Janine Shepherd: A broken body isn't a broken person

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: David J. Kreps Finnemann Reviewer: Line Hansen

Life is about opportunities -- creating them and embracing them.

Livet handler om muligheder,

at skabe dem og omfavne dem, og for mig,

And for me, that was the Olympic dream.

var det den Olympiske drøm.

Det er det der definere mig. Det var min lykke!

That's what defined me. That was my bliss.

As a cross-country skier and member of the Australian ski team

Som langrendsløber og medlem af det australske ski team,

headed towards the Winter Olympics,

på vej til vinterolympiaden,

var jeg på en træningscykeltur med mine holdkammerater.

I was on a training bike ride with my fellow teammates.

I takt med at vi var på vej op imod

As we made our way up towards the spectacular Blue Mountains

de spektakulære Blue Mountains vest for Sydney,

west of Sydney,

it was the perfect autumn day:

det var en perfekt forårsdag:

sunshine, the smell of eucalypt and a dream.

solskin, duften af eukalyptus og en drøm.

Life was good.

Livet var godt.

We'd been on our bikes for around five-and-a-half hours

Vi havde været på vores cykler i cirka fem og en halv time

da vi kom til den del af turen jeg elskede,

when we got to the part of the ride that I loved,

and that was the hills, because I loved the hills.

og det var bakkerne, fordi jeg elskede bakkerne.

I got up off the seat of my bike and I started pumping my legs,

Og jeg rejste mig i sadlen, og jeg begyndte

at pumpe med benene, og i takt med at jeg sugede den kolde bjergluft ind,

and as I sucked in the cold mountain air, I could feel it burning my lungs,

kunne jeg mærke det brænde i mine lunger, og jeg kiggede op

and I looked up to see the sun shining in my face.

og kunne se solen skinne på mit ansigt.

And then everything went black.

Og så blev alt sort.

Where was I? What was happening?

Hvor var jeg? Hvad skete der?

My body was consumed by pain.

Min krop var opslugt af smerte.

I'd been hit by a speeding utility truck

Jeg var blevet ramt af et køretøj der kørte for hurtigt

with only 10 minutes to go on the bike ride.

med kun 10 minutter tilbage af cykelturen.

I was airlifted from the scene of the accident by a rescue helicopter

Og jeg blev hentet på ulykkestedet

af en redningshelikopter til en stor rygmarvsafdeling i Sydney

to a large spinal unit in Sydney.

I had extensive and life-threatening injuries.

Jeg havde omfattende og livstruende skader.

Jeg havde brækket nakken og min ryg seks steder.

I'd broken my neck and my back in six places.

Jeg brækkede fem ribben i venstre side.

I broke five ribs on my left side.

I broke my right arm. I broke my collarbone.

Jeg brækkede min højre arm. Jeg brækkede kravebenet.

I broke some bones in my feet.

Jeg brækkede nogle knogler i fødderne.

My whole right side was ripped open, filled with gravel.

Hele min højre side var flænset op, fyldt med grus.

My head was cut open across the front, lifted back,

Mit hoved var skåret åben foran, løftet tilbage,

viste kraniet indenunder.

exposing the skull underneath.

I had head injures. I had internal injuries.

Jeg havde hovedskader. Jeg havde indvendige skader.

I had massive blood loss.

Jeg havde mistet meget blod. Faktisk, havde jeg mistet cirka fem liter

In fact, I lost about five liters of blood,

blod, hvilket er alt der er i en person på min størrelse.

which is all someone my size would actually hold.

By the time the helicopter arrived at Prince Henry Hospital in Sydney,

Til den tid helikopteren ankom ved Prince Henry Hospital

i Sydney, var mit blodtryk 40 over ingenting.

my blood pressure was 40 over nothing.

Jeg havde en virkelig dårlig dag. (Latter)

I was having a really bad day.

(Laughter)

I mere end 10 dage, svævede jeg mellem to dimensioner.

For over 10 days, I drifted between two dimensions.

Jeg havde en bevidsthed om at være i min krop, men også

I had an awareness of being in my body,

but also being out of my body, somewhere else,

at være uden for min krop, et andet sted, betragtende

watching from above, as if it was happening to someone else.

ovenfra, som om det skete for en anden.

