ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amy Purdy - Pro snowboarder
Amy Purdy became a professional snowboarder despite losing both her legs to meningitis. She encourages us to take control of our lives, and our limits.

Why you should listen
After bacterial meningitis took her legs, Amy Purdy struggled with depression, and only beat it when she learned to accept her new reality, but not any limitations.  After being unable to find prosthetics that would allow her to snowboard, she built her own. Today, she is a world champion female adaptive snowboarder. In 2005, she co-founded Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit dedicated to introducing people with physical challenges to action sports.
More profile about the speaker
Amy Purdy | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxOrangeCoast

Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits

艾咪.普蒂: 生命無限

Filmed:
2,027,535 views

艾咪.普蒂 19 歲時,雙腳膝蓋以下遭截肢,時至今日,她已成為滑雪專家。在這則充滿力量的演說中,她分享了如何從人生的阻礙中獲得靈感和鼓舞。(拍攝於 TEDxOrangeCoast)
- Pro snowboarder
Amy Purdy became a professional snowboarder despite losing both her legs to meningitis. She encourages us to take control of our lives, and our limits. Full bio

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

00:04
If your life were a book
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如果你的人生是一本書,
00:06
and you were the author作者,
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而你是作者,
00:10
how would you want your story故事 to go?
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你希望故事如何發展?
00:13
That's the question
that changed my life forever永遠.
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這個問題改變了我的一生。
00:18
Growing生長 up in the hot Last Vegas拉斯維加斯 desert沙漠,
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在炎熱的拉斯維加斯沙漠長大的我,
00:21
all I wanted was to be free自由.
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唯一想要的就是自由。
00:24
I would daydream夢話 about
traveling旅行 the world世界,
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我會想像自己去環遊世界,
00:28
living活的 in a place地點 where it snowed下雪,
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住在下雪的地方,
00:31
and I would picture圖片 all of the stories故事
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我會編織各種故事,
00:34
that I would go on to tell.
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在日後娓娓道來。
00:37
At the age年齡 of 19,
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我在 19 歲從高中畢業的隔天,
00:39
the day after I graduated畢業 high school學校,
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00:42
I moved移動 to a place地點 where it snowed下雪
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搬到一個會下雪的地方,
開始當起按摩師。
00:45
and I became成為 a massage按摩 therapist治療師.
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00:47
With this job工作 all I needed需要 were my hands
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做這份工作,
我只需要有雙手和按摩桌在身邊,
00:50
and my massage按摩 table by my side
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00:53
and I could go anywhere隨地.
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就能去任何地方。
00:56
For the first time in my life,
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那是我生命中第一次
00:59
I felt free自由, independent獨立
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感到自由、獨立,
01:02
and completely全然 in control控制 of my life.
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並且完全掌控自己的生活。
01:07
That is, until直到 my life took a detour車輛改道.
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直到我的生命出現轉折。
01:13
I went home from work early one day
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有天我提早收工回家,
01:15
with what I thought was the flu流感,
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原以為自己染上流感,
01:17
and less than 24 hours小時 later後來
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結果不到 24 小時,
01:21
I was in the hospital醫院
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我就住進醫院,
裝上維生系統,
01:23
on life support支持
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只有不到 2% 的存活率。
01:25
with less than a two percent百分 chance機會 of living活的.
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01:28
It wasn't until直到 days later後來
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幾天後,
01:30
as I lay鋪設 in a coma昏迷
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我就全身癱瘓,
01:33
that the doctors醫生 diagnosed確診 me
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醫生診斷我罹患了
01:35
with bacterial細菌 meningitis腦膜炎,
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細菌性腦膜炎,
01:38
a vaccine-preventable疫苗可預防 blood血液 infection感染.
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一種能靠注射疫苗預防的血液感染。
01:42
Over the course課程 of two and a half months個月
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經過兩個半月的療程,
01:44
I lost丟失 my spleen, my kidneys腎臟,
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我喪失了脾臟和腎臟,
01:48
the hearing聽力 in my left ear
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還有左耳聽力,
01:51
and both of my legs below下面 the knee膝蓋.
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雙腳膝蓋以下也截肢了。
父母用輪椅將我推出醫院時,
01:56
When my parents父母
wheeled輪式 me out of the hospital醫院
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01:58
I felt like I had been
pieced拼湊 back together一起
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我感覺自己像是用碎片
02:01
like a patchwork拼湊物 doll娃娃.
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拼湊而成的娃娃。
02:05
I thought the worst最差 was over
