If your life were 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 Last 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.
Agar hayotingiz kitob, siz esa uning muallifi bo’lganda, hikoyangizga nimalar yozishni istardingiz? Mening hayotimni butunlayga o’zgartirib yuborgan savol aynan shunday edi. Jazirama Las Vegas sahrosida voyaga yetar ekanman, mening birdan bir istagim erkinlik edi. Dunyo bo’ylab sayohat qilishni, qorli go’shada yashashni xayol suradim va barcha aytgan hikoyalarim tasavvurimda namoyon bo’lardi.
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, independent 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 two percent 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-preventable 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.
19 yoshimda, kollejni tamomlaganimdan bir kun o’tib qorli o’lkaga ko’chib bordim va massaj terapevtlik kasbini egalladim. Bu ish uchun menga qo’llarim va yonimdagi massaj stoli yetarli edi, xolos. Va har qanday ishni eplay olardim. Umrimda ilk bor o’zimni erkin, mustaqil va hayotim o’z qo’limda ekanligini his qildim. Bu hayotim butunlay o’zgarib ketgunicha davom etdi. Bir kuni shamolladim deb o’ylab, uyga erta bordim va 24 soat o’tar-o’tmasdan men kasalxonada kislorod balloniga muhtoj, yashab ketish ehtimolligi ikki foizdan kamroq bemorga aylandim. Koma holatida yotganimdan bir necha kunlardan so’nggina shifokor menga emlash orqali himoyalanish mumkin bo’lgan qon infeksiyasi, bakteriyal meningit tashxisini qo’yishdi. Keyingi ikki yarim oy davomida men talog’imdan, buyraklarimdan, chap qulog’im eshitish qobiliyatidan va tizzamdan pastki ikkala oyoqlarimdan ajraldim. Ota-onam meni
When my parents wheeled me 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 a 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.
kasalxonadan nogironlik aravachasida sudrab olib chiqarkan, o’zimni xuddi qiyqim matolardan qayta tikilgan qo’g’irchoq kabi his qildim. Bir necha haftadan so’ng yangi oyoqlarimni ilk bora ko’rmagunimcha, eng yomoni yakun topdi deb o’ylagandim. Boldir qismi beso’naqay metallar, to’piq suyagi uchun boltlangan trubalardan tashkil topgan va xuddi tomirlarga o’xshab oyoq barmog’idan to to’piq suyagigacha cho’zilgan rezina yo’lli sariq rangli rezina oyoq. Bu yog’iga nimani kutishni bilmasdim, biroq buni kutmagandim.
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?
Yonimda onam va yuzimizdan quyulib borayotgan yosh tomchilari bilan bu besonaqay oyoqlarni mahkam bog’lab, o’rnimdan turdim. Ular shunchalar og’riqli va bir yerga qattiq mixlab qo’yuvchi ediki, endi bu oyoqlarda qanday qilib dunyoni sayohat qila olaman, qanday qilib men doim istagan sarguzashtlar va hikoyalarga to’la hayotda yashay olishim mumkin? Va qanday qilib snoubord bilan yana shug’ullana olaman, degan savollar mening yagona o’ylovim edi.
That day, I went home, I crawled into bed and this is what my life looked 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.
O’sha kuni uyga kirib, yotog’imga sudralib bordim va keyingi bir necha oylar hayotim shu zaylda: hushsiz, voqelikdan qochib, yonimda yotgan oyoqlarim bilan kechdi. Men tamoman jismoniy va hissiy tanazzulda edim.
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 five-foot-five anymore. I could be as tall as I wanted! (Laughter) (Applause) Or as short as I wanted, depending on who I was dating. (Laughter) And if I snowboarded again, my feet aren't going to get cold. (Laughter) And best of all, I thought, I can make my feet the size of all the shoes that are on the sales rack. (Laughter) And I did! So there were benefits here.
Ammo hayotda oldinga siljish uchun men eski Emini tark etishim va yangisini boricha qabul qilishni o'rganishim kerakligini bilardim. Ana shunda bundan buyon besh fut baland bo’lishim shart emasligini anglab yetdim. O’zim istagancha baland bo’yli bo’la olaman! (Kulgu) (Qarsaklar) Yoki kim bilan uchrashuvga chiqishimga qarab istaganimcha past bo’yli bo’lishim mumkin. (Kulgu) Va snoubord bilan yana shug’ullanadigan bo’lsam oyoqlarim muzlab qolmaydi. (Kulgu) O’ylashimcha, bulardan eng zo’ri chegirmadagi barcha poyabzallarni oyog’im o’lchoviga moslab olishim mumkin. (Kulgu) Shunday qildim! Buning foydali jihatlari bor edi.
It was this moment that I asked myself that life-defining question: If my life were a book and I were the author, how would I want the story to go? And I began to daydream. I daydreamed like I did as a little girl and I imagined 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 in that very moment. And that is when a new chapter in my life began.
Ana shu daqiqada o’zimga hayotimdagi eng muhim savolni berdim: Agar hayotim kitob, men esa uning muallifi bo’lganimda, hikoyam qanday bo’lishini istardim? Va men xayol sura boshladim. Men xuddi kichkina qizaloq kabi xayol surdim o’zimni ohista qadamlar bilan yurayotganimni, sayohatim davomida boshqa insonlarga yordam berayotganimni va yana snoubord bilan shug’ullanayotganimni tasavvur qildim. O’zimni shunchaki endi yoqqan qorli tog’dan tushib kelishimni tasavvur qilibgina qolmadim. Uni chindan his qildim. Yuzimga urilayotgan shamolni va shoshib urayotgan yuragimni xuddi ayni o’sha daqiqada yuz berayotgandek chindan his qildim. Hayotimning yangi bobi ana o’shanda boshlandi.