Hvorfor skulle jeg have lyst til at tage tilbage til den krop der var så ødelagt?

Why would I want to go back to a body that was so broken?

But this voice kept calling me:

Men denne stemme blev ved med at sige til mig: "Kom nu, bliv hos mig."

"Come on, stay with me."

"No, it's too hard."

"Nej. Det er for hårdt."

"Come on. This is our opportunity."

"Kom nu. Dette er vores mulighed."

"No. That body is broken. It can no longer serve me."

Nej. Den krop er ødelagt. Den kan ikke længere tjene mig."

"Come on. Stay with me. We can do it. We can do it together."

"Kom nu. Bliv hos mig. Vi kan gøre det. Vi kan gøre det sammen."

I was at a crossroads.

Jeg stod ved en krydsvej.

I knew if I didn't return to my body, I'd have to leave this world forever.

Jeg vidste at hvis jeg ikke vendte tilbage til min krop, måtte jeg efterlade denne verden for altid.

It was the fight of my life.

Det var mit livs kamp.

After 10 days, I made the decision to return to my body.

Efter 10 dage, tog jeg beslutningen at vende tilbage til min krop,

og de indvendige blødninger holdte op.

And the internal bleeding stopped.

The next concern was whether I would walk again,

Den bekymring var om jeg kom til at gå igen,

because I was paralyzed from the waist down.

fordi jeg var lammet fra taljen og ned.

De sagde til mine forældre, at bruddet i nakken var en stabil fraktur,

They said to my parents that the neck break was a stable fracture,

men ryggen var fuldstændig knust.

but the back was completely crushed:

Ryghvirvlen ved L1 svarede til at man havde tabt en jordnød,

the vertebra at L1 was like you'd dropped a peanut,

stepped on it, smashed it into thousands of pieces.

trådt på den, smadret den i tusinde stykker.

They'd have to operate.

De skulle operere.

De gik ind. De lagde mig på en sækkestol. De skar mig,

They went in. They put me on a beanbag.

They cut me -- literally cut me in half.

skar mig bogstavelig talt halvt over, jeg har et ar

I have a scar that wraps around my entire body.

der går hele vejen rundt hele min krop.

They picked as much broken bone as they could

De samlede så mange brækkede knogler som de kunne

der havde sat sig fast i rygsøjlen.

that had lodged in my spinal cord.

They took out two of my broken ribs and they rebuilt my back --

De tog to af mine brækkede ribben ud, og de genopbyggede min ryg,

L1, they rebuilt it, they took out another broken rib,

L1, de genopbyggede den, de tog et andet brækket ribben,

they fused T12, L1 and L2 together.

de smeltede T12, L1 og L2 sammen.

Then they stitched me up; they took an entire hour to stitch me up.

Så syede de mig sammen. De tog en hel time om at sy mig sammen.

I woke up in intensive care,

Jeg vågnede på intensiv afdelingen, og lægerne var virkelig begejstrede

and the doctors were really excited that the operation had been a success,

over at operationen var en succes fordi på det tidspunkt

because at that stage, I had a little bit of movement

havde jeg en lille smule bevægelse i en af mine storetæer,

in one of my big toes,

og jeg tænkte, "Fedt, fordi jeg kommer til Olympiaden!"

and I thought, "Great, because I'm going to the Olympics!"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Jeg havde ingen anelse. Det er den slags ting

I had no idea.

That's the sort of thing that happens to someone else, not me, surely.

der sker for en anden, ikke mig, selvfølgelig.

But then the doctor came over to me and she said,

Men så kom lægen over til mig, og hun sagde,

"Janine, the operation was a success,

"Janine, operationen var en succes, og vi samlede

and we've picked as much bone out of your spinal cord as we could.

så meget knogle ud af din rygsøjle som vi kunne,

But the damage is permanent.

men skaden er permanent.

The central nervous system nerves -- there is no cure.

Det centrale nervesystem, der er ikke nogen kur.