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我以為最糟的情況已經結束了,
02:07
until直到 weeks later後來 when I saw my new legs
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但幾週後我第一次看到自己的雙腳,
02:10
for the first time.
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才發現並非如此。
02:12
The calves小牛 were bulky笨重 blocks of metal金屬
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小腿變成又粗又重的金屬塊,
02:16
with pipes管道 bolted狂奔 together一起 for the ankles腳踝
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跟管子和腳踝拴在一起,
02:20
and a yellow黃色 rubber橡膠 foot腳丫子
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還有個泛黃的橡膠腳,
02:23
with a raised上調 rubber橡膠 line
from the toe腳趾 to the ankle
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上面有條突起的橡膠線
從腳趾延伸至腳踝,
02:26
to look like a vein靜脈.
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為了看起來像條血管。
02:29
I didn't know what to expect期望,
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我不知道未來會發生什麼事,
02:32
but I wasn't expecting期待 that.
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但我沒想到會發生這種事。
02:35
With my mom媽媽 by my side
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我媽在我身旁,
02:38
and tears眼淚 streaming down our faces面孔,
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淚水從我倆的臉龐落下,
02:43
I strapped on these chunky矮胖 legs
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我綁上這雙粗重的腳,
02:47
and I stood站在 up.
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站起身來。
02:50
They were so painful痛苦 and so confining
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如此劇烈的疼痛和緊繃
02:54
that all I could think was,
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讓我不得不想,
02:57
how am I ever going to travel旅行 the world世界
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我要怎麼戴著這些東西環遊世界?
02:59
in these things?
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03:01
How was I ever going to live生活
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我要怎麼繼續擁有
03:03
the life full充分 of adventure冒險 and stories故事,
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那個我從小就夢寐以求的,
充滿冒險和故事的生活?
03:05
as I always wanted?
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03:08
And how was I going to snowboard單板滑雪 again?
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我要怎麼再次站上滑雪板?
03:12
That day, I went home, I crawled into bed
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那天回到家後,我爬上床,
03:16
and this is what my life looked看著 like
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這是我之後幾個月的生活樣貌:
03:18
for the next下一個 few少數 months個月:
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03:20
me passed通過 out, escaping逃逸 from reality現實,
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渾渾噩噩,逃避現實,
03:24
with my legs resting休息 by my side.
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雙腳就放在一旁。
03:29
I was absolutely絕對 physically物理
and emotionally感情上 broken破碎.
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我的身心都已支離破碎。
03:37
But I knew知道 that in order訂購 to move移動 forward前鋒,
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但我知道要向前邁進,
03:41
I had to let go of the old Amy艾米
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就得放下以前的艾咪,
03:46
and learn學習 to embrace擁抱 the new Amy艾米.
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學習擁抱新的艾咪。
03:52
And that is when it dawned破曉 on me
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那一刻我才發現,
03:55
that I didn't have to be five-foot-five五英尺五 anymore.
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我的身高不再得是一六五,
03:59
I could be as tall as I wanted!
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我想要多高就可以多高!
(笑聲)
04:02
(Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
我也可以想要多矮就多矮,
看約會對象是誰再決定。
04:07
Or as short as I wanted,
depending根據 on who I was dating約會.
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04:11
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:13
And if I snowboardedsnowboarded again,
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如果我再去滑雪,
04:15
my feet aren't going to get cold.
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腳就不會覺得冷了。
04:17
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:19
And best最好 of all, I thought,
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最棒的是我想
04:21
I can make my feet the size尺寸
of all the shoes
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我可以把自己的腳做成
鞋店特價區裡的鞋子尺寸。(笑聲)
04:25
that are on the sales銷售 rack.
(Laughter笑聲)
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04:27
And I did!
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我真的這麼做了!
04:29
So there were benefits好處 here.
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看來還是有點好處。
04:32
It was this moment時刻 that I asked myself
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就在這個時刻我自問
04:34
that life-defining生命的定義 question:
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那個定義人生的問題:
04:37
If my life were a book
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如果我的人生是一本書,
04:39
and I were the author作者,
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而我是作者,
04:43
how would I want the story故事 to go?
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我希望故事怎麼發展?
04:45
And I began開始 to daydream夢話.
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我開始幻想。
04:48
I daydreamed做白日夢 like I did as a little girl女孩
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像我孩提時那樣,
04:51
and I imagined想像 myself
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想像自己
04:54
