Sioux City woman wins wheelchair title

A Sioux City woman who was paralyzed a decade ago was named over the weekend as the new “Ms. Wheelchair Iowa.” 46-year-old Becky Cadwell says she looks forward to speaking to schools and various groups statewide for the next year about the abilities, not disabilities, of people in wheelchairs.Cadwell is an accounts representative for Gateway Computers. She’s been married 26 years and has three children, ages 17, 19 and 21. Cadwell says she does not want people’s sympathy because she’s confined to a wheelchair, just their respect. She says people should look at those in wheelchairs and see the courage they display in going on with their lives.Cadwell was hit with a spinal stroke in 1990 that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Since then, she’s learned to maneuver in a manual wheelchair and how to cope with her new view of life.Cadwell will represent Iowa in the National Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant in Denver, Colorado, in late July and early August.