When a partner or spouse is ill, we naturally expect to take care of them, pamper them, look after them. We tolerate their vulnerability and dependence, and wait for the illness to heal, so that we can restore a healthy balance of 'looking after' and 'being looked after' in our relationship. This balance can become permanently skewed, though, when someone is living with chronic illness or a disability. Power dynamics change - where once a partner was equal in terms of contributing household income, parenting, housework and household maintenence, they are perhaps not longer able to do so.