walking步行 gracefully優雅,
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優雅行進,
用自己的歷程幫助別人,
04:57
helping幫助 other people through通過 my journey旅程
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04:59
and snowboarding單板滑雪 again.
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並且再次滑雪。
我不是只看見自己
05:02
And I didn't just see myself
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割雪滑過山上的粉雪,
05:04
carving雕刻 down a mountain of powder粉末,
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05:06
I could actually其實 feel it.
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我真的能感覺得到。
05:09
I could feel the wind against反對 my face面對
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我可以感覺到吹拂在臉上的風,
05:12
and the beat擊敗 of my racing賽跑 heart
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還有飛快的心跳,
05:15
as if it were happening事件
in that very moment時刻.
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就像身歷其境一般。
05:20
And that is when a new chapter章節
in my life began開始.
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那是我人生開啟新篇章的時刻。
05:26
Four months個月 later後來
I was back up on a snowboard單板滑雪,
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四個月後,我重新站上滑雪板,
05:29
although雖然 things didn't go
quite相當 as expected預期:
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雖然情況不如想像中美好:
05:32
My knees膝蓋 and my ankles腳踝 wouldn't不會 bend彎曲
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我的膝蓋和腳踝無法彎曲,
05:35
and at one point I traumatized創傷
all the skiers滑雪者 on the chair椅子 lift電梯
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一度在纜車上的滑雪客
心中留下陰影,
05:39
when I fell下跌 and my legs,
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因為我跌倒的時候,
雙腳還黏在滑雪板上,
05:44
still attached to my snowboard單板滑雪
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05:46
(Laughter笑聲) —
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(笑聲)
05:50
went flying飛行 down the mountain,
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整個飛下山嶺,
05:53
and I was on top最佳 of the mountain still.
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身體卻還在山上。
05:56
I was so shocked吃驚,
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我很驚訝,
05:58
I was just as shocked吃驚 as everybody每個人 else其他,
and I was so discouraged灰心,
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就跟每個人一樣驚訝,我好挫折,
06:02
but I knew知道 that if I could find the right pair of feet
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但我知道如果能找到對的那雙腳,
我就能再次滑雪。
06:06
that I would be able能夠 to do this again.
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06:08
And this is when I learned學到了
that our borders國界
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就是這個時候,我了解到
限制和阻礙只會影響兩件事:
06:11
and our obstacles障礙
can only do two things:
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06:15
one, stop us in our tracks軌道
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第一,終止我們的習慣,
06:18
or two, force us to get creative創作的.
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第二,強迫我們發揮創意。
06:22
I did a year of research研究,
still couldn't不能 figure數字 out
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我研究了一年,至今仍無法找出
06:24
what kind of legs to use,
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要用哪一種腳,
06:26
couldn't不能 find any resources資源
that could help me.
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無法找到任何能幫助我的資源。
06:28
So I decided決定 to make a pair myself.
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因此我決定自己做一雙腳。
06:31
My leg maker製作者 and I
put random隨機 parts部分 together一起
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製腳師和我任意組裝零件,
06:34
and we made製作 a pair of feet
that I could snowboard單板滑雪 in.
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最後完成了一雙讓我能滑雪的腳。
06:37
As you can see,
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你可以看到,
06:40
rusted生鏽 bolts螺栓, rubber橡膠,
wood and neon pink duct tape膠帶.
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生鏽的螺絲、橡皮、木頭和粉紅布膠帶。
06:47
And yes, I can change更改 my toenail趾甲 polish拋光.
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沒錯,我還能換不同的指甲油。
06:50
It was these legs
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這些腳
06:52
and the best最好 21stST birthday生日 gift禮品
I could ever receive接收
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和最棒的 21 歲生日禮物,
06:55
a new kidney from my dad
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也就是爸爸捐給我的一顆腎,
06:58
that allowed允許 me to follow跟隨 my dreams again.
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讓我能再次追尋我的夢想。
07:01
I started開始 snowboarding單板滑雪,
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我開始站上雪板滑雪,
07:03
then I went back to work,
then I went back to school學校.
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接著回去工作、回到校園。
07:05
Then in 2005 I cofounded共同創立
a nonprofit非營利性 organization組織
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2005 年時我合夥創辦非營利組織,
07:09
for youth青年 and young年輕 adults成年人
with physical物理 disabilities殘疾人
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幫助有肢體障礙的青少年,
07:11
so they could get involved參與
with action行動 sports體育.
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讓他們能參與極限運動。
07:15
From there, I had the opportunity機會 to go to South Africa非洲,
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我在那裡得到前往南非的機會,
07:19
where I helped幫助 to put shoes
on thousands數千 of children's兒童 feet
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可以去幫助成千上萬名孩童
讓他們有鞋穿
07:22
so they could attend出席 school學校.
