SubhanAllah, why does it have to take a calamity for us to realize that it is Allah who is the greatest? During my short journey in this life thus far, I have seen many people fall to ego and the tricks of shaitan. As human beings, we go throughout our lives, in particular during our youth, thinking that we are in fact the greatest and that we are invincible, but when we are nearing death, it hits us that we are nothing but flesh and bones.
 A person very dear to me battled ego and arrogance throughout their life time, but it  wasn't until they fell ill, that they began to give Allah the credit He truly deserves. This disease transformed from what many would call a curse, into a blessing in disguise. In many cases, an illness is a blessing; a reminder from Allah that He is the one in control, not us.