Joe Ward (Class of 67)

915-777-0350

August 16, 2020 - 8:03 P.M. THIS IS AN AMAZING MIRACLE:

This Message is for all my old MoreHead Elementary and El Paso High School "Brothers and Sisters." Together, we have Each arrived at a Pinnacle in our
Precious Lives! At our present age, we have experienced many Loved ones pass on. For this purpose, I am offering a 'CAUTION' from my Heart, to everyone who reads the Following:

Since my son Paul wrote on Facebook "My dad is my hero right now! "Someone or something is definitely looking out for him...," I decided to attempt to respond to my son's comments from my perspective, from last years trauma on August 7, 2019, exactly a year ago today.

August 7, 2019, three days after the Walmart massacre on August 4, is a day that will live in INFAMY in my life, while also providing a Miracle of Survival Against all Odds! On that day, I awoke to a Beautiful Sunny Morning!! While putting my feet on the floor, I suddenly felt instant pain in my left leg, like I had never experienced before!! My leg felt like a piece of hollow wood, while feeling nausea with intense pain!

When I arrived to the Hospital Emergency Ward, I was in and out of consciousness when I suddenly heard the doctor say, "we are going to have to amputate your leg." Upon listening to the doctors frightening words I loudly responded, “AMPUTATE MY LEG!!??" I closed my eyes, then opened them, I looked down at my leg and saw that it was no longer there!! My sons told me that my amputation occurred over three days, which to me seemed like seconds from the time that I responded to the doctors frightening words!

The first words from my lips were "Lord you have a reason for this to happen to me and I accept it." I then told the surgeon that I wanted to possibly serve as a spokesman, for this terrible disease.

My acceptance of my fate, enabled me to go forward with a Positive Attitude, because crying about my situation sure wasn't going to improve my condition.

For the next several weeks, my sons did not want to let me know, that the doctors explained to them, that I had sepsis, and too many medical issues going on in my body for survival, and to prepare for the End of my Life! My Death was pretty much Assured!

My son Paul on FaceBook asked, a question about "How can my dad be so positive?,"..... after my near-death life changing experience.

My Attitude, partially, has to do with the many UPS and desperate DOWNS in my Life!

Many ups and downs involved near-death experiences, which, enabled to develop more confidence in myself when I faced difficult challenges! God's miracles during those critical times, blessed me when I needed Him the most!

On September 18, 1983, on the corner of Yarbrough and Montana, as I was driving East, a car turned in front of me, as it was turning left onto Yarbrough Dr. I swerved to my left to avoid a head on collision, but the rear of our cars impacted and threw my upper body halfway out of my driver's side window! There were no seat belts back then. Within a few days, I was barely able to walk and developed 24-hour pain that totally disabled me for 8 1/2 years. I SURVIVED!

During those years, doctors couldn't relieve me of my excruciating pain. Becoming desperate to alleviate the unbearable, I began to gradually self-medicate, and over time, I was drinking one gallon of Jim Beam every 3 days, plus, 18 to 24 beers a day, EVERY DAY!

My liver survived, but some of my teeth didn't. After much prayer and contemplation, I completely conquered the alcohol, though reluctantly, by changing my environment, and moving myself to San Antonio, Texas to conquer my demons. I cut down to a 6-pack of beer without Mr. "Jim Beam" and began swimming and weight training that eventually relieved my debilitating back pain. After 6 months, I came back to El Paso, Alcohol Free and in shape. I SURVIVED!

My meaning in sharing these experiences, is to EMPHASIZE, that every person and many families have their personal crisis in life, some more than others. How we individually relate to life and death circumstances, as difficult as they may be, can determine the results of our attitudes for the balance of our lives.

Our Lives on this Earth is passing like a Flash of Lightening!! Each of us will be responsible for our own Fate when we inherit our Eternal Destiny!

OUR Personal Eternity at the End of this Short Existence, is so Near and Much More Relevant than any CONSEQUENCES we will ever experience in Our Present LIFE!

PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH "LA HIGH" FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND RELATIVES:

MAXIMUM Pain, is normally considered being on a scale of 1 to 10. The scale of pain you can expect to experience, during therapy to create New Skin for healing, while scraping off rotting skin, is a 10 to 20+!! The pain, in my body and mind, felt like a scale of up to 26, that felt like burning grease and fire on my skin!! This is just the beginning procedure for Surviving, because, going through this intense pain Helps the severed leg Heal, and is the Only Way to Not Die!

Many times I wanted to stop the pain by giving up! It was only through FAITH and PRAYER, that I was able to eventually endure 2 hours per day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 6 Weeks of Scraping Rotting Skin Therapy!!! Otherwise, I would Not have Survived!

*Please Test for "PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE." to be safe.

This Very Common Disease, especially in the Elderly, is what SUDDENLY and UNEXPECTEDLY CAUSED MY LEG TO BE AMPUTATED UP TO MY THIGH!

Thank you for reading my message all the way through!

May God Protect and Bless us all during our difficult experiences!!

Several of us got together to play hooky so that we could cruise in my 1958 Chevy S/S, 3 speed Fanton shift (had been converted from automatic) with a very powerful V-8, 348 cu in engine, w/ slicks, and glass-pack mufflers. We really enjoyed noise!! Peeling out los slicks and revving the engine to it's max, (not much traffic in those days) and feeling no pain!! We drank and peeled out all day. Those were great times, with 3 cuartos of 'Perla' (Pearl) @$1.15, and gas at less than $.030 per gallon!

Well, when school let out we went by "La High" to show off "Los Slicks & V-8 Power" to a few friends. I was at the bottom of the ramp from EPHS on Virginia St. ready to drive down that hill, when a friend asked me to "PEEEL OUT ESE JOE!"

I was more than happy to oblige!!!!!!

I peeled out, with 5 of us in my car, and speed shifted going down hill at about 50 mph!!
Just before reaching Arizona St., I pressed on the brakes which instantly went ALL THE WAY to the floor!!! NO BRAKES!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

I shifted into 1st, second, and third gears,shifted in reverse, put on the emergency brake to slow the car, but it was like being in neutral!!!! (Since the car had been converted to standard shift the clutch wasn't grabbing!!!) The brakes, had been leaking brake fluid all day during our peeling-out adventures! OH MAN!!! En La Madre!!! OH DAMnn!!!

I told my friends to get down because I had to side-swipe a telephone pole, (no seatbelts back then) to slow us down, BUT there were kids walking near the pole!!!!!

I had no choice but to go forward!!! Aiieee Yaieee-Yaieeei!!!! NOOOo BRAKES?!! WHAT THE...H..?

We whizzed passed Arizona St. in a split second picking up even more speed! The very next split-second we slipped past Rio Grande st., safely I might add! Now, we were suddenly passing The YMCA's side parking lot, where cars are always backing out, and I am dreading to fly through Montana street, but I really didn't have much choice!!!! CHEENG-GADO!!! NO!!! NO!!!! WOW!!! "Forgive my French, but I barely missed a car going east who braked with one tremendous Passion at the sudden flash of my uncontrolled BOMB, ready to Bowl over anything that dares to cross my path!"

Next, we flew past Yandell Street and, at that moment, my reaction was to turn a hard left on Wyoming at 60+ mph because my next stop was a head-on collision with the freeway!!!

I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and turned on two wheels and finally coasted to a stop!!

All of us got out of my car and looked up at all the streets we had just miraculously passed from EPHS, in disbelief!! "WE MADE IT!!"

The next day A friend told several of our friends that you better not mess with Joe Ward because he is one crazy MF!! He was telling everyone that I passed all those streets on a dare, lol!

Of course it wasn't true, but I went with it anyway, because as Isaac Hayes would say "He is one bad Mutha.. !" ".. JW?" Another lucky youthful day!!!! Whew!!!!!



10/18/09
At 16 years old, I was shy and self-conscious from having serious boils, pimples, and scars on my face." It looked so bad, that people thought that I just had the crap beat out of me, and that I loved to fight! In actuality, it was partly both, plus I learned I had a large dab of inherited 'horny genes!' (Adults would always tell me that all I needed was "hoochie koochie," and that would solve my problem!) My problem was my "Clearasil" smell kept the girls from wanting to help me clear up my skin condition.

