Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

though Ryan was fully aware that his feet and lower legs were preventing him from
leaving Tacoma Pastures, the nurses and the social workers wanted him to focus on
something else. His frustration and the fact that his condition was both a physical and
an emotional barrier became relatively clear over time. Scheper-Hughes and Lock state
that the, “ethnoanatomical perceptions, including body image, offer a rich source of data
both on the social and cultural meanings of being human and on the various threats to
health, well-being, and social integration that humans are believed to
experience”(Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987, 18). Ryan’s feet and legs became a point of
alienation, and something that he had to work on. He expected to be healthy, strong, and
fit. Ryan wanted a corrected body, not so much because of any need to fit some
normative prescription for ‘successful ageing’, but because he wanted to avoid being in
his words, ‘useless’. He wanted to avoid what Scheper-Hughes and Lock identified as a
particular cultural articulation of laziness. Commenting on the work of Beatrix Cobb,
Scheper-Hughes and Lock state that, “Among rural Midwesterners laziness is a most
serious moral failing, and “spinelessness” is as reviled as godlessness. It is little wonder
that a therapy concerned with adjusting perceived malalignments of the spine—
chiropractic medicine—would have its origins in middle America”(Scheper-Hughs and
Lock 1987, 18).
Two months later, I made my way towards the second floor, and spotted Ryan there in
front of the elevators. I knew he wasn’t going anywhere; Ryan had an alarm attached to
his wheelchair, and anytime he tried to get on the elevator or even near it, he would set
off an alarm. I had been spending quite a lot of time with Ryan, helping him track down
things and assisting him with various mini-excursions, like finding new TV remote
batteries, and trying to get his foot pedals readjusted again. I suspected he’s probably
sick of me, and is guilty or getting very nervous that he is, and in his own words, “Taking
up so much of my time.” Ryan exclaimed, “Don’t worry about me today; I don’t have
anyone to show you.” I didn’t leave, but I did take a step back and asked him if he was
alright, and if he needed anything.
He thought about it for a good few seconds and came up with, “Well, yes, I need a new
shirt.” I wheeled him back to his room, found a nice shirt and a brand new red sweater
he had never worn. After the caregiver changed him, he turned to me in his room and
asked, “Who do you know?” I asked him, “Why? What do you mean?” He said, “I need to
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