He achieved all those things before his illness though.<p>He had financial independence, status, and a career before he became paralysed.<p>This means he could pay for his own nursing, and that&#x27;s exactly why people see him as an adult.<p>Here&#x27;s the thing: what people are calling &quot;adult&quot; is nothing other than the traditional definition of &quot;man&quot;<p>A &quot;man&quot; is a person who is independent, powerful, free, makes his own decisions, pays his own way, has others depend on him, etc.<p>What&#x27;s interesting is that you have clearly indicated that, despite being female, you feel like a man! Meanwhile there are many males who do not.<p>I think it&#x27;s a very interesting discussion. Too bad my bringing up the housewife&#x2F;paraplegic angle got me 18 downvotes and counting.