한계를 넘어서는 삶 [TED 강연, 한글자막]
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, born in Las Vegas, dreamt of a life of adventure and freedom, which she achieved as a massage therapist. A sudden illness led to her losing limbs and organs, but she didn't let this stop her. She embraced her new reality, innovated her own prosthetic legs, and returned to snowboarding. She co-founded a nonprofit to help others with disabilities and became a world champion snowboarder. Her story shows that our challenges can ignite our imaginations, enabling us to surpass our limits.
Takeaways
- 🌍 The author's childhood dream was to travel the world and live in a place where it snowed.
- 🏥 At 19, a sudden illness, bacterial meningitis, left her with a less than 2% chance of survival and resulted in the loss of her spleen, kidneys, hearing in one ear, and both legs below the knee.
- 🦿 The initial prosthetics provided were painful and confining, making her question her ability to continue her adventurous lifestyle.
- 💡 She reframed her situation by focusing on the newfound freedom and benefits of her prosthetics, such as the ability to adjust her height and not feeling cold feet while snowboarding.
- 🏆 After a year of research and innovation, she created a pair of prosthetic legs that allowed her to snowboard again, marking a significant turning point in her life.
- 🎓 In 2005, she co-founded a nonprofit organization to help youth and young adults with physical disabilities engage in action sports.
- 🌐 She traveled to South Africa to provide shoes for children, enabling them to attend school.
- 🏅 She became the highest-ranked adaptive female snowboarder in the world after winning back-to-back World Cup gold medals.
- 💭 She emphasizes the power of imagination in overcoming obstacles and believes that challenges can be catalysts for creativity and innovation.
- 🚀 Her story encourages viewing limitations not as barriers but as opportunities to ignite imagination and push boundaries, leading to personal growth and achievement.
Q & A
What was the speaker's dream growing up in Las Vegas?
-The speaker dreamt of traveling the world and living in a place where it snowed.
How did the speaker achieve a sense of freedom early in life?
-The speaker felt free for the first time when they moved to a place with snow after graduating high school and became a massage therapist, as the job required only their hands and a massage table.
What unexpected event drastically changed the speaker's life?
-The speaker's life changed when they contracted bacterial meningitis, which led to a 2% chance of survival and multiple organ failures.
What significant losses did the speaker experience as a result of bacterial meningitis?
-The speaker lost their spleen, kidneys, hearing in their left ear, and both legs below the knee due to bacterial meningitis.
How did the speaker initially react to seeing their new prosthetic legs?
-The speaker was initially shocked and disappointed by the bulky and confining appearance of their new prosthetic legs.
What was the turning point for the speaker in accepting their new reality?
-The turning point was when the speaker decided to let go of the old Amy and embrace the new Amy, focusing on the benefits of her new legs.
How did the speaker's perspective on her situation change after a period of reflection?
-The speaker began to see her prosthetic legs as a tool for breaking through borders and enabling her to live beyond her limits.
What was the speaker's first significant achievement after her recovery?
-The speaker's first significant achievement was snowboarding again four months after her recovery.
What innovative solution did the speaker develop to overcome her challenges in snowboarding?
-The speaker and her leg maker created a custom pair of prosthetic feet using random parts, including rusted bolts, rubber, wood, and neon pink duct tape, to enable her to snowboard.
What impact has the speaker's experience had on her view of challenges and limitations?
-The speaker views challenges and limitations as blessings and gifts that ignite the imagination and help individuals go further than they thought possible.
What message does the speaker want to convey to the audience about borders and innovation?
-The speaker wants the audience to consider that innovation is possible because of borders, and instead of breaking them down, we should use them as a push-off point to explore new possibilities.
Outlines
🌟 A Life-Changing Question
The speaker reflects on a pivotal question that redirected her life's course: 'If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want the story to go?' She grew up in Las Vegas, dreaming of freedom and adventure, which led her to become a massage therapist and move to a snowy region. However, her life took a dramatic turn when she contracted bacterial meningitis, resulting in the loss of her spleen, kidneys, hearing in one ear, and both legs below the knee. Despite the physical and emotional challenges of adapting to prosthetic legs, she chose to embrace her new life, finding unexpected benefits in her situation and reimagining her future.
🏆 Overcoming Obstacles Through Innovation
After a life-altering illness, the speaker was determined to regain her mobility and passion for snowboarding. She faced initial setbacks, including a fall that detached her prosthetic leg from her body while snowboarding. Undeterred, she embarked on a year of research to design a prosthetic that would enable her to snowboard again. With no existing solutions, she collaborated with her leg maker to create a custom set of prosthetic feet, which she adorned with personal touches. This innovation not only allowed her to return to snowboarding but also to co-found a nonprofit organization, helping others with physical disabilities engage in action sports. Her story culminated in winning back-to-back World Cup gold medals, becoming the highest-ranked adaptive female snowboarder. She concludes by encouraging the audience to view challenges as catalysts for imagination and innovation, arguing that it's our limitations that can propel us to achieve beyond our perceived capabilities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Freedom
💡Independence
💡Bacterial Meningitis
💡Coma
💡Prosthetic Legs
💡Imagination
💡Obstacles
💡Innovation
💡Adaptation
💡Nonprofit Organization
💡World Cup Gold Medals
Highlights
The transformative question: 'If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want the story to go?'
Growing up in Las Vegas, dreaming of a life of freedom and travel.
Becoming a massage therapist at 19, achieving a sense of independence and control.
A sudden illness leads to a 2% chance of survival and life in a coma.
Diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, a vaccine-preventable disease.
Loss of vital organs and both legs, leading to a life-changing recovery.
