人生不設(shè)限·充滿挑戰(zhàn)的童年

我剛來(lái)到這個(gè)世界時(shí)，媽媽曾害怕自己無(wú)力照顧我，爸爸則擔(dān)心我前途坎坷，不曉得將來(lái)會(huì)過(guò)什么樣的日子。他們思考過(guò)幾種選擇，甚至包括放棄我，送給別人收養(yǎng)，但最后認(rèn)定全力撫養(yǎng)我是他們的責(zé)任。

In recent years my parents have been candid in describing their fears and nightmares immediately following my birth. As I was growing up, of course, they did not let on that I was not exactly the child of their dreams. In the months following my arrival, my mum feared she could not look after me. My dad could not see a happy future for me and worried about the kind of life I would have. If I was helpless and unable to experience life, he felt I would be better off with God. They considered their options, including the possibility of giving me up for adoption. Both sets of my grandparents offered to take me and care for me. My parents declined the offers. They decided it was their responsibility to raise me as best they could.

他們哀傷過(guò)，然后試著盡量把我這個(gè)身體有障礙的兒子當(dāng)個(gè)“正常”孩子來(lái)養(yǎng)。我父母擁有堅(jiān)定的信心，他們總是想著，上帝給了他們這樣一個(gè)孩子，肯定是有理由的。

They grieved, and then they set about raising their physically challenged son to be as "normal" as he could possibly be. My parents are people of strong faith, and they kept thinking that God must have had some reason for giving them such a son.

受傷后如果能多動(dòng)一動(dòng)，有些傷口會(huì)復(fù)原得比較快，人生的挫敗也是如此。你或許失業(yè)了，結(jié)束了一段親密關(guān)系，或是賬單堆積如山，但不要讓你的人生停留在這里，因?yàn)檫@樣你會(huì)一直想著過(guò)去的傷痛，你應(yīng)該去尋找前進(jìn)的方法。也許前面有更好、更能讓你發(fā)揮所長(zhǎng)并獲得回報(bào)的工作等著你;也許你的親密關(guān)系需要“改組”，或者還有更適合你的人;也許財(cái)務(wù)上的困難會(huì)刺激你用更具創(chuàng)意的方式節(jié)省開支、累積財(cái)富。

Some injuries heal more quickly if you keep moving. The same is true of setbacks in life. Perhaps you lose your job. A relationship might not work out. Maybe the bills are piling up. Don't put your life on hold so that you can dwell on the unfairness of past hurts. Look instead for ways to move forward. Maybe there is a better job awaiting you that will be more fulfilling and rewarding. Your relationship may have needed a shake-up, or maybe there is someone better for you. Perhaps your financial challenges will inspire you to find new creative ways to save and build wealth.

人生的遭遇難以控制，有些事情不是你的錯(cuò)，也不是你可以阻止的。你能選擇的不是放棄，而是繼續(xù)努力爭(zhēng)取更好的生活。我希望你知道，事情會(huì)發(fā)生總有理由，而最后，結(jié)果會(huì)是好的。

You can't always control what happens to you. There are some occurrences in life that are not your fault or within your power to stop. The choice you have is either to give up or to keep on striving for a better life. My advice is to know that everything happens for a reason and in the end good will come of it.

年紀(jì)還小的時(shí)候，我想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為自己是個(gè)可人兒，就像世上任何一個(gè)迷人的可愛小孩一樣——我的天真無(wú)知在那個(gè)年紀(jì)真是個(gè)福氣。我并不知道自己跟別人不同，也不知道人生路上有各種挑戰(zhàn)等著我，我甚至不認(rèn)為我會(huì)被賦予處理難題的權(quán)利。我向你保證，每一個(gè)你自認(rèn)無(wú)能為力之處，其實(shí)都有祝福，里頭有著足夠的能力，帶你度過(guò)挑戰(zhàn)。

As a child, I just assumed I was a perfectly adorable baby, naturally charming and as lovable as any on earth. My blissful ignorance was a blessing at that age. I didn't know that I was different or that many challenges awaited me. You see, I don't think we are ever given more than we can handle. I promise you that for every disability you have, you are blessed with more than enough abilities to overcome your challenges.

