ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carolyn Jones - Photographic ethnographer
Carolyn Jones creates projects that point our attention towards issues of global concern.

Why you should listen

Best known for her socially proactive photographs and documentary films, Carolyn Jones creates projects that point our attention towards issues of global concern. From people "living positively" with AIDS to women artisans supporting entire communities and nurses on the front lines of our health care system, Carolyn Jones has devoted her career to celebrating invisible populations and breaking down barriers.

Jones has spent the past five years interviewing more than 150 nurses from every corner of the US in an effort to better understand the role of nurses in this country's healthcare system. She published the critically-acclaimed book The American Nurse: Photographs and Interviews by Carolyn Jones, for which she was interviewed on PBS NewsHour and featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today. She directed and executive-produced the follow-up documentary film The American Nurse: Healing America, which was released in theaters nationwide and was an official selection of the 2015 American Film Showcase, a cultural diplomacy program of the US Department of State.

Jones has spent her career focused on telling personal stories, and her first introduction to nursing was through a very personal experience of her own, when it was a nurse who helped her get through breast cancer. That experience stuck with her, so when she started working on the American Nurse Project in 2011, she was determined to paint a rich and dynamic portrait of the profession. The goal was to cover as much territory as possible, with the hope that along the way she would capture stories touching on the kinds of issues that nurses are dealing with in every corner of the country. The project explores the American experiences of health care, poverty, childbirth, war, imprisonment and the end of life through the lens of nursing.

Prior to The American Nurse, her most widely acclaimed book, Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS, was published by Abbeville Press and was accompanied by shows in Tokyo, Berlin, the USA, and at the United Nations World AIDS Conference. In addition to her multiple exhibitions, book and magazine publications, Jones has collaborated on projects with Oxygen Media, PBS and the Girl Scouts of the USA. She founded the non-profit 100 People Foundation for which she travels the world telling stories that celebrate our global neighbors. As a lecturer, Jones has spoken at conferences, universities and events around the globe. In 2012 she was honored as one of 50 "Everyday Heroes" in the book of that title for her work with the 100 People Foundation.

Jones' career was punctuated by two brushes with death: first, running out of gas in the Sahara as a racecar driver, and second, a breast cancer diagnosis. Her newest project, the forthcoming documentary Defining Hope, is the culmination of a journey investigating how we can make better end-of-life choices. 