Du er det man kalder delvis paraplegisk, og du kommer til at have

You're what we call a partial paraplegic,

and you'll have all of the injuries that go along with that.

alle skaderne der følger med det.

You'll have no feeling from the waist down,

Du kommer ikke til at have nogen følelse fra taljen og ned, og højest,

and at most, you might get 10 or 20 percent return.

kunne du få 10 til 20 procent tilbage.

Du kommer til at have indvendige skader resten af livet.

You'll have internal injuries for the rest of your life.

You'll have to use a catheter for the rest of your life.

Du kommer til at have et kateter resten af dit liv.

Og hvis du kommer til at gå igen, vil det være med en skydelære og et gangstativ."

And if you walk again, it will be with calipers and a walking frame."

And then she said,

Og så sagde hun, "Janine,

"Janine, you'll have to rethink everything you do in your life,

du skal revurdere alt du gør i dit liv,

fordi du kommer aldrig til at gøre de ting du gjorde før."

because you're never going to be able to do the things you did before."

(Gasps)

Jeg prøvede at forstå hvad hun sagde.

I tried to grasp what she was saying.

I was an athlete. That's all I knew. That's all I'd done.

Jeg var en atlet. Det var det eneste jeg viste. Der var det eneste jeg havde lavet.

Hvis jeg ikke kunne regne med det, hvad kunne jeg så gøre?

If I couldn't do that, then what could I do?

Og spørgsmålet jeg stillede mig selv er, hvis jeg ikke kunne gøre det,

And the question I asked myself is:

If I couldn't do that,

hvem var jeg så?

then who was I?

They moved me from intensive care to acute spinal.

De flyttede mig fra intensiv afdelingen til akut rygmarv.

I was lying on a thin, hard spinal bed.

Jeg lå på et tyndt, hårdt rygmarvsbræt.

I had no movement in my legs.

Jeg havde ingen bevægelse i benene. Jeg havde stramme nylonstrømper på

I had tight stockings on to protect from blood clots.

til at beskytte mig mod blodpropper.

I had one arm in plaster, one arm tied down by drips.

Min ene arm var i gips, en arm blev holdt nede med et drop.

I had a neck brace and sandbags on either side of my head

Jeg havde en nakke afstivning og sandsække på begge sider af mit hoved

and I saw my world through a mirror

og jeg så min verden gennem et spejl

that was suspended above my head.

der var hængt op over mit hoved.

I shared the ward with five other people,

Jeg delte afdeling med fem andre mennesker,

and the amazing thing is,

og det fantastiske er, at fordi vi alle sammen lå

because we were all lying paralyzed in a spinal ward,

lamme på en rygmarvsafdeling, viste vi ikke hvordan de andre så ud.

we didn't know what each other looked like.

How amazing is that?

Hvor utroligt er det? Hvor tit i livet

How often in life do you get to make friendships, judgment-free,

kommer man til at lave venskaber, fordomsfri,

purely based on spirit?

udelukkende baseret på humør?

Og der var ikke nogen overfladiske samtaler

And there were no superficial conversations

as we shared our innermost thoughts, our fears,

hvor vi delte vores inderste tanker, vores frygt,

and our hopes for life after the spinal ward.

og vores håb for livet efter rygmarvsafdeling.

I remember one night, one of the nurses came in, Jonathan,

Jeg kan huske en nat, kom en af sygeplejerne ind,

Jonathan, med en masse plastik sugerør.

with a whole lot of plastic straws.

He put a pile on top of each of us, and he said,

Han lagde en bunke oven på os, og han sagde,

"Start threading them together."

"Begynd at sætte dem sammen."

Well, there wasn't much else to do in the spinal ward, so we did.

Jamen, der var ikke meget andet at lave i rygmarvsafdeling, så det gjorde vi.

(Laughter)

Og da vi var færdige, gik han stille rundt

And when we'd finished, he went around silently

and he joined all of the straws up till it looped around the whole ward.

og forbandt alle sugerørene

indtil den snoede sig gennem hele afdelingen, og så sagde han,

And then he said,

"Okay, alle sammen, hold fast i jeres sugerør."

"OK everybody, hold on to your straws."

And we did. And he said, "Right ...

