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

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Ľubomír Dugovič Reviewer: Zuzana Dziaková

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

Život je o príležitostiach,

ich vytváraní a uchopení. A pre mňa

And for me, that was the Olympic dream.

to bol Olympijský sen.

Toto ma charakterizovalo, toto bolo moje šťastie.

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

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

Ako bežkárka a členka austrálskeho lyžiarskeho tímu

headed towards the Winter Olympics,

smerujúceho na zimnú olympiádu

som bola na cvičnej cyklistickej jazde s mojimi priateľmi z tímu.

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

Ako sme prichádzali k

As we made our way up towards the spectacular Blue Mountains

ohromným Modrým vrchom západne od Sydney,

west of Sydney,

it was the perfect autumn day:

bol perfektný jesenný deň:

sunshine, the smell of eucalypt and a dream.

slnečno, vôňa eukalyptu a môj sen.

Life was good.

Život bol skvelý.

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

Jazdili sme na bicykloch už asi päť a pol hodiny,

až sme sa dostali do úseku, ktorý som milovala,

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

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

a to boli hory, lebo ja som milovala hory.

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

Zdvihla som sa zo sedadla môjho bicykla a začala som

zaberať do nôh a ako som sa nadýchla chladného horského vzduchu,

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

cítila som, ako mi spaľuje pľúca, pozrela som sa hore,

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

aby mi slnko osvietilo tvár.

And then everything went black.

A potom bola všade tma.

Where was I? What was happening?

Kde som to bola? Čo sa to dialo?

My body was consumed by pain.

Moje telo pohltila bolesť.

I'd been hit by a speeding utility truck

Zrazila som sa s nákladným vozidlom technických služieb

with only 10 minutes to go on the bike ride.

a to mi ostávalo iba 10 minút do ciela.

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

Letecky ma prevezli z miesta nehody

záchrannou helikoptérou na traumatologické oddelenie v Sydney.

to a large spinal unit in Sydney.

I had extensive and life-threatening injuries.

Mala som rozsiahle a životu nebezpečné zranenia.

Zlomila som si krk a chrbát na šiestich miestach.

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

Zlomila som si päť rebier na ľavej strane,

I broke five ribs on my left side.

I broke my right arm. I broke my collarbone.

pravú ruku, kľúčnu kosť

I broke some bones in my feet.

a niekoľko kostí na nohe.

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

Moja celá pravá strana bola roztvorená, plná štrku.

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

Moja hlava bola rozbitá na prednej strane, prehnutá dozadu,

ukazujúc lebku pod ňou.

exposing the skull underneath.

I had head injures. I had internal injuries.

Mala som poranenia hlavy. Mala som vnútorné zranenia.

I had massive blood loss.

Mala som rozsiahlu stratu krvi, presnejšie, stratila som päť litrov krvi.

In fact, I lost about five liters of blood,

To je objem, ktorý má človek mojej veľkosti.

which is all someone my size would actually hold.

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

Než ma priviezli do nemocnice Princa Henryho v Sydney,

môj krvný tlak bol 40 k nule.

my blood pressure was 40 over nothing.

Mala som vážne zlý deň. (Smiech)

I was having a really bad day.

(Laughter)

Počas viac ako 10 dní som sa presúvala medzi dvomi svetmi.

For over 10 days, I drifted between two dimensions.

Bola som si vedomá svojho tela, ale tiež toho,

I had an awareness of being in my body,

but also being out of my body, somewhere else,

že v ňom nie som, že som niekde inde pozerajúc

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

z vrchu, akoby sa to dialo niekomu inému.

Prečo by som sa chcela vrátiť do tela, ktoré je tak zničené?

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

But this voice kept calling me:

Ale ten hlas ma neustále volal: "No tak, zostaň so mnou."

"Come on, stay with me."

"No, it's too hard."

"Nie. Je to príliš ťažké."

"Come on. This is our opportunity."

"Poď, toto je naša príležitosť."