上帝也為我配備了驚人的決心和其他恩賜。很快地，我證明了即使沒(méi)有手腳，我依然行動(dòng)敏捷，并具備良好的協(xié)調(diào)性。我整個(gè)人只有軀干，但也像個(gè)小男嬰，是個(gè)滾動(dòng)、到處沖撞的危險(xiǎn)人物。我學(xué)著讓身體直立，方法是用前額頂住墻面，然后使勁向上移動(dòng)。長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)，父母試著教我各種比較舒服的方法，但我總堅(jiān)持要自己解決問(wèn)題。

God equipped me with an amazing amount of determination and other gifts too. I soon proved that even without limbs I was athletic and well coordinated. I was all trunk but all baby boy too; a rolling, diving daredevil. I learned to haul myself into an upright position by bracing my forehead against a wall and scooting up it. My mum and dad worked with me for a long time trying to help me master a more comfortable method, but I always insisted on finding my own way.

媽媽試著在地板上放軟墊，這樣我就可以用墊子撐住自己，再爬起來(lái)。不過(guò)基于某些理由，我還是決定用額頭抵住墻壁，再一寸一寸地立起身子。用自己的方法起身雖然很困難，但現(xiàn)在也成了我的注冊(cè)商標(biāo)啰!

My mum tried to help by putting cushions on the floor so I could use them to brace myself and get up, but for some reason I decided it was better just to bash my brow against the wall and inch my way up. Doing tasks my way, even if it was the hard way became my trademark!

早年，善用我這顆頭是我唯一的選擇，這讓我在頭腦發(fā)達(dá)(開玩笑了)之余，也賦予我的脖子如印度圣牛般的力量，還讓我的額頭硬如子彈。

Using my head was my only option in those early days; a fact that developed my massive intellect (kidding!) while also giving me the neck strength of a Brahma bull and a forehead hard as a bullet.

當(dāng)然，我的父母常常為我擔(dān)心。其實(shí)就算孩子四肢健全，為人父母也是一個(gè)充滿驚嚇的體驗(yàn)。新手父母常開玩笑說(shuō)，希望孩子出生時(shí)能附上使用手冊(cè)，但就算史波克醫(yī)師[4]的暢銷書也沒(méi)有任何一章談到該怎么帶我這種嬰兒。不過(guò)，我還是頑強(qiáng)地長(zhǎng)大了，愈來(lái)愈健康，膽子也愈來(lái)愈大;到了“貓狗都嫌”的兩歲階段，我給父母帶來(lái)的恐怖經(jīng)驗(yàn)，比一組八胞胎還多呢。

My parents worried about me constantly, of course. Parenthood is a shocking experience even with full-bodied babies. New mothers and fathers often joke that they wish their first child came with an operating manual. There was no chapter even in Dr. Spock for babies like me. Yet I stubbornly grew healthier and bolder. I closed in on the "terrible twos" stage, packing more potential parental terrors than a set of octuplets.

他要怎么吃東西?他要如何上學(xué)?如果我們發(fā)生了什么事，誰(shuí)來(lái)照顧他?他要怎么獨(dú)立生活?

How will he ever feed himself? How will he go to school? Who would take care of him if something happened to us? How will he ever live independently?

人類的推理能力可以是個(gè)祝福，也可以是個(gè)詛咒。你可能也像我父母一樣，想到未來(lái)就苦惱、發(fā)愁。不過(guò)，事情通常不會(huì)如我們想象的那么嚴(yán)重。未雨綢繆沒(méi)什么不好，但你要知道，最可怕的夢(mèng)魘可能變成最棒的驚喜，人生很多事的最后結(jié)果，經(jīng)常是美好的。

Our human powers of reasoning can be a blessing and a curse. Like my parents, you have probably fretted and worried about the future. Often, though, that which you dread turns out to be far less a problem than you imagined. There is nothing wrong with looking ahead and planning for the future, but know that your worst fears could just as easily prove to be your best surprise. Very often life works out for the good.