More profile about the speaker
Carolyn Jones | Speaker | TED.com
TEDMED 2016

Carolyn Jones: A tribute to nurses

Carolyn Jones: Uma homenagem aos enfermeiros

Filmed:
1,375,400 views

Carolyn Jones passou cinco anos entrevistando, fotografando e filmando enfermeiros por todo os Estados Unidos, viajando a lugares onde se enfrenta alguns dos maiores problemas de saúde pública do país. Nessa homenagem aos nossos heróis do dia a dia, que trabalham na linha de frente do sistema de saúde, ela compartilha histórias pessoais de dedicação absoluta.
- Photographic ethnographer
Carolyn Jones creates projects that point our attention towards issues of global concern. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
As patients,
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Como pacientes,
00:13
we usually remember
the names of our doctors,
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costumamos nos lembrar
dos nomes de nossos médicos,
mas, nem sempre, dos nomes
de nossos enfermeiros.
00:17
but often we forget
the names of our nurses.
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00:21
I remember one.
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Eu me lembro de um.
Tive câncer de mama alguns anos atrás
00:23
I had breast cancer a few years ago,
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e, de certa forma, consegui
lidar com as cirurgias
00:25
and somehow I managed
to get through the surgeries
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00:29
and the beginning
of the treatment just fine.
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e o início do tratamento tranquilamente.
Conseguia esconder
o que estava acontecendo.
00:31
I could hide what was going on.
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00:34
Everybody didn't really have to know.
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Ninguém precisava saber.
00:36
I could walk my daughter to school,
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Podia levar minha filha à escola,
00:38
I could go out to dinner with my husband;
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sair para jantar com meu marido
00:40
I could fool people.
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e enganar as pessoas.
Mas quando o início
da quimioterapia foi marcado,
00:42
But then my chemo was scheduled to begin
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00:45
and that terrified me
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fiquei aterrorizada,
00:46
because I knew that I was going to lose
every single hair on my body
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pois sabia que iria perder
cada fio de cabelo do meu corpo
00:51
because of the kind of chemo
that I was going to have.
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com o tipo de quimioterapia que eu faria.
Não conseguiria mais fingir,
como se tudo estivesse normal.
00:54
I wasn't going to be able
to pretend anymore
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00:56
as though everything was normal.
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00:59
I was scared.
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Eu estava com medo.
01:00
I knew what it felt like to have
everybody treating me with kid gloves,
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Sabia como me sentiria quando
me tratassem como que "pisando em ovos",
01:04
and I just wanted to feel normal.
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e só queria me sentir normal.
01:06
I had a port installed in my chest.
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Instalaram um cateter no meu peito.
01:08
I went to my first day of chemotherapy,
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Fui ao primeiro dia de quimioterapia,
01:11
and I was an emotional wreck.
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e estava nervosíssima.
01:14
My nurse, Joanne, walked in the door,
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Quando minha enfermeira, Joanne, chegou.
01:17
and every bone in my body was telling
me to get up out of that chair
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Cada parte do meu corpo me dizia:
"Levante-se da cadeira e saia correndo".
01:21
and take for the hills.
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01:22
But Joanne looked at me and talked
to me like we were old friends.
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Mas Joanne me olhou e conversou
como se fôssemos velhas amigas.
Daí, ela me perguntou:
01:27
And then she asked me,
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"Aonde você faz luzes no cabelo?"
01:28
"Where'd you get your highlights done?"
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01:30
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:31
And I was like, are you kidding me?
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E pensei: "É uma brincadeira?
Ela quer falar sobre cabelo
quando estou prestes a perdê-lo?"
01:33
You're going to talk to me about my hair
when I'm on the verge of losing it?
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01:38
I was kind of angry,
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Fiquei com raiva,
e disse: "Sério? Cabelo?"
01:40
and I said, "Really? Hair?"
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Ela encolheu os ombros e disse:
01:43
And with a shrug
of her shoulders she said,
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"Vai crescer de novo".
01:46
"It's gonna grow back."
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Naquele momento, ela disse
o que eu tinha menosprezado:
01:48
And in that moment she said
the one thing I had overlooked,
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que em algum momento,
minha vida voltaria ao normal.
01:51
and that was that at some point,
my life would get back to normal.
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01:55
She really believed that.
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Ela acreditava naquilo, de verdade.
01:57
And so I believed it, too.
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Então, eu também acreditei.
01:59
Now, worrying about losing your hair
when you're fighting cancer
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A princípio, pode parecer bobagem
preocupar-se com perda do cabelo
durante o combate ao câncer,
02:04
may seem silly at first,
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mas não é só uma preocupação
com a sua aparência.
02:05
but it's not just that you're worried
about how you're going to look.
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02:10
It's that you're worried that everybody's
going to treat you so carefully.
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Tememos a forma dos outros
nos tratarem, com tantos cuidados.
Pela primeira vez em seis meses,
Joanne me fez sentir normal.
02:14
Joanne made me feel normal
for the first time in six months.
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Conversamos sobre seus namorados,
02:18
We talked about her boyfriends,
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02:20
we talked about looking
for apartments in New York City,
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sobre procurar apartamentos em Nova York,
02:22
and we talked about my reaction
to the chemotherapy --
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e sobre minha reação à quimioterapia;
02:25
all kind of mixed in together.