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

"Nie, to telo je zničené. Už mi nikdy nemôže slúžiť."

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

"No tak, zostaň so mnou. Dokážeme to. Spolu to dokážeme."

I was at a crossroads.

Bola som na rázcestí.

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

Vedela som, že ak sa do svojho tela nevrátim, musela by som tento svet navždy opustiť.

It was the fight of my life.

Bol to boj o môj život.

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

Po 10 dňoch som sa rozhodla do svojho tela vrátiť

a vnútorné krvácanie sa zastavilo.

And the internal bleeding stopped.

The next concern was whether I would walk again,

Mojou ďalšou starosťou bolo, či budem môcť znovu chodiť,

because I was paralyzed from the waist down.

pretože som bola od pása dole ochrnutá.

Mojim rodičom povedali, že zlomenina krku je stabilná,

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

ale chrbát bol úplne zničený.

but the back was completely crushed:

Stavce L1 boli v takom stave, ako keď vám na zem spadne arašid,

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

stepped on it, smashed it into thousands of pieces.

stúpite naňho a rozbijete ho na tisíc kúskov.

They'd have to operate.

Museli ho operovať.

Vošli dnu. Položili ma na špeciálny operačný stôl a rozrezali ma.

They went in. They put me on a beanbag.

They cut me -- literally cut me in half.

Doslova ma rozrezali na dve polovice. Mám jazvu,

I have a scar that wraps around my entire body.

ktorá prechádza celým mojím telom.

They picked as much broken bone as they could

Vybrali mi čo najviac zlomených kostí,

ktoré sa usadili v mojej mieche.

that had lodged in my spinal cord.

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

Zobrali dve z mojich zlomených rebier a poskladali mi chrbát,

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

L1, znova poskladali, potom zobrali ďalšie rebro,

they fused T12, L1 and L2 together.

spojili T12, L1 a L2.

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

A potom ma zošili. Trvalo im celú hodinu, než ma zošili.

I woke up in intensive care,

Zobudila som sa na intenzívnej starostlivosti a lekári sa tešili z toho,

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

že operácia bola úspešná, pretože som trochu mohla

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

hýbať jedným z mojich palcov na nohe.

in one of my big toes,

Vtedy som si pomyslela: "Super, idem na Olympiádu!"

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

(Laughter)

(Smiech)

Nemala som predstavu. Toto je jedna z vecí,

I had no idea.

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

ktorá sa stáva niekomu inému, určite nie mne.

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

Ale prišla za mnou doktorka a povedala mi,

"Janine, the operation was a success,

"Janine, operácia sa podarila. Vybrali sme vám z

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

miechy toľko kostí, koľko sa dalo,

But the damage is permanent.

ale poškodenie je trvalé.

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

Čo sa týka centrálneho nervového systému, na ten lieky nie sú.

Ste čiastočne ochrnutá a budete mať

You're what we call a partial paraplegic,

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

všetky zranenia, ktoré s tým súvisia.

You'll have no feeling from the waist down,

Od pása dole ste ochrnutá a pri najlepšom

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

máte možnosť návratu citlivosti 10 až 20 percent.

Vnútorné zranenia budete mať až do konca svojho života.

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

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

Katéter budete musieť používať až do konca svojho života.

A ak ešte niekedy budete chodiť, tak iba pomocou ortézy a chodúľky."

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

And then she said,

A potom povedala: "Janine,

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

budete si musieť premyslieť všetko, čo vo svojom živote robíte,

pretože už nikdy nebudete schopná robiť veci, ktoré ste robila predtým."

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

(Gasps)

Snažila som sa pochopiť to, čo mi hovorila.

I tried to grasp what she was saying.

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

Bola som atlét. To je všetko, čo poznám, všetko, čo som robila.

Ak to nebudem môcť robiť, tak potom, čo budem môcť robiť?

