ROBBERY and REDEMPTION

摘要

Craig Fiedler wanted to be an advocate for vulnerable people. After earning his law degree he worked in legal services in Appalachia before deciding that he wanted to advocate for people with disabilities. He earned his Ph.D. in special education, then taught about and advocated for this vulnerable population until he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Now he, too, was a vulnerable person, and one of the first challenges he faced was his discovery that those who knew he had cancer perceived him primarily in terms of his disease—he had suddenly lost his identity as professor, lawyer, author, advocate, husband, and father. Craig refused to relinquish that identity, and he used his unique sense of humor and insights gained from his work with special needs people to regain some control over his life, such as his insistence that his doctors view him as a collaborator in his medical care and not as a "victim" of cancer. Craig described his medical care with an eye for detail that people familiar with cancer treatments will readily appreciate.