我童年最棒的驚喜之一，是學(xué)會(huì)掌控我那只小小的左腳。起先，我出于本能地用它來(lái)滾、踢、推和撐住自己，但父母和醫(yī)生認(rèn)為這只便利小左腳應(yīng)該可以發(fā)揮更大的作用。我的小左腳有兩個(gè)趾頭，不過(guò)自我出生時(shí)它們就黏在一起，而父母和醫(yī)生認(rèn)為動(dòng)個(gè)小手術(shù)分開這兩個(gè)趾頭，會(huì)讓它們使用起來(lái)更像手指，可以做些握筆、翻頁(yè)之類的事。

One of the best surprises of my childhood was the control I had over my little left foot. Instinctively I used it to roll myself around, to kick, shove, and brace myself. My parents and doctors felt that the handy little foot might be of greater use. There were two toes, but they were fused together when I was born. My parents and doctors decided that an operation to free the toes might allow me to use them more like fingers to grip a pen, turn a page, or perform other functions.

當(dāng)時(shí)我們住在澳大利亞的墨爾本，這里可以提供某些這個(gè)國(guó)家最棒的醫(yī)療照護(hù)，但我?guī)?lái)的挑戰(zhàn)超過(guò)大部分醫(yī)護(hù)人員所受的訓(xùn)練。當(dāng)醫(yī)生準(zhǔn)備為我的腳動(dòng)手術(shù)時(shí)，媽媽提醒他們，我大部分時(shí)間都在發(fā)燒，一定要特別提防我身體過(guò)熱的狀況。她知道有一個(gè)沒(méi)有四肢的孩子在手術(shù)時(shí)因?yàn)轶w溫過(guò)高引發(fā)腦部癲癇，而留下腦傷的后遺癥。

We then lived in Melbourne, Australia, which offered some of the best medical care in the country. I did present challenges beyond the training of most health care professionals. At the time when doctors were preparing me for foot surgery, my mum kept emphasizing to them that I ran hot most of the time and that they would have to be especially attentive to the possibility of my body overheating. She knew about another child without limbs who overheated during an operation and was left with brain damage after suffering a brain seizure.

因?yàn)槲业纳眢w常常會(huì)自動(dòng)發(fā)熱，所以我家很流行一句話：“當(dāng)力克覺(jué)得冷的時(shí)候，鴨子都凍僵了。”這可不是開玩笑，如果我運(yùn)動(dòng)得太厲害、壓力大，或者在炙熱的光線下待太久，我的體溫會(huì)上升到危急狀態(tài)，所以我必須一直提防自己別被融化了。

My self-roasting tendencies prompted an oft-repeated family saying: "When Nicky's cold, the ducks must be freezing." Still, it is no joke that if I exercise too much, get stressed out, or stay too long under hot lights, my body temperature will rise dangerously. Avoiding a meltdown is one of the things I have to always be on guard against.

“請(qǐng)小心監(jiān)控他的體溫。”媽媽提醒醫(yī)療團(tuán)隊(duì)。盡管知道我媽是護(hù)士，醫(yī)生們還是沒(méi)把她的話當(dāng)一回事。我腳趾的分割手術(shù)很成功，但媽媽警告過(guò)的事還是發(fā)生了。離開手術(shù)室時(shí)，我全身濕透，因?yàn)獒t(yī)護(hù)人員沒(méi)有采取任何預(yù)防我體溫過(guò)熱的措施。因此當(dāng)他們猛然發(fā)現(xiàn)我體溫失控時(shí)，就趕緊用濕毯子包住我，想讓我冷卻下來(lái)，甚至用好幾桶冰塊降溫，以防我發(fā)生癲癇。

"Please monitor his temperature carefully," my mum told the surgical team. Even though the doctors knew my mother was a nurse, they still didn't take her advice seriously. They managed a successful surgery separating my toes, but what my mum had warned them about came to pass. I emerged from the operating room soaked because they hadn't taken any precautions for keeping my body from overheating, and when they realized that my temperature was getting out of control, they tried to cool me with wet sheets. They also put buckets of ice on me to avoid a seizure.

