Ramona Pierson: An unexpected place of healing

翻译人员: Gan Jin 校对人员: Emma Zhao

我准备和你们分享一些事

I'm actually going to share something with you

我已经10多年没有提到过了

I haven't talked about probably in more than 10 years.

所以请大家忍耐

So bear with me as I take you through this journey.

让我带领你们走过这段旅程

When I was 22 years old,

当我22岁的时候

I came home from work, put a leash on my dog

我下班回家，给我的狗带上遛狗绳

and went for my usual run.

跟往常一样去跑步

I had no idea that at that moment,

当时我并不知道

my life was going to change forever.

我的生活将永远改变

While I was preparing my dog for the run,

当我正准备和我的狗去跑步锻炼的时候

一个男人在酒吧喝完酒

a man was finishing drinking at a bar,

picked up his car keys, got into a car

拿出了他的车钥匙，坐进车里

向南开去

and headed south,

or wherever he was.

或者其他方向

我正跑步穿过马路

I was running across the street,

我唯一能真正记起来的是

and the only thing that I actually remember

我感觉好像有个手榴弹在我的脑袋里爆炸了

is feeling like a grenade went off in my head.

我记得把我的双手放在地上

And I remember putting my hands on the ground

感觉到我的生命之血

and feeling my life's blood

从我的脖子

emptying out of my neck and my mouth.

和我的嘴里倾泻而出

真实情况是

What had happened is, he ran a red light

他闯了红灯，撞到了我和我的狗

and hit me and my dog.

She ended up underneath the car.

我的狗被卷进了车底

我被车头撞飞

I flew out in front of the car,

and then he ran over my legs.

然后他从我的双腿上碾过

My left leg got caught up in the wheel well --

我的左腿被车轮缠上

卷进了车轮

spun it around.

车的保险杠撞到了我的喉咙

The bumper of the car hit my throat,

slicing it open.

我的喉咙被切开了

I ended up with blunt chest trauma.

最终我被诊断为胸部钝器撞伤

Your aorta comes up behind your heart, it's your major artery --

你的大动脉移到了心脏后面

这是你的主动脉，而且它被切断了

and it was severed, so my blood was gurgling out of my mouth.

我的血从我的嘴里汩汩涌出

并冒着泡

It foamed, and ... horrible things were happening to me.

很恐怖的事情发生在我的身上

我根本不知道发生了什么事

I had no idea what was going on,

但是一些陌生人介入了

but strangers intervened,

让我心脏维持活动，跳动

kept my heart moving, beating.

I say "moving," because it was quivering,

我说活动因为它一直在颤抖

而他们就尽力尝试恢复我的心跳

and they were trying to put a beat back into it.

有人很聪明，在我的脖子里插了一支比克笔

Somebody was smart and put a Bic pen in my neck

打开了我的气管使我能吸入一些空气

to open up my airway, so I could get some air in there.

而且我的肺崩溃了

And my lung collapsed,

so somebody cut me open and put a pen in there as well,

所以有人打开了我的胸腔并在那也放了一根别针

to stop that catastrophic event from happening.

来阻止了悲剧的发生

Somehow I ended up at the hospital.

总之我被送进了医院

身上堆满了冰

I was wrapped in ice,

and then eventually put into a drug-induced coma.

最后用药物使我进入昏迷状态

18个月之后我醒了过来

Eighteen months later, I woke up.

I was blind, I couldn't speak

我失明了，并且不能说话

and I couldn't walk.

无法走路

I was 64 pounds.

体重只有58斤

The hospital really has no idea what to do with people like that.

医院真的不知道

该如何处理像我这样的人

And in fact, they started to call me a "gomer."

其实，他们已经管我叫逝者

That's another story we won't even get into.

这是另外一个故事了，我们就不讲了

I had so many surgeries to put my neck back together,

我做了许多手术来修复我的脖子

我的心脏也修复了好几次

to repair my heart a few times.

Some things worked, some things didn't.

有些东西管用，有些却没有

我身体里放进了好多钛制品

I had lots of titanium put in me;

从尸体上取下的骨头

cadaver bones,

to try to get my feet moving the right way.

让我的脚尽量能像正常人那样移动

And I ended up with a plastic nose,

而且我有了一个塑料鼻子，满嘴陶瓷牙齿

porcelain teeth and all kinds of other things.

和一些其他的东西

But eventually, I started to look human again.

但最终我好歹有个人样了

But ...

不过有时谈起这些事真的很难

It's hard sometimes to talk about these things,

所以请忍耐一下

so bear with me.

I had more than 50 surgeries.

我做了超过50个手术

But who's counting?

但是谁会去数？

(Laughter)

最终，医院做出决定

So eventually, the hospital decided it was time for me to go.

我该出院了

They needed to open up space for somebody else

他们需要腾出床位

给其他一些可能有救的病人

that they thought could come back

from whatever they were going through.

不管他们经历了什么

Everybody lost faith in me being able to recover.