The emotional turmoil of seeing prosthetic legs for the first time.
The struggle with the reality of traveling and living an adventurous life with prosthetics.
The realization of the benefits of prosthetic legs, such as adjustable height and no cold feet.
The moment of self-reflection that sparked a new chapter in life.
Returning to snowboarding with determination and facing initial setbacks.
The decision to create custom prosthetics to overcome physical limitations.
The creation of a nonprofit to help youth with physical disabilities engage in action sports.
A trip to South Africa to provide shoes for children to attend school.
Winning back-to-back World Cup gold medals, becoming the highest-ranked adaptive female snowboarder.
The perspective that prosthetics haven't disabled but have enabled new possibilities.
The power of imagination as a tool for breaking through borders and limitations.
The challenge to view challenges and limitations as blessings that ignite imagination.
The importance of pushing off from borders to explore uncharted territories in life.
Transcripts
if you're live for a book and you were
the author how would you want your story
to go that's the question that changed
my life forever growing up in the hot
Las Vegas desert all I wanted was to be
free I would daydream about traveling
the world living in a place where it
snowed and I would picture all of the
stories that I would go on to tell at
the age of 19 the day after I graduated
high school I moved to a place where it
snowed and I became a massage therapist
with this job all I needed were my hands
and my massage table by my side and I
could go anywhere for the first time in
my life I felt free independence and
completely in control of my life that is
until my life took a detour I went home
from work early one day with what I
thought was the flu and less than 24
hours later I was in the hospital on
life support with less than a 2% chance
of living
it wasn't until days later as I lay in a
coma that the doctors diagnosed me with
bacterial meningitis a vaccine
preventible blood infection over the
course of two and a half months I lost
my spleen my kidneys the hearing in my
left ear and both of my legs below the
knee when my parents will be out of the
hospital I felt like I had been pieced
back together like a patchwork doll
I thought the worst was over until weeks
later when I saw my new legs for the
first time the calves were bulky blocks
of metal with pipes bolted together for
the ankles and a yellow rubber foot with
the raised rubber line from the toe to
the ankle to look like a vein I didn't
know what to expect but I wasn't
expecting that with my mom by my side
and tears streaming down our faces I
strapped on these chunky legs and I
stood up they were so painful and so
confining that all I could think was how
am I ever going to travel the world in
these things how was I ever going to
live the life full of adventure and
stories as I always wanted and how was I
going to snowboard again that day I went
home I crawled into bed and this is what
my life looks like for the next few
months me passed out escaping from
reality with my legs resting by my side
I was absolutely physically and
emotionally broken but I knew that in
order to move forward I had to let go of
the old Amy and learn to embrace the new
Amy and that is when it dawned on me
that I didn't have to be 5 foot 5
anymore I can be as tall as I wanted
or as short as I wanted depending on who
I was dating and if I snowboard again my
feet aren't going to get cold and thus
the ball I thought I can make my feet
the size of all the shoes that are on
the sales rack and I did so there were
benefits here it was this moment that I
asked myself that life's defining
question if my life were a book and I
was an author how would I want this
story to go and I begin to daydream i
daydream like I did as a little girl and
I imagine myself walking gracefully
helping other people through my journey
and snowboarding again and I didn't just
see myself carving down a mountain of
powder I could actually feel it I could
feel the wind against my face and the
beat of my racing heart as if it were
happening and that very moment and that
is when a new chapter in my life began
four months later I was back up on a
snowboard although things going to go
quite as expected my knees and my ankles
when it been and at one point I
traumatized all the skiers on the
chairlift when I I fell and my leg still
attached to my snowboard
with flying down the mountain and I was
on top of the mountain still I was so
shocked I was just as shocked as
everybody else and I was so discouraged
but I knew that if I could find the
right pair of feet that I would be able
to do this again and this is what I
learned that our borders and our
obstacles can only do two things one
stop us in our tracks or to force us to
get creative I did a year research still
kind of figure out what kind of legs to
use couldn't find any resources that
could help me so I decided to make a
pair myself my leg maker and I put
random parts together and we made a pair
of feet that I could snowboard in as you
can see rusted bolts rubber wood and
neon pink duct tape and yes I can change
my toenail polish it was these legs and
the best 21st birthday gift I could ever
receive a new kidney from my dad that
allowed me to follow my dreams again I
started snowboarding then I went back to
work then I went back to school then in
2005 I co-founded a nonprofit
organization for youth and young adults
with physical disabilities so they could
get involved with action sports from
there I had the opportunity to go to
South Africa where I helped to put shoes
on thousands of children's feet so they
could attend school and just this past
February I won two back-to-back World
Cup gold medals
which made me the highest-ranked
adaptive female snowboarder in the world
11 years ago when I lost my leg I had no
idea what to expect but if you asked me
today if I would ever want to change my
situation I would have to say no because
my legs haven't disabled me if anything
Dave enabled me they forced me to rely
on my imagination and to believe in the
possibilities and that's why I believe
that our imaginations can be used as
tools for breaking through borders
because in our minds we can do anything
and we can be anything it's believing in
those dreams and facing our fears
head-on that allows us to live our lives
beyond our limits and although today is
about innovation Without Borders I have
to say that in my life
innovation has only been possible
because of my borders I've learned that
borders are where the actual end but
also where the imagination and the story
begins
so the thought that I would like to
challenge you with today is that maybe
instead of looking at our challenges and
our limitations as something negative or
bad we can begin to look at them as
blessings magnificent gift that can be
used to ignite our imaginations and help
us go further than we ever knew we could
go it's not about breaking down borders
it's about pushing off of them and
seeing what amazing places they might
bring us thank you
[Music]
you
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