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

A otázka, ktorú som si položila, je - ak to už nebudem môcť robiť,

And the question I asked myself is:

If I couldn't do that,

tak potom, kto som?

then who was I?

They moved me from intensive care to acute spinal.

Presunuli ma z intenzívnej starostlivosti na akútne traumatologické oddelenie.

I was lying on a thin, hard spinal bed.

Ležala som na tenkej, tvrdej posteli určenej pre chrbát.

I had no movement in my legs.

Nemohla som hýbať nohami, mala som na nich tesné pančuchy,

I had tight stockings on to protect from blood clots.

ktoré ma chránili pred krvnými zrazeninami.

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

Jednu ruku som mala v sadre, druhú zaviazanú infúziami.

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

Mala som vystužený krk a na oboch stranách hlavy vrecká s pieskom

and I saw my world through a mirror

a svet naokolo som videla v zrkadle,

that was suspended above my head.

ktoré bolo zavesené nad mojou hlavou.

I shared the ward with five other people,

Zdieľala som izbu s ďalšími piatimi ľudmi

and the amazing thing is,

a najúžasnejšie na tom bolo, že sme všetci ležali

because we were all lying paralyzed in a spinal ward,

ochrnutí na traumatologickom oddelení a nevedeli sme, ako kto vyzerá.

we didn't know what each other looked like.

How amazing is that?

Nie je to úžasné? Ako často máte možnosť

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

vytvoriť si priateľstvá bez posudzovania,

purely based on spirit?

ktoré sú založené čisto na povahe?

A neboli to iba povrchné rozhovory,

And there were no superficial conversations

as we shared our innermost thoughts, our fears,

zdieľali sme svoje najvnútornejšie myšlienky, naše obavy

and our hopes for life after the spinal ward.

a nádeje na život po odchode z traumatologického oddelenia.

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

Pamätám si jednu noc, prišiel k nám Jonathan, ktorý

pracuje ako zdravotná sestra, s hromadou plastových slamiek.

with a whole lot of plastic straws.

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

Časť z nich položil na každého z nás a povedal:

"Start threading them together."

"Začnite ich spájať."

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

Kedže nebolo veľa toho, čo by sme na oddelení mohli robiť, tak sme ich spájali.

(Laughter)

A keď sme skončili, potichu prešiel okolo nás

And when we'd finished, he went around silently

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

a pospájal všetky slamky dokopy,

až pokiaľ sa všetky slamky okolo oddelenia nespojili a potom povedal:

And then he said,

"Okej, teraz sa všetci chyťte svojich slamiek."

"OK everybody, hold on to your straws."

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

Keď sme urobili, povedal, "Dobre. Teraz sme všetci prepojení."

Now we're all connected."

And as we held on and we breathed as one,

A ako sme sa držali a dýchali ako jeden,

vedeli sme, že na tejto ceste nie sme sami.

we knew we weren't on this journey alone.

And even lying paralyzed in the spinal ward ...

A aj keď som ležala ochrnutá na traumatologickom oddelení,

boli tam chvíle neskutočnej hĺbky a bohatstva,

there were moments of incredible depth and richness,

of authenticity and connection

nefalšovanosti a spojenia,

that I had never experienced before.

aké som nikdy predtým nezažila.

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

A každý z nás vedel, že keď opustíme traumatologické oddelenie,

we would never be the same.

nikdy nebudeme takí, akí sme boli predtým.

Po šiestich mesiacoch bol čas ísť domov.

After six months, it was time to go home.

I remember Dad pushing me outside in my wheelchair,

Pamätám si, ako ma môj otec tlačil von na vozíčku

wrapped in a plaster body cast,

zabalenú v plastovej bandáži na telo

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

a po prvýkrát som pocítila slnko na mojej tvári.

I soaked it up and I thought,

Vyhrievala som sa a pomyslela si,

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

ako som toto mohla niekedy považovať za samozrejmé?

I felt so incredibly grateful for my life.

Cítila som nesmiernu vďaku za môj život.

