Health Status, Quality of Life, and the Individual

FROM time to time, a terrible event happens to someone, and yet the survivor finds herself or himself better off. Through injury, a person is rendered paraplegic, or even quadriplegic; cancer strikes, requiring debilitating chemotherapy and raising the specter of a shortened life. The person suffering the calamity transcends the suffering and loss and finds new meaning in life. Living becomes a richer, more satisfying experience and, in extreme …