Who is Edward Sansom from Other Voices, Other Rooms and what is their importance?

Edward Sansom is Joel's father, who Joel had never known. Edward is paralyzed, with extremely limited verbal skills, and is not able to interact with Joel. There is no real relationship between father and son, although Edward can move his eyes slightly to indicate that he is aware of Joel's presence. Edward's eyes become paramount for Joel, who senses that his father is watching him at all times. Joel wishes that his father could have a normal relationship with him, and transfers qualities that he would like to see in a parent. It is also through Edward's eyes that Joel feels he may be rejected by his father. Because there is no real dialogue between father and son, Edward's eyes become the main vehicle of communication between the two, but mostly Edward's eyes simply stare, never closing. Edward had been paralyzed when accidentally shot by Randolph, thinking he was being attacked by a crazy girlfriend. Randolph's guilt and Edward's wounds prompted Randolph to enlist the help of his cousin Amy, who eventually married Edward and took the threesome back to live at her family's crumbling Louisiana estate, Skully's Landing. Edward had been a manager to a prizefighter, Pepe Alvarez, whom Randolph had loved and lost, and Edward remains a connection for Randolph, however limited, to the long gone Pepe.