But before I left hospital,

Ale predtým, ako som opustila nemocnicu, mi vrchná sestra

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

povedala: "Janine, chcem, aby si bola pripravená,

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

lebo keď prídeš domov, niečo sa stane."

And I said, "What?"

Spýtala som sa: "Čo?" A ona mi odpovedala:

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

"Budeš mať depresie."

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

Odpovedala som jej: "Ja nie, nie Janine - Mašina,"

which was my nickname.

čo je moja prezývka.

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

Sestra pokračovala: "Budeš mať, vieš, stáva sa to každému.

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

Na traumatologickom oddelení je to normálne.

Si na vozíčku, je to normálne.

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

Ale prídeš domov a zistíš,

ako sa život zmenil."

And I got home.

Prišla som domov a niečo sa stalo.

And something happened.

I realized Sister Sam was right.

Uvedomila som si, že sestrička Sam mala pravdu.

Mala som depresie.

I did get depressed.

Bola som na vozíčku. Od pása dole som bola ochrnutá,

I was in my wheelchair.

I had no feeling from the waist down,

attached to a catheter bottle.

pripojená na katéter. Nemohla som chodiť.

I couldn't walk.

V nemocnici som výrazne schudla,

I'd lost so much weight in hospital,

vážila som 36 kg.

I now weighed about 80 pounds.

A chcela som to vzdať.

And I wanted to give up.

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

Jediné, čo som chcela urobiť, bolo obuť si bežecké topánky a vybehnúť z dverí.

Chcela som späť svoj starý život. Chcela som späť svoje telo.

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

Pamätám si mamu, ako sedela na rohu postele

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

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

a hovorila: "Som zvedavá, či život bude ešte niekedy dobrý."

And I thought, "How could it?

Pomyslela som si: "Ako by mohol byť? Stratila som všetko,

Because I've lost everything that I valued,

čo som si cenila, to, na čom som pracovala.

everything that I'd worked towards.

Stratené."

Gone."

A pýtala som sa: "Prečo ja, prečo ja?"

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

Potom som si spomenula na svojich priateľov,

And then I remembered

my friends that were still in the spinal ward,

ktorí boli stále na traumatologickom oddelení,

particularly Maria.

hlavne na Máriu.

Mária mala autonehodu. Prebrala sa

Maria was in a car accident,

and she woke up on her 16th birthday

na svoje 16-te narodeniny a dozvedela sa, že je úplne ochrnutá,

to the news that she was a complete quadriplegic,

had no movement from the neck down,

bez citlivosti od krku dole.

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

Mala poškodené hlasivky a nemohla rozprávať.

Povedali mi: "Presunieme vás k nej.

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

Myslíme si, že to pre ňu bude dobré."

because we think it will be good for her."

Bála som sa. Nevedela som, ako budem reagovať na to,

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

že budem vedľa nej.

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

Vedela som, že to bude obtiažne, ale pravdu povediac to bolo požehnanie,

because Maria always smiled.

pretože Mária sa vždy usmievala.

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

Vždy bola šťastná a aj keď začala znovu rozprávať,

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

aj keď jej bolo zle rozumieť, nikdy sa nesťažovala, ani raz.

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

Divila som sa, ako našla tak hlboký stupeň prijatia.

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

A potom som si uvedomila, že toto nie je iba môj život.

it was life itself.

Bol to život sám. Uvedomila som si, že to nie je iba moja bolesť.

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

Je to každého bolesť. A potom som zistila, tak ako predtým,

And then I knew, just like before,

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

že mám možnosť. Buď proti tomu budem bojovať,

alebo to môžem nechať tak a prijať nielen svoje telo,

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

but the circumstances of my life.

ale aj okolnosti môjho života.

A potom som sa prestala pýtať: "Prečo ja?"

And then I stopped asking, "Why me?"

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

a začala som sa pýtať: "Prečo nie ja?"