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好去上學。
07:24
And just this past過去 February二月,
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今年二月,
07:26
I won韓元 two back-to-back背靠背
World世界 Cup杯子 gold medals獎牌
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我接連贏得兩面世界盃金牌,
07:31
(Applause掌聲) —
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(掌聲)
07:40
which哪一個 made製作 me
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這讓我成為
07:41
the highest最高 ranked排名
adaptive自適應 female snowboarder滑雪板
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世界頂尖的女性身障滑雪板員。
07:45
in the world世界.
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07:46
Eleven十一 years年份 ago, when I lost丟失 my legs,
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我 11 年前失去雙腳的時候,
07:50
I had no idea理念 what to expect期望.
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完全沒想到會有這件事。
07:53
But if you ask me today今天,
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但如果你今天問我,
是否曾想過要改變處境,
07:55
if I would ever want to
change更改 my situation情況,
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07:57
I would have to say no.
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我會說不。
08:00
Because my legs haven't沒有 disabled me,
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因為我的雙腳從未讓我失能,
08:02
if anything they've他們已經 enabled啟用 me.
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反而賦予我能力。
08:04
They've他們已經 forced被迫 me to rely依靠 on my imagination想像力
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我的腳迫使我仰賴想像力,
08:08
and to believe in the possibilities可能性,
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讓我相信一切都有希望,
08:11
and that's why I believe
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因此我相信
我們的想像力能夠成為工具,
08:12
that our imaginations想像 can be used as tools工具
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08:15
for breaking破壞 through通過 borders國界,
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用來打破藩籬,
08:17
because in our minds頭腦,
we can do anything
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因為在我們心中,我們能做任何事,
08:20
and we can be anything.
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能成為各種人。
08:23
It's believing相信 in those dreams
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是因為相信那些夢想,
08:25
and facing面對 our fears恐懼 head-on腦袋上
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正視迎面而來的恐懼,
08:28
that allows允許 us to live生活 our lives生活
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讓每個人能活出自我,
08:30
beyond our limits範圍.
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超越極限。
08:33
And although雖然 today今天 is about
innovation革新 without borders國界,
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雖然今天的主題是關於創新無界線,
08:36
I have to say that in my life,
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但我得說在我的生活中
08:40
innovation革新 has only been possible可能
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創新能實現
08:42
because of my borders國界.
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正是因為我的限制。
08:45
I've learned學到了 that borders國界 are where the actual實際 ends結束,
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我一直以為限制就是真正的盡頭,
08:50
but also where the imagination想像力
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但其實限制是想像力與故事的開端。
08:53
and the story故事 begins開始.
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08:55
So the thought that I would like
to challenge挑戰 you with today今天
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今天我想挑戰你們的觀點就是
08:58
is that maybe instead代替 of looking at
our challenges挑戰 and our limitations限制
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與其把我們的挑戰和限制
09:03
as something negative or bad,
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視為某種負面或不好的事,
09:06
we can begin開始 to look at them as blessings祝福,
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我們可以開始將這些事視為祝福,
09:09
magnificent華麗的 gifts禮品 that can be used
to ignite點燃 our imaginations想像
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是能點燃想像力的珍貴禮物,
09:14
and help us go further進一步
than we ever knew知道 we could go.
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幫助我們不再畫地自限,走得更遠。
09:20
It's not about breaking破壞 down borders國界.
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這並不是指要打破限制,
09:24
It's about pushing推動 off of them
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而是要跳脫限制,
09:27
and seeing眼看 what amazing驚人 places地方
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看限制能帶我們到什麼好地方去。
09:30
they might威力 bring帶來 us.
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09:32
Thank you.
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謝謝。
Translated by Marssi Draw
Reviewed by Iris Chung

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amy Purdy - Pro snowboarder
Amy Purdy became a professional snowboarder despite losing both her legs to meningitis. She encourages us to take control of our lives, and our limits.

Why you should listen
After bacterial meningitis took her legs, Amy Purdy struggled with depression, and only beat it when she learned to accept her new reality, but not any limitations.  After being unable to find prosthetics that would allow her to snowboard, she built her own. Today, she is a world champion female adaptive snowboarder. In 2005, she co-founded Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit dedicated to introducing people with physical challenges to action sports.
More profile about the speaker
Amy Purdy | Speaker | TED.com