한계를 넘어서는 삶 [TED 강연, 한글자막]

Summary

The 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.