Jack's Reflections on Disability: “I would like you to consider two profiles:
1. Healthy early middle aged man, well educated, full life, successful professional career, good income, material comforts, meets lots of interesting people, goes to interesting places, happily married, two splendid children, succeeded, generally satisfied and looks forward to another 20-30 peaceful and interesting years.
2. A man crippled since childhood, spinal injury, badly paralysed, periods in hospital, starting to age with disability getting worse, anxious about the future and how he will cope.
Not much doubt in whose shoes you would like to be. But these are two perceptions of the same person - of myself. Both perceptions are valid, the facts of both are true. Clearly in the interests of the individual and the society as a whole, the situation should be managed so that the first perception should be predominant. The second cannot be
eliminated but it should be contained.”
Thought