Four months later I was back up on a snowboard, although things didn't go quite as expected: My knees and my ankles wouldn't bend and at one point I traumatized all the skiers on the chair lift when I fell and my legs, still attached to my snowboard — (Laughter) — went 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 when I learned that our borders and our obstacles can only do two things: one, stop us in our tracks or two, force us to get creative.
To’rt oy o’tib, garchi natijalar ayni kutilgandek bo’lmasa ham snoubordga qaytdim: Tizzalarim va to’piq suyaklarim egilmasdi va bir gal yiqilib tushdim-u, oyoqlarim snoubordimda qolib ketdi, o’shanda tog’ chang’isi trassalaridagi barcha chang’ichilarni daxshatga solgan edim. (Kulgu) -- Men pastga uchib tushdim-u, tog’ tepasidan bir yerga jilmagandim. Boshqalar kabi men ham daxshatga tushdim, o’zimga bo’lgan ishonchni yo’qotdim, Biroq agar o’zimga mos juft oyoqlarni topa olsam, bu yana qo’limdan kelishini bilardim. Ana o'shanda bizning chegaralarimiz va qiyinchiliklarimiz faqatgina ikki narsani taqdim etishi mumkinligini bilib oldim: biri yo’limizdan to’xtatadi yoki boshqa biri bizni ijodkorlikka chorlaydi.
I did a year of research, still couldn't 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.
Men buni bir yil tadqiq etib, hanuz qanday oyoqlar menga kerakligi, menga nafi teguvchi biror bir resursni topa olmadim. Shu sababdan ularni o’zim yaratishga qaror qildim. Oyoq tayyorlovchi usta va men birgalikda tasodiy qismlarni birlashtirdik va snoubord uchun mos juft oyoqlar yaratdik. Ko’rib turganingizdek, ular zanglagan boltlar, rezina, yog’och va izolenta. Va yana, oyoq barmoqlarimdagi bo’yoqni o’zgartira olaman. Mana shu oyoqlar va 21 yoshda men olgan eng zo’r sovg’a dadam bergan yangi buyrak yana bir bor orzularim ortidan borishimga imkon berdi. Snoubord bilan shug’ullana boshladim, ishimga qaytdim, so’ngra o’qishlarimni davom ettira boshladim.
Then in 2005 I cofounded 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.
2005-yilda esa jismoniy rivojlanishda nuqsonlari bo’lgan yoshlar va kattalarni harakatli sport bilan shug’ullanishlari uchun notijorat tashkilot tashkil etlishida hamkorlik qildim. U orqali Janubiy Afrikaga borish imkoniyatiga ega bo’lib, maktabga borishlari uchun minglab bolalarning oyoqlariga poyabzal kiydirishga yordamlashdim.
And just this past February, I won two back-to-back World Cup gold medals — (Applause) — which made me the highest ranked adaptive female snowboarder in the world.
Va o’tgan fevral oyida ikki karra Jahon Kubogining medallarini qo’lga kiritdim. (Qarsaklar) -- Bu meni dunyodagi eng qayishuvchan snouborder ayol darajasiga ko'tardi.
Eleven years ago, when I lost my legs, I had no idea what to expect. But if you ask 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 they've enabled me. They've 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.
Bundan o’n bir yil ilgari oyoqlarimdan ajralib qolganimda, nimaga umid qilishni bilmasdim. Biroq bugun mendan vaziyatingizni o’zgartirarmidingiz deb so’rasangiz, men yo’q deb javob berardim. Chunki oyoqlarim meni cheklab qo’ymadi, aksincha ular imkoniyatlarim doirasini kengaytirdi. Ular meni o’z tasavvurimga tayanishga va imkoniyatlarimga ishonishga majburladi. Va shu sababdan tasavvurlarimiz chegaralarni yengib o'tishda ko’makchi bo’la olishiga ishonaman, chunki tafakkurimizda biz har qanday ishni qila olamiz va har qanday narsa qo’limizdan keladi.
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 ends, but also where the imagination and the story begins.
Ana shu orzularga ishonish va o’z qo’rquvlarimizga yuzma-yuz kelish hayotimizni imkoniyatlar doiramizdan tashqaridagi kenglikda yashashga imkon beradi. Bugungi kun chegarasiz innovatsiyalar maydoni bo’lishiga qaramasdan, shuni aytishim mumkinki, shaxsiy hayotimdagi innovatsiyalarga menda mavjud chegaralar tufayli erishdim. Chegara bu haqiqiy yakun degani, biroq ayni shu yer tasavvur va hikoyaning muqaddimasi ekanligini bilib oldim.
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 gifts 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.
Shunday qilib bugun sizga mulohaza uchun taqdim etilgan fikr shundan iborat. Ehtimol, qiyinchiliklar- imiz va cheklangan imkoniyatlarimizga salbiy va yomon narsa sifatida qarash o’rniga ularni bizga berilgan tuhfa, tasavvurimizni uyg’otishimizda qo’l keluvchi bebaho sovg’a ko'zlangan manzildan uzoqroqqa yetishga ko’makchi deb qabul qilishimiz mumkin. Bu chegaralarni buzib o'tish emas, balki uni siljitishdir va u bizni qanday ajoyibotlarga yetaklashi mumkinligiga guvoh bo’lish demakdir. Rahmat.