Og det gjorde vi. Og han sagde, "Okay. Nu er vi alle forbundet."

Now we're all connected."

And as we held on and we breathed as one,

Og som vi holdte fast, og vi åndede som en,

vidste vi at vi ikke var alene i denne rejse.

we knew we weren't on this journey alone.

And even lying paralyzed in the spinal ward ...

Og selv da jeg lå lammet på rygmarvsafdeling,

var der øjeblikke med utrolig dybde og rigdom,

there were moments of incredible depth and richness,

of authenticity and connection

af ægthed og forbindelse

that I had never experienced before.

som jeg aldrig havde oplevet før.

And each of us knew that when we left the spinal ward,

Og vi vidste hver især at når vi forlod rygmarvsafdeling

we would never be the same.

ville vi aldrig blive den samme.

Seks måneder efter, var det tid til at tage hjem.

After six months, it was time to go home.

I remember Dad pushing me outside in my wheelchair,

Jeg kan huske min far der skubbede mig ud i en kørestol,

wrapped in a plaster body cast,

pakket ind i en gipsbandage der dækkede kroppen,

and feeling the sun on my face for the first time.

og mærkede solen på mit ansigt for første gang.

I soaked it up and I thought,

Jeg sugede det hele til mig og undrede mig over,

"How could I ever have taken this for granted?"

hvordan jeg nogensinde kunne have taget dette for givet?

I felt so incredibly grateful for my life.

Jeg følte mig så taknemmelig for mit liv.

But before I left hospital,

Men inden jeg forlod sygehuset, oversygeplejersken

the head nurse had said to me, "Janine, I want you to be ready,

sagt til mig, "Janine, du skal være klar,

because when you get home, something's going to happen."

for når du kommer hjem, kommer der til at ske noget."

And I said, "What?"

Og jeg sagde, "Hvad?" Og hun sagde,

And she said, "You're going to get depressed."

"Du bliver deprimeret."

And I said, "Not me, not Janine the Machine,"

Og jeg sagde, "Ikke mig, ikke Janine the Machine,"

which was my nickname.

hvilket var mit kælenavn.

She said, "You are, because, see, it happens to everyone.

Hun sagde, "Det bliver du, fordi, ser du, det sker for alle.

In the spinal ward, that's normal. You're in a wheelchair. That's normal.

På rygmarvsafdeling er det normalt.

Du er i en kørestol. Det er normalt.

But you're going to get home and realize how different life is."

Men du kommer hjem og opdager

hvor anderledes livet er."

And I got home.

Og jeg kom hjem og der skete noget.

And something happened.

I realized Sister Sam was right.

Jeg blev klar over at søster Sam havde ret.

Jeg blev deprimeret.

I did get depressed.

Jeg sad i min kørestol. Jeg havde ikke nogen følelse fra taljen og ned,

I was in my wheelchair.

I had no feeling from the waist down,

attached to a catheter bottle.

og sad fast til en kateter flaske. Jeg kunne ikke gå.

I couldn't walk.

Jeg havde tabt så meget vægt på sygehuset

I'd lost so much weight in hospital,

at jeg nu vejede omkring 36 kilo.

I now weighed about 80 pounds.

Og jeg havde lyst til at give op.

And I wanted to give up.

All I wanted to do was put my running shoes on and run out the door.

Det eneste jeg ville var at tage mine løbesko på og løbe ud af døren.

Jeg ville have mit gamle liv tilbage. Jeg ville have min krop tilbage.

I wanted my old life back. I wanted my body back.

Og jeg kan huske min mor sidde i fodenden af sengen,

And I can remember Mom sitting on the end of my bed

and saying, "I wonder if life will ever be good again."

og sagde, "Jeg spekulerer over om livet nogensinde bliver godt igen."

And I thought, "How could it?

Og jeg tænkte, "Hvordan kan det? Fordi jeg har mistet alt

Because I've lost everything that I valued,

jeg værdsatte, alt som jeg havde arbejdet hen imod.

everything that I'd worked towards.

Væk."

Gone."

Og spørgsmålet jeg stillede var, "Hvorfor mig? Hvorfor mig?"