Vtedy som si pomyslela, možno byť na úplnom dne

And then I thought to myself,

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

je vlastne perfektným miestom na začiatok.

Nikdy predtým som si o sebe nemyslela, že som tvorivý človek.

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

I was an athlete; my body was a machine.

Bola som atlét. Moje telo bol stroj.

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

Ale teraz som sa chystala pustiť do najtvorivejšieho projektu,

that any of us could ever do:

ktorý by ktokoľvek z nás mohol urobiť:

a to prestavať si život.

that of rebuilding a life.

A aj keď som netušila,

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

čo budem robiť, v tej neistote

in that uncertainty came a sense of freedom.

prišiel pocit slobody.

I was no longer tied to a set path.

Už som nemala určenú cestu.

I was free to explore life's infinite possibilities.

Mala som voľnosť pri objavovaní nekonečných možností života.

And that realization was about to change my life.

A to uvedomenie si mi čoskoro zmenilo život.

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

Sediac doma v mojom vozíku a v plastovej bandáži na telo,

an airplane flew overhead.

preletelo mi lietadlo nad hlavou, pozrela som sa hore

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

a pomyslela si: "To je ono!

Ak nemôžem chodiť, mohla by som aspoň lietať."

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

(Laughter)

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

Povedala som: "Mami, naučím sa lietať."

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

Ona na to: "To je pekné, zlatko." (Smiech)

(Laughter)

I said, "Pass me the yellow pages."

Povedala som: "Podaj mi zlaté stránky."

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

Podala mi telefónny zoznam, zavolala som do leteckej školy,

zarezervovala som si let s tým, že sa chcem preletieť.

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

Opýtali sa ma: "A viete, kedy chcete letieť?"

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.

Odpovedala som: "No, musím si zohnať priateľa, ktorý ma odvezie,

kedže nemôžem šoférovať. Tak povediac, nemôžem ani chodiť.

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

Je to problém?"

I made a booking, and weeks later,

Urobila som rezerváciu a o niekoľko týždňov neskôr ma môj priateľ Chris

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

s mojou mamou priviezli na letisko.

Mojich celých 36 kg zabalených do plastovej bandáži na telo

all 80 pounds of me covered in a plaster body cast

v nafúknutých monterkách. (Smiech)

in a baggy pair of overalls.

(Laughter)

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

Pravdu povediac, nevyzerala som ako ideálny kandidát

na získanie licencie na lietanie. (Smiech)

to get a pilot's license.

(Laughter)

Držím sa pokladne, lebo nemôžem stáť.

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

Povedala som: "Zdravím, prišla som na lekciu lietania."

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

Pozreli sa na mňa a utiekli dozadu losovať, kto si ma zoberie na starosť.

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

"Ty si ju zoberieš." "Nie, nie, ty si ju zoberieš."

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

Nakoniec vyjde chlapík a vraví:

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

"Čau, ja som Andrew, zoberiem ťa lietať."

I go, "Great!"

A ja na to: "Super." A tak ma zobrali

They get me out on the tarmac,

až von na jazdnú dráhu,

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

kde bolo lietadlo červeno-bielo-modrej farby.

Bolo to nádherné. Vyzdvihli ma do kokpitu.

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

Museli ma skĺznuť po krídle a dať do kokpitu.

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

Posadili ma. Všade tlačidlá a číselníky.

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

Vravím: "Wow, ako vôbec viete, na čo sú všetky tieto tlačidlá a číselníky?"

Andrew, inštruktor, nasadol dopredu a naštartoval lietadlo.

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

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

Spýtal sa: "Chceli by ste si vyskúšať rolovať lietadlom?"

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

To je vtedy, keď používate svoje nohy na ovládanie lietadla na zemi

pomocou pedálov kormidla.

to control the airplane on the ground.

Odpovedala som: "Nie, nemôžem používať svoje nohy."

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

A on: "Aha."

He went, "Oh."

Dodala som: "Ale môžem používať svoje ruky," a on na to: "Ok."