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tudo meio que misturado.
02:28
And I always wondered,
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E sempre me perguntei,
02:30
how did she so instinctively
know just how to talk to me?
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como ela sabe, tão instintivamente,
o que falar comigo?
Joanne Staha e minha admiração por ela
02:35
Joanne Staha and my admiration for her
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02:38
marked the beginning of my journey
into the world of nurses.
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marcaram o início da minha viagem
pelo mundo dos enfermeiros.
Alguns anos depois,
fui convidada a fazer um projeto
02:43
A few years later,
I was asked to do a project
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02:45
that would celebrate
the work that nurses do.
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para celebrar o trabalho dos enfermeiros.
Comecei com Joanne e conheci
mais de 100 enfermeiros, em todo o país.
02:49
I started with Joanne,
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02:50
and I met over 100 nurses
across the country.
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Passei cinco anos entrevistando,
fotografando e filmando enfermeiros
02:54
I spent five years interviewing,
photographing and filming nurses
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para um livro e um documentário.
02:59
for a book and a documentary film.
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Com minha equipe,
03:02
With my team,
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mapeamos uma viagem pelos Estados Unidos,
que nos levou a lugares
03:03
we mapped a trip across America
that would take us to places
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03:07
dealing with some of the biggest
public health issues facing our nation --
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onde se encontram os maiores
problemas de saúde pública do nosso país:
envelhecimento, guerra, pobreza e prisões.
03:12
aging, war, poverty, prisons.
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E depois fomos a lugares
03:16
And then we went places
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03:18
where we would find
the largest concentration of patients
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onde encontramos as maiores
concentrações de pacientes
03:22
dealing with those issues.
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que enfrentam esses problemas.
03:24
Then we asked hospitals and facilities
to nominate nurses
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Pedimos aos hospitais e instituições
que nomeassem os enfermeiros
03:28
who would best represent them.
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que melhor os representavam.
03:30
One of the first nurses I met
was Bridget Kumbella.
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Bridget Kumbella foi uma das primeiras
enfermeiras que conheci.
Bridget nasceu em Camarões,
a mais velha de quatro irmãos.
03:34
Bridget was born in Cameroon,
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03:35
the oldest of four children.
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Seu pai estava trabalhando
quando caiu do quarto andar,
03:38
Her father was at work
when he had fallen from the fourth floor
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03:42
and really hurt his back.
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e machucou seriamente a coluna.
03:44
And he talked a lot about what it was like
to be flat on your back
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Ele falava muito sobre
a sensação de estar acamado
03:48
and not get the kind
of care that you need.
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e não ter o tipo de tratamento adequado.
03:51
And that propelled Bridget
to go into the profession of nursing.
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Isso motivou Bridget a seguir
a profissão de enfermagem.
Hoje, como enfermeira, no Bronx,
03:56
Now, as a nurse in the Bronx,
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03:57
she has a really diverse group
of patients that she cares for,
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ela tem um grupo muito diverso
de pacientes sob seus cuidados,
dos mais variadas classes sociais
04:01
from all walks of life,
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04:03
and from all different religions.
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e de diversas religiões.
Ela dedicou sua carreira à compreensão
04:05
And she's devoted her career
to understanding the impact
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do impacto das diferenças culturais,
quando se trata da nossa saúde.
04:09
of our cultural differences
when it comes to our health.
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Ela falou de um paciente,
04:14
She spoke of a patient --
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04:15
a Native American patient that she had --
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um índio americano,
que queria levar
um punhado de penas para a UTI.
04:18
that wanted to bring
a bunch of feathers into the ICU.
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Era assim que ele
conseguia ter conforto espiritual.
04:23
That's how he found spiritual comfort.
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04:26
And she spoke of advocating for him
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Ela o defendeu,
04:28
and said that patients come
from all different religions
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e explicou que os pacientes
têm diversas religiões,
04:31
and use all different kinds
of objects for comfort;
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e usam os mais variados
objetos para confortá-los;
04:35
whether it's a holy rosary
or a symbolic feather,
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pode ser um santo rosário,
ou uma pena simbólica,
04:38
it all needs to be supported.
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tudo deve ser apoiado.
04:41
This is Jason Short.
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Esse é Jason Short.
04:43
Jason is a home health nurse
in the Appalachian mountains,
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Jason é enfermeiro domiciliar
nos Montes Apalaches.
04:46
and his dad had a gas station
and a repair shop when he was growing up.
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Na infância, seu pai tinha
um posto de gasolina e uma oficina.
04:50
So he worked on cars in the community
that he now serves as a nurse.
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Ele consertava carros na mesma comunidade
na qual atua hoje como enfermeiro.
Quando fez faculdade,
04:55
When he was in college,
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04:56
it was just not macho at all
to become a nurse,
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ser enfermeiro não era para homens,
05:00
so he avoided it for years.
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então, ele evitou a profissão por anos.
05:02
He drove trucks for a little while,
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Dirigiu caminhões por um tempo,
05:04
but his life path was always
pulling him back to nursing.
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mas seus caminhos sempre