And the question I asked was, "Why me? Why me?"

Og jeg kunne huskede på mine venner

And then I remembered

my friends that were still in the spinal ward,

der stadig var på rygmarvsafdeling,

particularly Maria.

især Maria.

Maria havde været i en bilulykke, og hun vågnede

Maria was in a car accident,

and she woke up on her 16th birthday

på sin 16 års fødselsdag til nyheden om at hun var ramt af quadreplegi,

to the news that she was a complete quadriplegic,

had no movement from the neck down,

havde ingen bevægelse fra halsen og ned,

had damage to her vocal chords, and she couldn't talk.

havde beskadiget sit stemmebånd, og hun kunne ikke tale.

De fortalte mig, "Vi flytter hende ind ved siden af dig

They told me, "We're going to move you next to her

fordi vi tror det vil være godt for hende."

because we think it will be good for her."

Jeg var bekymret. Jeg viste ikke hvordan jeg ville reagere

I was worried. I didn't know how I'd react to being next to her.

på at være ved siden af hende.

I knew it would be challenging, but it was actually a blessing,

Jeg viste det ville være udfordrende, men det var faktisk en velsignelse,

because Maria always smiled.

fordi Maria smilede altid.

She was always happy, and even when she began to talk again,

Hun var altid glad, og selv da hun begyndte at tale igen,

albeit difficult to understand, she never complained, not once.

omend hun var svær at forstå, hun klagede aldrig, ikke en gang.

And I wondered how had she ever found that level of acceptance.

Og jeg undrede mig over hvordan hun havde fundet den grad af accept.

And I realized that this wasn't just my life;

Og jeg blev klar over, at dette ikke kun var mit liv.

it was life itself.

Det var selve livet. Jeg blev klar over at dette ikke kun var min smerte.

I realized that this wasn't just my pain; it was everybody's pain.

Det var alles smerte. Og da vidste jeg, ligesom før,

And then I knew, just like before,

that I had a choice: I could keep fighting this,

at jeg havde et valg. Jeg kunne blive ved med at bekæmpe dette

eller jeg kunne give slip og acceptere ikke kun min krop

or I could let go and accept not only my body,

but the circumstances of my life.

men omstændighederne for mit liv.

Og så holdte jeg op med at spørge, "Hvorfor mig?"

And then I stopped asking, "Why me?"

And I started to ask, "Why not me?"

Og jeg begyndte at spørge, "Hvorfor ikke mig?"

Og jeg tænkte for mig selv, måske er det at ramme bunden,

And then I thought to myself,

maybe being at rock bottom is actually the perfect place to start.

faktisk det perfekte sted at starte.

Jeg havde aldrig tænkt på mig selv som en kreativ person.

I had never before thought of myself as a creative person.

I was an athlete; my body was a machine.

Jeg var en atlet. Min krop var en maskine.

But now I was about to embark on the most creative project

Men nu var jeg ved at gå i gang med det mest kreative projekt

that any of us could ever do:

som nogen af os nogensinde kunne:

genopbygningen af et liv.

that of rebuilding a life.

Og selvom jeg ikke havde nogen anelse om

And even though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do,

hvad jeg ville gøre, kom i den usikkerhed

in that uncertainty came a sense of freedom.

en følelse af frihed.

I was no longer tied to a set path.

Jeg var ikke længere bundet til et fast vej.

I was free to explore life's infinite possibilities.

Jeg var fri til at udforske livets uendelige muligheder.

And that realization was about to change my life.

Og den erkendelse kom til at ændre mit liv.

Sitting at home in my wheelchair and my plaster body cast,

Da jeg sad hjemme i min kørestol og min krop bundet ind i gibs,

an airplane flew overhead.

fløj et fly henover hovedet, og jeg kiggede op,

I looked up, and I thought to myself, "That's it!

og jeg tænkte, "Det er det!

Hvis jeg ikke kan gå, så kan jeg lige så godt flyve."

If I can't walk, then I might as well fly."

(Laughter)

I said, "Mom, I'm going to learn how to fly."

Jeg sagde, "Mor, jeg vil lære at flyve."

She said, "That's nice, dear."

