Dr. Kang Young-woo is bidding farewell to his friends and the numerous people around the world for whom he demonstrated that physical disabilities pose no impediment to a successful life. The former policy advisor to President George W. Bush on disability and current vice chair of the World Committee on Disability has been struck with cancer.

“I thank God for allowing me the time to say good-bye to the people I love after living the happiest life possible,” Dr. Kang, who has worked for promotion of the rights of people with impairment and expansion of their opportunities, said in his e-mail letters to his associates. Early this month, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and doctors expect him to have little more than a month left to live.

Returning to his Washington, D.C., home from hospital to be with his wife, Dr. Kang is telling visitors that one who believes that disability is a curse can only live a cursed life. “In my case, God achieved great many things that I could not even imagine through my disability,” he said. His two sons, Jin-suk (Paul), an ophthalmologist, and Jin-young (Christopher), senior legal advisor to President Obama, who both live nearby, joined their parents after work.

Kang Young-woo’s early life could have been a curse. His father died when Young-woo was 13 years old. He lost his eyesight when he was struck by a soccer ball the next year. His mother died of heart attack when she was told her son was permanently blind. His sister, who was little Young-woo’s only helper in the parentless home, died of an illness two years later. But he managed to stand alone.

Dr. Kang recorded many firsts in his life. He was the first blind student to be admitted to Yonsei University from a school for the blind. He married his tutor Sok Eun-ok and they went to the United States for his advanced study at the School of Education, the University of Pittsburg, on a Rotary Foundation scholarship. He earned his M.A. and doctorate in education at the school. Mrs. Kang tape-recorded all his textbooks and required readings for her husband. His best-seller autobiography, titled “Light in My Heart,” was made into a TV series and a movie, planting hopes for life in people with disabilities.

He served as president of Daegu University in Daegu, Korea, and worked for developing braille for Hangeul. Dr. Kang then held the position of supervisor of special education in Indiana State, and taught at Northeastern Illinois University and other U.S. schools. In the White House during the Bush administration, he worked for enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities, especially in the use of the rapidly developing electronic devices such as cell phones and automatic teller machines.

The dominance of high-technology devices in everyday life causes the widening of “digital divide” between the tech-savvy people and the rest of population, especially those with impairment. Dr. Kang had many things to do in the U.S. and for his home country with his broad experiences and deep insight earned through his involvement in the policy-level services, but he has to wrap things up now.

Dr. Kang’s life as a whole was a miracle achieved through his inexhaustible efforts and the will of his God. We are praying that yet another miracle will raise him from his illness so he can continue helping disadvantaged people with his wisdom and courage.