o levavam de volta à enfermagem.
05:10
As a nurse in the Appalachian mountains,
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Como enfermeiro, nos Montes Apalaches,
05:12
Jason goes places
that an ambulance can't even get to.
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Jason vai a lugares onde
uma ambulância não consegue chegar.
05:16
In this photograph,
he's standing in what used to be a road.
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Nessa foto, ele está
onde havia uma estrada.
O minério, no topo da montanha,
submergiu a estrada
05:20
Top of the mountain mining
flooded that road,
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05:22
and now the only way
for Jason to get to the patient
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e agora, Jason só tem uma forma
de chegar até o paciente,
05:26
living in that house
with black lung disease
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que tem pneumoconiose e vive naquela casa:
05:29
is to drive his SUV
against the current up that creek.
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dirigir seu veículo contra
a corrente e subir o córrego.
No dia em que estive com ele,
o pára-choque dianteiro foi arrancado.
05:34
The day I was with him,
we ripped the front fender off the car.
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Na manhã seguinte, ele levantou-se,
05:38
The next morning he got up,
put the car on the lift,
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elevou o carro, consertou o pára-choque,
e saiu para visitar seu próximo paciente.
05:41
fixed the fender,
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05:42
and then headed out
to meet his next patient.
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05:45
I witnessed Jason
caring for this gentleman
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Testemunhei os cuidados
prestados por Jason a esse paciente,
05:48
with such enormous compassion,
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com tamanha compaixão,
05:51
and I was struck again by how intimate
the work of nursing really is.
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que novamente, fiquei comovida
com o comprometimento dessa profissão.
05:58
When I met Brian McMillion, he was raw.
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Quando conheci Brian McMillion,
ele estava se reajustando.
Ele tinha acabado
de voltar de uma missão militar
06:01
He had just come back from a deployment
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06:03
and he hadn't really settled back in
to life in San Diego yet.
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e ainda não tinha voltado
à vida normal, em San Diego.
Ele falou sobre a sua experiência
como enfermeiro na Alemanha,
06:08
He talked about his experience
of being a nurse in Germany
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06:11
and taking care of the soldiers
coming right off the battlefield.
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onde cuidava dos soldados
que vinham do campo de batalha.
06:15
Very often, he would be
the first person they would see
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Muitas vezes, ele era
a primeira pessoa que eles viam
06:19
when they opened
their eyes in the hospital.
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quando abriam os olhos no hospital.
06:22
And they would look at him
as they were lying there,
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Acamados, olhavam para ele,
06:25
missing limbs,
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com membros amputados,
06:26
and the first thing they would say is,
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e a primeira coisa que diziam era:
06:29
"When can I go back?
I left my brothers out there."
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"Quando posso voltar?
Deixei meus companheiros lá".
06:34
And Brian would have to say,
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E Brian tinha que dizer:
06:35
"You're not going anywhere.
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"Você não vai a lugar nenhum.
Já fez o suficiente, cara".
06:37
You've already given enough, brother."
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06:40
Brian is both a nurse and a soldier
who's seen combat.
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Brian é um enfermeiro
e soldado que lutou em batalhas.
Isso lhe dá uma posição privilegiada
06:45
So that puts him in a unique position
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06:47
to be able to relate to and help heal
the veterans in his care.
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para estabelecer empatia, e ajudar
a curar veteranos sob seus cuidados.
Essa é a Irmã Stephen.
06:53
This is Sister Stephen,
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06:55
and she runs a nursing home
in Wisconsin called Villa Loretto.
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Ela dirige uma clínica de repouso
em Wisconsin, chamada Villa Loretto.
06:59
And the entire circle of life
can be found under her roof.
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Todo o círculo da vida
pode ser encontrado sob seu teto.
07:03
She grew up wishing they lived on a farm,
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Ela cresceu querendo
que vivessem numa chácara,
07:06
so given the opportunity
to adopt local farm animals,
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então, quando tem a oportunidade
de adotar os animais da redondeza,
07:11
she enthusiastically brings them in.
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ela os acolhe com entusiasmo.
07:14
And in the springtime,
those animals have babies.
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Na primavera, esses animais têm filhotes.
07:17
And Sister Stephen uses
those baby ducks, goats and lambs
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E a Irmã Stephen usa patinhos,
cabritinhos e cordeirinhos
07:22
as animal therapy
for the residents at Villa Loretto
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para terapia animal
com os residentes da Villa Loretto,
07:27
who sometimes can't
remember their own name,
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que, às vezes, não se lembram
sequer do próprio nome,
07:30
but they do rejoice
in the holding of a baby lamb.
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mas se alegram ao segurar o cordeirinho.
No dia em que estive com a Irmã Stephen,
07:35
The day I was with Sister Stephen,
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07:37
I needed to take her away
from Villa Loretto
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precisei tirá-la da Villa Loretto
para filmar parte da sua história.
07:39
to film part of her story.
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07:41
And before we left,
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Antes de partirmos, ela foi ao quarto
de um paciente moribundo.
07:42
she went into the room of a dying patient.
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Ela curvou-se e disse:
07:46
And she leaned over and she said,
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07:48
"I have to go away for the day,
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"Vou ficar fora o dia todo,
mas se Jesus chamar você, vá.
Vá direto para os braços de Jesus".
07:51
but if Jesus calls you,