Hun sagde, "Det er fint søde." (Latter)

(Laughter)

I said, "Pass me the yellow pages."

Jeg sagde, "Ræk mig de gule sider."

She passed me the phone book, I rang up the flying school,

Hun rakte mig telefonbogen, jeg ringede til ringede til flyveskolen,

Jeg lavede en bestilling, sagde at jeg gerne ville bestille en tid for at komme ud for at flyve.

I said I'd like to make a booking to come out for a flight.

De sagde, "I ved, hvornår vil du komme forbi?"

They said, "When do you want to come out?"

I said, "Well, I have to get a friend to drive me because I can't drive.

Jeg sagde, "Jamen, jeg skal have en ven til at køre mig derud

fordi jeg kan ikke køre. Jeg kan på en måde heller ikke gå.

Sort of can't walk, either. Is that a problem?"

Er det et problem?"

I made a booking, and weeks later,

Jeg bestilte en tid, og uger senere kørte min ven Chris

my friend Chris and my mom drove me out to the airport,

og min mor mig ud til lufthavnen,

alle mine 36 kilo dækket i gipsbandager

all 80 pounds of me covered in a plaster body cast

i en poset kedeldragt. (Latter)

in a baggy pair of overalls.

(Laughter)

I can tell you, I did not look like the ideal candidate

Jeg kan fortælle jer, at jeg ikke lignede den ideelle kandidat

til at få et pilotcertifikat. (Latter)

to get a pilot's license.

(Laughter)

Jeg holder fast ved skranken fordi jeg ikke kan stå.

I'm holding on to the counter because I can't stand.

Jeg sagde, "Hej, jeg er her til min flyvetime."

I said, "Hi, I'm here for a flying lesson."

Og de kiggede en gang på mig og løb ud bagved for at trække

They took one look and ran out the back to draw short straws.

"Du får hende." "Nej, nej, du tager hende."

"You get her." "No, no, you take her."

Til sidst kom denne fyr ud. Han sagde,

Finally a guy goes, "Hi, I'm Andrew. I'm going to take you flying."

"Hej, jeg er Andrew, og jeg tager dig med ud at flyve."

I go, "Great!"

Jeg siger, "Fedt." så de kører mig ud,

They get me out on the tarmac,

de får mig ud på landingsbanen,

and there was this red, white and blue airplane -- it was beautiful.

og der var dette røde, hvide og blå fly.

Det var smukt. De løftede mig op i cockpittet.

They had to slide me up on the wing to put me in the cockpit.

De skulle rutsje mig op på vingen, sætte mig ind i cockpittet.

They sat me down. There are buttons and dials everywhere.

De satte mig ned. Der er knapper og skiver over alt.

I'm going, "Wow, how do you ever know what all these buttons and dials do?"

Jeg siger, "Wow, hvordan ved du overhovedet hvad alle disse knapper og skiver gør?"

Instruktøren Andrew satte sig ind foran, startede flyet.

Andrew got in the front, started the plane, and said,

"Would you like to have a go at taxiing?"

Han sagde, "Vil du prøve at taxie?"

That's when you use your feet to control the rudder pedals

Det er når man bruger fødderne til at styre fodhamlen

til at styre flyet på jorden.

to control the airplane on the ground.

Jeg sagde, "Nej, jeg kan ikke bruge mine ben."

I said, "No, I can't use my legs."

Han sagde, "Åh."

He went, "Oh."

Jeg sagde, "Men jeg kan bruge mine hænder," og han sagde, "Okay."

I said, "But I can use my hands," and he said, "OK."

Så han kom over til landingsbanen, og han satte fart på.

So he got over to the runway, and he applied the power.

Og som vi kørte ned af landingsbanen,

And as we took off down the runway,

and the wheels lifted up off the tarmac, and we became airborne,

og hjulene løftede sig fra landingsbanen, og vi blev luftbårne,

Jeg havde den mest utrolige følelse af frihed,

I had the most incredible sense of freedom.

And Andrew said to me,

Og Andrew sagde til mig,

as we got over the training area,

som vi kom hen over trænings området,

"Kan du se det bjerg derovre?"

"You see that mountain over there?"

