Mrs. Michelle Malkin brought to my attention an amazing story of survival.[1] It really does not need any words on my part, but I did want to draw attention to a few quotes.
Each doctor was thinking the same thing: If I were on the table, I'd rather die.
None of them had ever excised burns this deep from a man's head and face. They had no idea what to expect. But they had no choice, either: A doctor's duty is to do everything possible.[2]
Psychologists will tell you the face is your identity. The face is your personality. The face is you. To overcome an injury so disfiguring in a society obsessed with appearance, victims must come to believe it is they who matter, not their face. Their soul becomes their identity.[3]
This last I would like to add a thought on. The trouble here is clearly that our culture is obsessed with appearance. The appearance of the canidate matters as well as his platform; we hear time and time again. The same, or nearly the same, thought process goes into the "quality of life" arguments, and cuts across the treatment of the disabled that William faced with some of his professors. The victims mentioned above, such as Jason, learn that the soul is what matters, that being alive, not matter how disabled, is what matters. This is a lesson we should all learn.
[1] Malkin, Michelle, "OFFICER JASON SCHECHTERLE: A
BEAUTIFUL HEART AND SOUL" http://michellemalkin.com/archives/002873.htm
[2] Arrillaga, Pauline. "A young Phoenix cop who knew it was a
bad way of dying is forced to confront the agonizing prospect of living"
http://www.officerjason.com/pov/press/ap_part1.html
[3] Same
article, part 3. http://www.officerjason.com/pov/press/ap_part3.html