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

Dostali sme sa na dráhu a pridal na výkone.

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

A ako sme vzlietali z dráhy

And as we took off down the runway,

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

a kolesá sa dvíhali z betónu a vzlietali sme,

mala som ten najohromnejší pocit slobody.

I had the most incredible sense of freedom.

And Andrew said to me,

A Andrew mi povedal,

as we got over the training area,

ako sme prechádzali okolo tréningového miesta:

"Vidíte tamto tie hory?"

"You see that mountain over there?"

And I said, "Yeah."

Odpovedala som: "Áno."

Pokračoval: "Dobre, preberte riadenie a leťte k tým horám."

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

And as I looked up, I realized

A ako som sa pozrela vyššie, uvedomila som si,

že ukazoval na Modré vrchy,

that he was pointing towards the Blue Mountains,

where the journey had begun.

tam, kde sa to všetko začalo.

And I took the controls,

Prebrala som riadenie a letela som.

and I was flying.

Bola som ďaleko, ďaleko od traumatologického oddelenia

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

a vtedy som si uvedomila, že zo mňa bude 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.

Aj keď som nemala poňatia, ako prejdem lekárskymi testami.

(Laughter)

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

Ale o to sa budem starať neskôr, lebo teraz som mala sen.

Prišla som domov, vytiahla som si tréningový diár a vytvorila som si plán.

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,

Trénovala som chôdzu tak často, ako som mohla.

Prešla som z bodu, kedy ma držali dvaja ľudia

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

to one person holding me up ...

cez bod, kedy ma držal jeden človek,

až do bodu, kedy som mohla chodiť popri nábytku,

to the point where I could walk around the furniture

pokiaľ nebol moc ďaleko od seba.

as long as it wasn't too far apart.

And then I made great progression,

A potom som pokročila do bodu,

to the point where I could walk around the house,

kedy som mohla chodiť po dome pridŕžajúc sa stien,

holding onto the walls, like this.

takto, a mama mi povedala, že ma stále nasledovala

And Mom said she was forever following me,

wiping off my fingerprints.

a zotierala moje odtlačky prstov. (Smiech)

(Laughter)

But at least she always knew where I was.

Ale aspoň vždy vedela, kde som bola.

(Laughter)

Takže zakiaľ doktori pokračovali v operáciách

So while the doctors continued to operate

and put my body back together again,

a dávali moje telo späť dokopy,

I went on with my theory study.

pokračovala som so svojím štúdiom a napokon,

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

prekvapujúco, prešla som leteckou zdravotnou prehliadkou,

and that was my green light to fly.

a to bola moja zelená pre lietanie.

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

Odvtedy som strávila každú chvíľu v leteckej škole,

way out of my comfort zone,

veľmi ďaleko z mojej komfortnej zóny,

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

všetci tí mladí chlapi, ktorí sa chceli stať pilotmi spoločnosti Qantas,

viete, a moje staré známe ja najprv v sadrovej výstuži,

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

and then my steel brace, my baggy overalls,

potom moja oceľová ortéza, moje široké monterky,

my bag of medication and catheters and my limp.

môj zdravotný vak, katétre a moje krívanie.

They use to look at me and think,

Mali vo zvyku pozrieť sa na mňa a pomyslieť si:

"Hmm, z koho si robí srandu? Toto ona nikdy nezvládne."

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

A niekedy som si to myslela aj ja.

And sometimes I thought that, too.

Ale nezáležalo na tom, lebo teraz som mala v sebe plameň, ktorý horel,

But that didn't matter,

because now there was something inside that burned

that far outweighed my injuries.

ktorý ďaleko presahoval moje bolesti.

And little goals kept me going along the way,

Ale krátke ciele mi pomohli ísť ďalej

a napokon som získala licenciu súkromného pilota.

and eventually I got my private pilot's license.

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

Potom som sa naučila navigovať a lietala som so svojimi priateľmi po Austrálii.