And I said, "Yeah."

Og jeg sagde, "Ja"

Og han sagde, "Jamen, du overtager styringen, og du flyver mod det bjerg."

And he said, "Well, you take the controls, and you fly towards that mountain."

And as I looked up, I realized

Og da jeg kiggede op, opdagede jeg

at han pegede mod Blue Mountains

that he was pointing towards the Blue Mountains,

where the journey had begun.

hvor rejsen var startet.

And I took the controls,

Og jeg tog styringen, og så fløj jeg.

and I was flying.

Og jeg var langt, langt væk fra rygmarvsafdeling,

And I was a long, long way from that spinal ward.

og jeg vidste med det samme, at jeg ville være pilot.

I knew right then that I was going to be a pilot.

Didn't know how on Earth I'd ever pass a medical.

Anede ikke hvordan jeg nogensinde skulle bestå den lægelige undersøgelse.

(Laughter)

But I'd worry about that later, because right now, I had a dream.

Men det kunne jeg bekymre mig om senere, fordi lige nu havde jeg en drøm.

Så jeg tog hjem, jeg fandt en trænings dagbog frem, og jeg havde en plan.

So I went home, I got a training diary out, and I had a plan.

And I practiced my walking as much as I could,

Og jeg øvede mig på at gå så meget som jeg kunne,

og jeg gik fra punktet hvor to personer holdte mig oppe

and I went from the point of two people holding me up ...

to one person holding me up ...

til punktet hvor en person holdte mig oppe

til det punkt hvor jeg kunne gå rundt om møblerne

to the point where I could walk around the furniture

så længe de ikke stod for langt fra hinanden.

as long as it wasn't too far apart.

And then I made great progression,

Og så lavede jeg stor fremgang til det punkt

to the point where I could walk around the house,

hvor jeg kunne gå rundt i huset, mens jeg holdte fast i væggene,

holding onto the walls, like this.

sådan her, og min mor sagde at hun fulgte efter mig altid,

And Mom said she was forever following me,

wiping off my fingerprints.

og tørrede mine fingeraftryk af. (Latter)

(Laughter)

But at least she always knew where I was.

Men hun vidste i det mindste altid hvor jeg var.

(Laughter)

Så mens lægerne fortsatte med at operere

So while the doctors continued to operate

and put my body back together again,

og sætte min krop sammen igen,

I went on with my theory study.

jeg fortsatte med at studere teori, og med tiden,

And then eventually, amazingly, I passed my pilot's medical,

og utroligt nok, bestod jeg min lægelige undersøgelse,

and that was my green light to fly.

og det var dette grønne lys for at jeg kunne flyve.

And I spent every moment I could out at that flying school,

Og jeg tilbragte hvert øjeblik jeg kunne ved den flyveskole,

way out of my comfort zone,

langt uden for min tryghedszone,

all these young guys that wanted to be Qantas pilots, you know,

alle disse unge fyre der ville være Quantas piloter,

I ved, og lille mig der hoppede med i min første gipsbandage,

and little old hop-along me in first my plaster cast,

and then my steel brace, my baggy overalls,

og så min stål skinne, mine posede overalls,

my bag of medication and catheters and my limp.

min pose med medicin og katetere og min haltende gang,

They use to look at me and think,

og de plejede at kigge på mig og tænke,

"Åh, hvem prøver hun at narre? Hun kommer aldrig til at klare det her."

"Oh, who is she kidding? She's never going to be able to do this."

Og nogen gange tænkte jeg det også.

And sometimes I thought that, too.

Men det gjorde ikke noget, fordi nu var der noget der brændte inden i mig

But that didn't matter,

because now there was something inside that burned

that far outweighed my injuries.

der uden tvivl opvejede mine skader.

And little goals kept me going along the way,

Og små mål holdte mig fra at komme med,

og til sidst endte jeg med at få mit pilotcertifikat,

and eventually I got my private pilot's license.

Then I learned to navigate, and I flew my friends around Australia.

og jeg lærte at navigere, og jeg fløj mine venner rundt om Australien.

