaker 2: and of course what he did for World War Two
26:00
Speaker 2: veterans when they first came back. I mean that's where
26:01
Speaker 2: it all started.
26:02
Speaker 1: So absolutely, and in fact it was my cousin Roy
26:05
Speaker 1: Danis who started the tradition of having golf foundings. That
26:09
Speaker 1: was Roy's work. But what doesn't mean.
26:11
Speaker 2: To continue that legacy of Viscarti and also continue the
26:15
Speaker 2: advocacy years later after your first you know, after you
26:22
Speaker 2: we came disabled, how to adapt? What does it mean
26:24
Speaker 2: to you to continue the legacy and continue advocacy. What
26:27
Speaker 2: does it mean for you?
26:29
Speaker 1: It makes me very proud. I'm very proud now to
26:32
Speaker 1: go out in public and show my face, show people
26:36
Speaker 1: what I've done, but to go back to the Viscarti
26:38
Speaker 1: Center and show them a look. You know, this is
26:43
Speaker 1: the education, the treatment, the encouragement Viscarti gave me right
26:50
Speaker 1: and that I know he's given to all of you.
26:52
Speaker 1: Even though Viscarti unfortunately has passed on the legacy that
26:57
Speaker 1: he has left has helped thousands of people along the way.
27:02
Speaker 1: And by helping thousands, I'm talking about not just the
27:06
Speaker 1: people that went through the Viscatti school training programs, placement programs,
27:12
Speaker 1: but the people they've come in contact with since then.
27:16
Speaker 1: It has made a difference in so many lives. And
27:20
Speaker 1: he should be recognized as one of the real icons
27:23
Speaker 1: of American history. And what he's done for people and
27:28
Speaker 1: everybody's civil rights, it's incredible.
27:32
Speaker 2: And he was I always said the godfather of the
27:34
Speaker 2: Ada because he was very involved in making that happen. Absolutely,
27:38
Speaker 2: and you drive and I wanted to shout out Anna,
27:40
Speaker 2: who is your beloved and she's always by your side
27:44
Speaker 2: and she's gotten you through this. I want to shout
27:46
Speaker 2: out Anna today as well, because she helped me coordinate this.
27:48
Speaker 2: So thanks to Anna, and I'm sure. Having her by
27:51
Speaker 2: your side means a lot as well.
27:53
Speaker 1: It means a tremendous amount. And she's by my side today.
27:56
Speaker 1: She's just slightly off camera to my right. Want just
28:00
Speaker 1: duck your head in for a minute and say Hi,
28:03
Speaker 1: move closer to the money. Is Anna there? She is? Hey?
28:07
Speaker 2: Anna, Thanks so much for yeah.
28:09
Speaker 1: And as you mentioned, she's by my side you know,
28:13
Speaker 1: all the time. And Anna is my wife. We've been
28:16
Speaker 1: married now for twenty two years, twenty one years, twenty
28:22
Speaker 1: one years going on twenty two years. And I might
28:26
Speaker 1: add our family has grown since we got married. We're
28:30
Speaker 1: the proud parents of triplet sons. We have three boys.
28:35
Speaker 1: They're each nineteen years old going to college now. They're
28:39
Speaker 1: all sophomores, ones at Sunny Morrisville, ones at Syracuse, and
28:45
Speaker 1: ones that are at my alma out of Cornell.
28:49
Speaker 2: That's got to be so cool to see them all
28:51
Speaker 2: off and thriving. And that's special. And of course your
28:54
Speaker 2: son at Cornell as well, continue that legacy there, Ken.
28:58
Speaker 2: This has been so special. We're going to have it
29:00
Speaker 2: back on in the near months and talk about more
29:03
Speaker 2: about your experiences, maybe a Viscardi and other stuff. I'm
29:07
Speaker 2: sure you've got a lot of stories to share and
29:09
Speaker 2: where can I find the book? Amazon?
29:10
Speaker 1: I'm going to promote that Link's on Amazon. It's also
29:13
Speaker 1: on Caroline Academic Press. But if you go to my website,
29:18
Speaker 1: which is Kencunkin dot com, it has a box to
29:22
Speaker 1: show where everybody can buy the book as well.
29:25
Speaker 2: Well. I'm going to share that link. I'll share your
29:27
Speaker 2: page as well. And thanks for joining me today on
29:29
Speaker 2: the one leg Up Network.
29:31
Speaker 1: Great, thank you, it's good to be here.