Well, one particular weekend, my best friend Manny Figueroa, (may he rest in peace), Lorenzo Alvarado (I named Lorenzo "6-7", cuz he claimed that he ran a 50-yard dash in 6.7 seconds,and I knew he didn't) and myself decided to go to a Knights of Columbus (KC) dance, and we looked, and smelled sharp, as far as a block away. I had curled my pachuco "curlies" with my mom's curling iron, while praying that it wouldn't rain. (Water, and burnt curlies don't smell so swell, especially when dancing). I slicked the sides and back of my straight hair with alot of 'La Parot' hair grease, and made sure that my duck-tail was always in place. My friend Manny had bought a new suit, and he looked great!! El Lore', '6-7,' looked cool with his discolored pants, shirt, and suit. "Vamonos recio!! YeeHaa!! Apurate' Sixer. Como duras." "Matas la onda."
We finally got out of 6-7's house!

Because I had a near 'Inferiority Complex' when meeting new girls, I suggested that we go to Juaritos to buy some booze (for some courage in order to ask girls to dance) before going to the KC.

About 6:00 PM we walked from El Paso/Nevada streets to Juarez, cuz we had no car, and were not old enough to purchase 'beerias' in El Paso. **I painted a mustache, with pencil, to look older, and it worked! I bought two quarts of Bacardi, with limon, for the three of us!! We chugged one quart in a matter of minutes!! Pretty much instantly, I could feel the 'COURAGE' coming on quickly!! "SIMON QUE YES"!! "hIjO-lA," burrrp- "HIJO-'La!" Ora Si!! "Yes Sir!!"

We were pretty messed up before we reached 'el puente' to El Paso and still had one quart of Bacardi left! So, being that I was fearless at this point, I decided to cross the 'botellon' in My Suit Pocket, since Manny and 6-7 didn't have 'their' "Courage" yet. Good News!! I crossed over with no problem! After we crossed to El Paso, I got a few very hard pats on my back from my drunk friends! "Attaboy Joe Ward! Estas chin..,! I knew at that moment that I had gained Courage to dance!" I began flailing my arms with my pachuco walk, and was literally flying!!! "No one is gonna mess with El "Clearasiled" Pimple Head con Curlies Postisos!!" Especially no potential girls who will dance con alias 'El Baelador' de Coraje, Rythmo, and Courage!!! (Not necessarily in that order).

From the border, we took the trambia downtown, then walked on Yandell street till we got to the Knights of Columbus dance floor. We were in great physical shape to have made our journey, and really drunk when we got there.

All I knew is that I wanted to 'tirar chancla,' and maybe even find my temporary 'Future Bride!' "Remember I'm drunk." Well, I could feel that people were laughing at my 'Chompete de Curlies' because all the rest of my hair was straight and greasy. I didn't care, ('Pinchis Culeros") because my new found 'Courage' was guiding me! I got turned down for dancing quite a bit, but, remember, I was now Courageous, determined, and miraculously just didn't give much of a damn what people thought anymore. So I kept my chin up. In my roaming for 'my cause' I kept seeing this 'lady,' (19 years old I found out later) who kept staring at me, and who, like me, hadn't danced at all during my exploration, and wasn't the greatest pick of the litter. After a while, we found ourselves dancing the night away. It was wonderful until they turned on the bright lights. Even so, I didn't stick to my p's and q's (we were all over each other) and I had 'Mi botella' listo in case I needed more bolas of courage. My poor friend Manny, in his new suit, and his glasses barely hanging from his face, was laid out during the dance in the parking lot oil. My friend '6-7' was in, and on the toilet, heaving and hawing, wanting me to take him to the dance floor after vomiting on himself. Oh what a night of party, booze, curadas, and fun!! Los naive and immature tiempos! Time, has flown like 'lightning' since then!!!ii

Capture every moment with those you love.

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