And then I learned to fly an airplane with two engines

Og så lærte jeg at flyve et fly med to motorer

and I got my twin-engine rating.

og jeg fik mit certifikat til to motorers fly.

And then I learned to fly in bad weather as well as fine weather,

Og så lærte jeg at flyve i dårligt vejr lige så vel som godt vejr,

og så fik jeg mit instrument klassificering.

and got my instrument rating.

And then I got my commercial pilot's license.

Og så fik jeg mit kommercielle pilot certifikat.

And then I got my instructor rating.

Og så fik jeg min instruktør klassificering.

And then I found myself back at that same school

Og så fandt jeg mig selv tilbage på den samme skole

where I'd gone for that very first flight,

som jeg var taget til, til den aller første flyvetur,

teaching other people how to fly ...

og lærte andre mennesker at flyve,

just under 18 months after I'd left the spinal ward.

mindre end 18 måneder efter jeg forlod rygmarvsafdeling.

(Bifald)

(Applause)

(Applause ends)

And then I thought, "Why stop there?

Og så tænkte jeg, "Hvorfor stoppe her?

Why not learn to fly upside down?"

Hvorfor ikke lære at flyve med hovedet ned?"

(Laughter)

Og det gjorde jeg, og jeg lærte at flyve med hovedet nedad

And I did, and I learned to fly upside down

and became an aerobatics flying instructor.

og jeg blev instruktør i kunstflyvning.

(Laughter)

Og mor og far? De har aldrig været med.

And Mom and Dad? Never been up.

(Laughter)

Men så vidste jeg med sikkerhed at selvom min krop måske var begrænset,

But then I knew for certain that although my body might be limited,

it was my spirit that was unstoppable.

så var det min ånd der var ustoppelig.

Filosoffen Lao Tzu sagde engang,

The philosopher Lao Tzu once said,

"Når man giver slip på hvem man er,

"When you let go of what you are,

you become what you might be."

bliver man det man måske er."

I now know that it wasn't until I let go of who I thought I was

Jeg ved nu, at det ikke var før jeg gav slip på hvem jeg troede jeg var

that I was able to create a completely new life.

at jeg var i stand til at skabe et helt nyt liv.

It wasn't until I let go of the life I thought I should have ...

Det var ikke før jeg gav slip på det liv jeg troede jeg skulle have

før jeg var i stand til at omfavne det liv der ventede på mig.

that I was able to embrace the life that was waiting for me.

Jeg ved at nu min virkelige styrke

I now know that my real strength

never came from my body.

aldrig kom fra min krop,

And although my physical capabilities have changed dramatically,

og selvom mine fysiske evner har ændret sig drastisk,

who I am is unchanged.

er jeg som person den samme.

The pilot light inside of me was still alight,

Piloten inden i mig var stadig et lys,

just as it is in each and every one of us.

ligesom det er inden i hver og en af os.

I know that I'm not my body.

Jeg ved at jeg ikke er min krop,

And I also know that you're not yours.

og jeg ved også at I ikke er jeres.

Og så betyder det ikke længere noget hvordan man ser ud,

And then it no longer matters what you look like,

where you come from, or what you do for a living.

hvor man kommer fra, eller hvad man arbejder med.

All that matters is that we continue to fan the flame of humanity

Det eneste der betyder noget er at vi bliver ved med at puste til menneskehedens flamme

ved at leve vores liv som det ultimative udtryk

by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression

of who we really are,

for hvem vi er i virkeligheden,

because we are all connected

fordi vi er alle forbundet

by millions and millions of straws.

af millioner og millioner af sugerør,

og det er på tide at samle dem op

And it's time to join those up

og holde fast.

and to hang on.

Og hvis vi skal bevæge os mod vores kollektive lyksalighed,

And if we are to move towards our collective bliss ...

er det på tide at vi skiller os af med vores fokus på det fysiske

it's time we shed our focus on the physical

and instead embrace the virtues of the heart.

og i stedet omfavner hjertets dyder.

So raise your straws if you'll join me.

Så løft jeres sugerør hvis I vil slutte jer til mig.

(Applause)

Tak. (Bifald)

Thank you.

(Applause)

Tak.

Thank you.

(Applause)