The Role of Physical Impairment in a Partnership (Medical Anthropology)

Couples of a physically disabled person and an able bodied one are being considered odd and exceptional by many people and furthermore associated with many prejudices and myths. The most common is probably the assumption of this relationship as an unequal and being rather a kind of carer and cared. The aim of this thesis has been to uncover the world of a couple of a person with acquired physical disability and his/her able bodied partner and to determine the impact of a physical disability and physical limitations stemming from the impairment on the inner life of the couple, a character of this relationship and the impact of the physical impairment on the social roles of the physically disabled person as a partner or potentially a parent. Acquired physical disability as a consequence of a spinal cord injury or a disease is a sudden and essential change in all three areas of a human being - physical, mental and social. In case of pre-injury/illness relationships I have been interested in the impact of this fundamental and unchangeable turnaround of existing conditions and life style on the couple. The theoretical phrame for this thesis has been phenomenological philosophy for its concern in the subjective experience regarded as a basis for further investigation and analysis and for its concept of..