In In re Marriage of Carney (1979) 24 Cal.3d 725, the father, who was a quadriplegic, had custody of the parties' two children for almost five years when the mother sought custody. (Carney, supra, 24 Cal.3d at p. 729.) The California Supreme Court reversed the order granting custody to the mother based on the trial court's finding that the father was physically handicapped. (Carney, at pp. 734-735.) The court then outlined the appropriate test to be employed by the trial court in determining the children's best interests: "If a person has a physical handicap it is impermissible for the court simply to rely on that condition as prima facie evidence of the person's unfitness as a parent or of probable detriment to the child; rather, in all cases the court must view the handicapped person as an individual and the family as a whole. To achieve this, the court should inquire into the person's actual and potential physical capabilities, learn how he or she has adapted to the disability and manages its problems, consider how the other members of the household have adjusted thereto, and take into account the special contributions the person may make to the family despite -- or even because of -- the handicap. Weighing these and all other relevant factors together, the court should then carefully determine whether the parent's condition will in fact have a substantial and lasting adverse effect on the best interests of the children." (Carney, at p. 736.)