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07:53
you go.
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07:54
You go straight home to Jesus."
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Eu estava lá parada e pensei:
07:57
I was standing there and thinking
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07:59
it was the first time in my life
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foi a primeira vez na minha vida
08:01
I witnessed that you could show
someone you love them completely
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que presenciei uma demonstração
de amor incondicional por alguém,
08:06
by letting go.
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deixando-o partir.
08:08
We don't have to hold on so tightly.
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Não precisamos nos apegar tanto.
08:11
I saw more life rolled up at Villa Loretto
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Vi mais vida acontecer na Villa Loretto,
08:15
than I have ever seen at any other time
at any other place in my life.
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que em qualquer outro lugar
ou momento da minha vida.
Vivemos um momento complicado
no que diz respeito ao sistema de saúde.
08:21
We live in a complicated time
when it comes to our health care.
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08:25
It's easy to lose sight
of the need for quality of life,
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É fácil ignorar a necessidade
de qualidade de vida,
08:29
not just quantity of life.
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não só quantidade de vida.
À medida que são criadas
novas tecnologias que salvam vidas,
08:32
As new life-saving
technologies are created,
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08:35
we're going to have really
complicated decisions to make.
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temos que tomar decisões
muito complicadas.
08:39
These technologies often save lives,
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Essas tecnologias
normalmente salvam vidas,
08:42
but they can also prolong pain
and the dying process.
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mas podem, também, prolongar
o sofrimento e o processo de morte.
08:47
How in the world are we supposed
to navigate these waters?
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Como conseguir lidar com essa realidade?
08:50
We're going to need
all the help we can get.
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Precisamos de toda a ajuda possível.
Os enfermeiros têm
um relacionamento ímpar conosco,
08:53
Nurses have a really unique
relationship with us
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devido ao tempo que passamos acamados.
08:57
because of the time spent at bedside.
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Nesse tempo, criamos
certa intimidade emocional.
09:00
During that time,
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09:02
a kind of emotional intimacy develops.
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09:06
This past summer, on August 9,
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No último verão, em 9 de agosto,
09:09
my father died of a heart attack.
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meu pai morreu de um ataque cardíaco.
09:12
My mother was devastated,
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Minha mãe ficou arrasada,
09:14
and she couldn't imagine
her world without him in it.
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pois não conseguia se imaginar
sem ele por perto.
Quatro dias depois, ela caiu,
09:19
Four days later she fell,
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09:21
she broke her hip,
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quebrou o quadril,
09:23
she needed surgery
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passou por uma cirurgia e de repente,
estava lutando pela própria vida.
09:24
and she found herself
fighting for her own life.
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09:28
Once again I found myself
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Mais uma vez, eu me vi
contando com os serviços de enfermeiros,
dessa vez, para minha mãe.
09:30
on the receiving end
of the care of nurses --
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09:33
this time for my mom.
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1440
09:36
My brother and my sister and I
stayed by her side
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2536
Meu irmão, minha irmã
e eu ficamos ao lado dela,
09:38
for the next three days in the ICU.
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2440
na UTI, pelos três dias seguintes.
09:41
And as we tried
to make the right decisions
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E enquanto tentávamos
tomar as decisões certas
09:45
and follow my mother's wishes,
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e obedecer aos desejos de minha mãe,
09:47
we found that we were depending
upon the guidance of nurses.
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sentimos que dependíamos
dos enfermeiros para orientação.
09:52
And once again,
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E, mais uma vez,
09:53
they didn't let us down.
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eles não nos decepcionaram.
09:56
They had an amazing insight
in terms of how to care for my mom
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Tiveram uma percepção impressionante,
em termos de como cuidar da minha mãe,
10:01
in the last four days of her life.
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nos seus últimos quatro dias de vida.
10:03
They brought her comfort
and relief from pain.
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Eles deram a ela conforto e alívio da dor.
Souberam encorajar minha irmã e eu
a vestir minha mãe com uma camisola linda,
10:08
They knew to encourage my sister and I
to put a pretty nightgown on my mom,
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5256
10:13
long after it mattered to her,
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mesmo quando não importava mais a ela,
10:15
but it sure meant a lot to us.
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mas, certamente,
significou muito para nós.
E souberam vir me acordar
a tempo de ver o último suspiro dela.
10:19
And they knew to come and wake me up
just in time for my mom's last breath.
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Souberam quanto tempo
deviam me deixar no quarto,
10:25
And then they knew
how long to leave me in the room
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10:28
with my mother after she died.
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com minha mãe, após a morte.
Não imagino como sabem dessas coisas,
10:30
I have no idea how they know these things,
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10:34
but I do know that I am eternally grateful
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mas sei, com certeza,
que sou eternamente grata
10:37
that they've guided me once again.
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por terem me guiado mais uma vez.
10:40
Thank you so very much.
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Muitíssimo obrigada.
10:42
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by ADRIANA MENOLI
Reviewed by Daniela Figueiredo