所有的人对我的康复都失去了信心

所以他们只是在墙上挂了张地图，掷了一个飞镖

So they basically put a map up on the wall, threw a dart,

飞镖钉在了科罗拉多州的一个养老院

and it landed at a senior home, here in Colorado.

And I know all of you are scratching your head:

我知道你们都在挠头：

“养老院？你去养老院干嘛？”

"A senior citizens' home?

What in the world are you going to do there?"

但是诸位想想看

But if you think about all of the skills and talent

现在这个房间里存在的全部技能和天赋

that are in this room right now,

养老院全都有

that's what a senior home has.

各种各样的技能和天赋

So there were all these skills and talents

那些老年人全都有

that these seniors had.

The one advantage they had over most of you

而其中胜于你们的最大的一个优势

就是智慧

is wisdom,

because they had a long life.

因为他们经历了很长的一生

And I needed that wisdom at that moment in my life.

而那时我正好需要人生的智慧

但是想象一下对他们来说

But imagine what it was like for them

我出现在门口是种什么情况？

when I showed up at their doorstep.

那时，我长了3斤

At that point, I had gained four pounds, so I was 68 pounds.

所以我是61斤重

我没有头发

I was bald.

还穿着医院的病号服

I was wearing hospital scrubs.

和某人捐给我的网球鞋

And somebody donated tennis shoes for me.

And I had a white cane in one hand

我一手拄着一根白色拐杖

另外一只手拿着装满了医疗记录的手提箱

and a suitcase full of medical records in another hand.

那些老人们意识到

So the senior citizens realized

that they needed to have an emergency meeting.

他们需要一个紧急会议

(Laughter)

（笑）

So they pulled back and they were looking at each other,

所以他们退回去，互相对望着

and they were going, "OK, what skills do we have in this room?

接着他们开始讨论：“好吧，在这我们都有些什么技能？

This kid needs a lot of work."

这孩子要做好多事呢。”

So they eventually started matching their talents and skills

最后，他们开始

将他们的天赋和技能

搭配到我的所有需求上

to all of my needs.

但是他们需要做的第一件事是

But one of the first things they needed to do

估计出我马上所需要的事情

was assess what I needed right away.

我需要解决的是

I needed to figure out how to eat like a normal human being,

如何像正常人那样吃东西

since I'd been eating through a tube in my chest

因为之前我一直通过我胸口上的一个管子

和我的静脉进食

and through my veins.

So I had to go through trying to eat again.

所以我必须重新开始尝试吃东西

And they went through that process.

当他们完成那个步骤后

他们需要想到：

And then they had to figure out:

"Well, she needs furniture.

嗯，她需要家具。

She is sleeping in the corner of this apartment."

她睡在这个公寓的角落。”

So they went to their storage lockers

于是他们去了储藏室

and all gathered their extra furniture --

拿出了他们多余的一些家具

gave me pots and pans, blankets --

给了我水壶和煎锅，毯子

所有的东西

everything.

And then the next thing that I needed

下一个我需要的

是改变外观

was a makeover.

(Laughter)

于是我脱下绿色病号服

So out went the green scrubs,

穿上了化纤造的有花卉图案的衣服

and in came the polyester and floral prints.

（笑）

(Laughter)

We're not going to talk about the hairstyles

在这我们不谈论他们强迫我做的发型

they tried to force on me once my hair grew back.

当我的头发长回来的时候

但我拒绝了蓝色染发

But I did say no to the blue hair.

（笑）

(Laughter)

So eventually, what went on is,

最后接下来的是

他们决定，我需要学习说话

they decided that, well, I need to learn to speak.

你没法独立

You can't be an independent person

如果你不知道如何说话，而且看不见东西

if you're not able to speak and you can't see.

So they figured not being able to see is one thing,

所以他们认为看不见任何东西是一回事

but they need to get me to talk.

但是他们要让我说话

So while Sally, the office manager,

所以当业务经理萨莉

was teaching me to speak in the day --

白天教我说话的期间

it's hard, because when you're a kid, you take things for granted.

过程很难，因为当你是个孩子的时候

身边事情都理所当然

You learn things unconsciously.

不知不觉间你就学会了

But for me, I was an adult and it was embarrassing,

但是对我来说，我是个成年人，很尴尬的

而且我必须学会如何协调

and I had to learn how to coordinate my new throat with my tongue

我的新喉咙和我的舌头

and my new teeth and my lips,

我的新牙齿和我的嘴唇

and capture the air and get the word out.

吸气并发出声音

So, I acted like a two-year-old,

所以我像一个两岁的孩子

and refused to work.

拒绝去做

但是他们有一个更好的主意

But the men had a better idea.

They were going to make it fun for me.

他们想让我觉得有意思

所以晚上他们教我用说坏话来玩拼字游戏

So they were teaching me cuss-word Scrabble at night.

（笑）

(Laughter)

然后，秘密的

And then, secretly, how to swear like a sailor.

教我如何像水手那样诅咒

(Laughter)

所以我让你们去想象吧

I'm going to just leave it to your imagination

as to what my first words were --

我最初说的那些话是什么

(Laughter)

when Sally finally got my confidence built.

