Health within Illness: An Examination of a College Student's Encounter with Quadriplegia

While a good deal of research and theory has focused on the study of the chronically ill or disabled, the concept of health within illness has only relatively recently been critically developed. The phenomenon speaks to the possibility that illness has the potential to be a catalyst for growth. Health within illness, according to Moch (1997), “is an opportunity which increases meaningfulness of life through connectedness or relatedness with the environment and/or awareness of self during a state of compromised well-being” (p. 305). There are six themes that have been developed as an outcome of a seminal study (Lindsey, 1996) in this area. The six themes are as follows: honoring the self; seeking and connecting with others; creating opportunities; celebrating life; transcending the self; and acquiring a state of grace. This case study applies the six themes in examining the experience and reflections of a young man who, due to an accident in a college residence hall, was left with quadriplegia. Also addressed are some of the ways that an understanding of health within illness can impact the work of health professionals, pastoral care workers, families and friends, and even the people living with chronic illness and disability themselves.