And then I learned to fly an airplane with two engines

A potom som sa naučila riadiť lietadlo s dvoma motormi

and I got my twin-engine rating.

a dostala som dvojmotorové ohodnotenie.

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

Potom som sa naučila lietať v zlom, ako aj v peknom počasí,

a obdržala som prístrojové ohodnotenie.

and got my instrument rating.

And then I got my commercial pilot's license.

A potom som obdržala licenciu obchodného pilota.

And then I got my instructor rating.

Následne som dostala hodnotenie inštruktora.

And then I found myself back at that same school

Potom som bola späť v tej istej škole,

where I'd gone for that very first flight,

kde som išla na ten prvý let

teaching other people how to fly ...

a učila iných ľudí ako lietať.

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

Všetko za menej ako 18 mesiacov po tom, ako som odišla z traumatologického oddelenia.

(Potlesk)

(Applause)

(Applause ends)

And then I thought, "Why stop there?

A potom som si pomyslela: "Prečo prestať len tu?

Why not learn to fly upside down?"

Prečo sa nenaučiť lietať hlavou dole?"

(Laughter)

A tak som to urobila, naučila som sa lietať dole hlavou

And I did, and I learned to fly upside down

and became an aerobatics flying instructor.

a stala som sa inštruktorom leteckej akrobacie.

(Laughter)

A moja mama a otec? Nikdy neleteli.

And Mom and Dad? Never been up.

(Laughter)

Potom som si uvedomila, že aj keď môže mať moje telo obmedzenia,

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

it was my spirit that was unstoppable.

bol to môj duch, ktorý bol nezastaviteľný.

Filozof Lao Tzu raz povedal:

The philosopher Lao Tzu once said,

"Ak opustiš to, čo si,

"When you let go of what you are,

you become what you might be."

staneš sa tým, čo môžeš byť."

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

Teraz viem, až vtedy, keď som bola schopná opustiť predstavu toho, kým som si myslela, že som bola,

that I was able to create a completely new life.

až potom som bola schopná vytvoriť si úplne nový život.

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

Až pokiaľ som nechala odísť život, ktorý som si myslela, že mám mať,

až potom som bola schopná prijať život, ktorý na mňa čakal.

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

Teraz viem, že moja skutočná sila

I now know that my real strength

never came from my body.

nikdy nepochádzala z môjho tela.

And although my physical capabilities have changed dramatically,

A aj keď sa moje fyzické možnosti radikálne zmenili,

who I am is unchanged.

to, kto som, sa nezmenilo.

The pilot light inside of me was still alight,

Svetlo pilota vo mne bolo vždy svetlo,

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

tak, ako je v každom nás.

I know that I'm not my body.

Ja viem, že nie som svoje telo

And I also know that you're not yours.

a tiež viem, že vy nie ste svoje.

A potom už nezáleží na tom, ako vyzeráte,

And then it no longer matters what you look like,

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

odkiaľ pochádzate alebo čím sa živíte.

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

To, na čom záleží je, že rozdúchavame oheň ľudstva tým,

že žijeme naše životy ako vyjadrenie najvyššej tvorby,

by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression

of who we really are,

toho, kým skutočne sme,

because we are all connected

lebo my sme všetci spojení

by millions and millions of straws.

miliónmi a miliónmi slamiek

a nastal čas pospájať ich

And it's time to join those up

a držať sa ich.

and to hang on.

A ak sa máme pohnúť bližšie k nášmu kolektívnemu šťastiu,

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

je načase, aby sme obrátili zrak z fyzického,

it's time we shed our focus on the physical

and instead embrace the virtues of the heart.

a naopak, prijali cnosti svojho srdca.

So raise your straws if you'll join me.

Takže, ak sa ku mne pridáte, zdvihnite svoje slamky.

(Applause)

Ďakujem. (Potlesk)

Thank you.

(Applause)

Ďakujem.

Thank you.

(Applause)