当萨利最终重建了我的信心的时候

(Laughter)

（笑）

So I moved on from there.

自那之后我继续向前

And a former teacher who happened to have Alzheimer's

一位做过老师的，患有老年痴呆症

took on the task of teaching me to write.

承担起教我写字的任务

The redundancy was actually good for me.

对我来说这件多余的事是件好事

So, we'll just keep moving on.

所以我们一直向前进

(Laughter)

（笑）

对我来说那些关键的时刻中有一个是

One of the pivotal times for me

was actually learning to cross the street again

如何学习像失明的人那样

as a blind person.

过马路

所以请闭上眼睛

So close your eyes.

Now imagine you have to cross a street.

想象一下你该过马路了

你不知道这条街有多宽

You don't know how far that street is,

你甚至不知道你是否在走直线

and you don't know if you're going straight.

And you hear cars whizzing back and forth,

而且你可以听到汽车快速来往

而你经历过一场恐怖的事故

and you had a horrible accident

that landed you in this situation.

使你成了现在这个样子

So there were two obstacles I had to get through.

所以我必须经过两个难关

One was post-traumatic stress disorder.

一个是创伤后精神障碍

每次我接近路口或路牙

Every time I approached the corner or the curb,

I would panic.

我就会恐慌

And the second one

另外一个是

was actually trying to figure out how to cross that street.

弄清楚该如何穿过马路

So one of the seniors just came up to me,

所以一个老人走过来

and she pushed me up to the corner and said,

她把我推到了路口，说：

“当你觉得应该过了，只需要把拐杖伸出去

"When you think it's time to go, just stick the cane out there.

如果它被撞了，就别过。”

If it's hit, don't cross the street."

(Laughter)

（笑）

很有道理的吧

Made perfect sense.

(Laughter)

但是直到第三根拐杖

But by the third cane that went whizzing across the road --

都飕得飞过了马路

(Laughter)

他们意识到需要把资源聚集起来

they realized that they needed to put their resources together,

于是他们为我筹集资金

and they raised funds

so that I could go to the Braille Institute

于是我可以去盲文学校

and actually gain the skills to be a blind person,

学习作为失明的人

所必需掌握的技能

并给我买了只导盲犬

and also to go get a guide dog,

这导盲犬改变了我的生活

who transformed my life.

我可以回到大学继续学习

And I was able to return to college

是因为那些老人对我的投资

because of the senior citizens who invested in me,

and also the guide dog and skill set I had gained.

和导盲犬以及我得到的技能

Ten years later, I gained my sight back.

十年后我的视力恢复了

不是奇迹

Not magically --

我决定做了3个手术

I opted in for three surgeries,

其中一个是实验性质的

and one of them was experimental.

那其实是个机器人手术

It was actually robotic surgery

that removed a hematoma from behind my eye.

他们从我的眼后取出了一个血肿

我人生中最大的改变

The biggest change for me was that the world moved forward,

是世界在前进

有了很多创新

that there were innovations and all kinds of new things --

很多新鲜事物

手机，笔记本电脑

cellphones, laptops,

这些东西我以前从来没有看见过

all these things that I had never seen before.

And as a blind person,

作为一个盲人

your visual memory fades,

你的视觉记忆在退化

取而代之的是你对东西的感觉

and is replaced with how you feel about things

和东西发什么样的声音

and how things sound

以及东西有什么样的气味

and how things smell.

So one day, I was in my room

有一天，我在房间里

我看到房间里的一样东西

and I saw this thing sitting in my room.

而且我以为它是个怪兽

I thought it was a monster,

so I was walking around it.

所以我围着它走

And I go, "I'm just going to touch it."

然后我想：“我要摸摸它。”

And I touched it and I went,

我摸了它，才明白,

"Oh my God, it's a laundry basket."

“天哪，那只是个洗衣篮。”

（笑）

(Laughter)

所有的事情都变了

Everything is different when you're a sighted person,

当你有视力的时候

你觉得都是理所当然

because you take that for granted.

但当你失明了

But when you're blind, you have the tactile memory for things.

你只有对东西的记忆是来自触觉

对我来说最大的变化就是看着我的手

The biggest change for me was looking down at my hands

and seeing that I'd lost 10 years of my life.

看到我失去了10年光阴

I thought that time had stood still for some reason

我认为那段时间不知为何好像静止了一样

and moved on for family and friends.

而对我的家人和朋友来说时间在流逝

But when I looked down,

但当我看下来

I realized that time marched on for me, too,

我意识到对我来说时间也在流逝

and that I needed to get caught up.

所以我必须追上去

So I got going on it.

所以我要继续

我们没有像群体资源或者完全合作这样的词汇

We didn't have words like "crowdsourcing" and "radical collaboration"

在我经历了那场事故的时候

when I had my accident.

但是这个概念是真的

But the concept held true --

people working with people to rebuild me;

人和人合作来重建我

people working with people to reeducate me.

人和人合作来再教育我

如果不是强大的完全合作

I wouldn't be standing here today

我今天也不会站在这里

if it wasn't for extreme radical collaboration.

Thank you so much.

非常感谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）