Chance's Case Study

Chance was born and raised in Mars, Pennsylvania in 1840 where he was known amongst his peers to be the fittest of the bunch; all of his friends new that he 'd one day make a great leader or so they thought. With the onset of the Civil War Chance enlisted in the Union Army to fight the Confederacy, but with his entry into basic training at Fort Hamilton came the onset of unexplainable weakness in his legs. Under the constant ridicule by his fellow recruits and Sergeants, Chance slipped away from the fort in the dead of night and stowed away on a train heading west; Chance wished to get as far away as possible so that he could establish a new identity. Chance new that he would never again enjoy the comforts of his own bed or his mother 's

After a week on various trains, Chance found himself in a territory that would later become the state of Arizona where he happened upon a job at a gym called the House of the Rising Sun. His performance working the front desk earned him the title of youngest general manager in the history of the gym. Chance became the biggest celebrity in town, with the majority of the population frequenting the gym because of his reputation and mysteriously good looks. Despite countless invitations to town parties Chance is a recluse, spending his evening in the upstairs quarters inside the gym performing a ritual known only to him. Concealed in his wardrobe closet behind a row of clothes is a set of chains connected to two metal rods. During lightning storms Chance withdraws the chains and secures a wet sponge to each end before wrapping the sponges around his legs with damp clothes; lightning strikes the single rod atop the gym and travels down the metal rods, then the chains and into Chance 's legs for an excruciating lightning ride. Chance had become aware of the side effects of electricity one night when he was struck while walking through town during a storm; he noticed that the weakness in his legs slightly improved and thus he fashioned this apparatus in his quarters to continue to improve the use of his legs. Unbeknownst to Chance he had discovered the key to everlasting life, and even though in his mind he felt that his chances of ever becoming the "great man" his peers foresaw were gone, he would have another shot at regaining his