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carolyn Jones - Photographic ethnographer
Carolyn Jones creates projects that point our attention towards issues of global concern.

Why you should listen

Best known for her socially proactive photographs and documentary films, Carolyn Jones creates projects that point our attention towards issues of global concern. From people "living positively" with AIDS to women artisans supporting entire communities and nurses on the front lines of our health care system, Carolyn Jones has devoted her career to celebrating invisible populations and breaking down barriers.

Jones has spent the past five years interviewing more than 150 nurses from every corner of the US in an effort to better understand the role of nurses in this country's healthcare system. She published the critically-acclaimed book The American Nurse: Photographs and Interviews by Carolyn Jones, for which she was interviewed on PBS NewsHour and featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today. She directed and executive-produced the follow-up documentary film The American Nurse: Healing America, which was released in theaters nationwide and was an official selection of the 2015 American Film Showcase, a cultural diplomacy program of the US Department of State.

Jones has spent her career focused on telling personal stories, and her first introduction to nursing was through a very personal experience of her own, when it was a nurse who helped her get through breast cancer. That experience stuck with her, so when she started working on the American Nurse Project in 2011, she was determined to paint a rich and dynamic portrait of the profession. The goal was to cover as much territory as possible, with the hope that along the way she would capture stories touching on the kinds of issues that nurses are dealing with in every corner of the country. The project explores the American experiences of health care, poverty, childbirth, war, imprisonment and the end of life through the lens of nursing.

Prior to The American Nurse, her most widely acclaimed book, Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS, was published by Abbeville Press and was accompanied by shows in Tokyo, Berlin, the USA, and at the United Nations World AIDS Conference. In addition to her multiple exhibitions, book and magazine publications, Jones has collaborated on projects with Oxygen Media, PBS and the Girl Scouts of the USA. She founded the non-profit 100 People Foundation for which she travels the world telling stories that celebrate our global neighbors. As a lecturer, Jones has spoken at conferences, universities and events around the globe. In 2012 she was honored as one of 50 "Everyday Heroes" in the book of that title for her work with the 100 People Foundation.

Jones' career was punctuated by two brushes with death: first, running out of gas in the Sahara as a racecar driver, and second, a breast cancer diagnosis. Her newest project, the forthcoming documentary Defining Hope, is the culmination of a journey investigating how we can make better end-of-life choices. 

More profile about the speaker
Carolyn Jones | Speaker | TED.com