It's very strange to me. People can and do bond and form a sense of community by overcoming struggles together, but that shouldn't mean preserving the struggle. Communities can also evolve and grow and tackle new types of struggles. It doesn't matter if you have a disability, a disease, or some other condition that requires you to overcome challenges most people never have to deal with, it's a risky thing to make those challenges into an identity or to define yourself or your limits on those terms.