媽媽氣炸了，醫(yī)生確確實(shí)實(shí)地感受到我媽杜許卡的憤怒!

My mum was furious. No doubt the doctors felt the wrath of Dushka!

不過(guò)，當(dāng)我冷靜下來(lái)(真的是“冷”靜下來(lái)哦)，我的生活品質(zhì)的確因?yàn)閮蓚€(gè)腳趾頭分開而提升了。它們沒(méi)辦法像醫(yī)生期望的那么好用，但我會(huì)調(diào)適。對(duì)一個(gè)沒(méi)手沒(méi)腿的小伙子來(lái)說(shuō)，這么一只小腳和兩個(gè)趾頭已經(jīng)非常管用了。這個(gè)手術(shù)加上新科技，使我得以操作量身定做的電動(dòng)輪椅、電腦和手機(jī)，行動(dòng)更加自由。

Even still, once I chilled out (quite literally), my quality of life received a big boost from my newly freed toes. They didn't work exactly as the doctors had hoped, but I adapted. It's amazing what a little foot and a couple of toes can do for a bloke with no arms and no legs. That operation and new technologies liberated me by giving me the power to operate custom-built electronic wheelchairs, a computer, and a cell phone too.

我不知道你的重?fù)?dān)是什么，也不會(huì)假裝自己碰過(guò)類似的難關(guān)，但看看我父母在我出生時(shí)所經(jīng)歷的，想象一下他們當(dāng)時(shí)的感受吧。對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)，未來(lái)是多么凄涼無(wú)望啊。

I can't know exactly what your burden is, nor do I pretend that I've ever been through a similar crisis, but look at what my parents went through when I was born. Imagine how they felt. Consider how bleak the future must have looked to them.

或許你目前正處于黑暗的隧道中，看不到盡頭的光明，但你知道嗎?當(dāng)年我父母也無(wú)法想象有一天我會(huì)過(guò)著如此美妙的人生。他們當(dāng)時(shí)一定不知道，兒子不但可以自給自足，而且還過(guò)著快樂(lè)、充實(shí)、喜悅且有目標(biāo)的生活。

You may not be able to see a bright light at the end of your own dark tunnel right now, but know that my parents could not envision what a wonderful life I would have one day. They had no idea that their son would be not only self-sufficient and fully engaged in a career but happy, and full of joyful purpose!

我父母最害怕的事，其實(shí)大部分都沒(méi)發(fā)生。養(yǎng)育我當(dāng)然不容易，但我相信他們會(huì)告訴你，即使經(jīng)歷種種挑戰(zhàn)，我們的生活還是充滿歡笑與喜樂(lè)?？偟膩?lái)說(shuō)，我的童年生活很正常，很愛折磨弟弟亞倫和老妹蜜雪兒，就像大部分的哥哥一樣。

Most of my parents' worst fears never materialized. Raising me was certainly not easy, but I think they'll tell you that for all the challenges, we had plenty of laughter and joy. All things considered, I had an amazingly normal childhood in which I enjoyed tormenting my siblings, Aaron and Michelle, just like all big brothers!

你現(xiàn)在的生活或許一團(tuán)亂，不知道明天是否會(huì)更好，但我要告訴你，只要拒絕放棄，就會(huì)有超乎想象的美好在前方等著你。請(qǐng)把焦點(diǎn)放在你的夢(mèng)想上，盡你所能去逐夢(mèng);你有改變環(huán)境的力量，所以就去追求你真心的渴望吧，無(wú)論那是什么。

Life may be kicking you around right now. You may wonder if your fortunes will improve. I'm telling you that you can't even imagine the good that awaits you if you refuse to give up. Stay focused on your dream. Do whatever it takes to stay in the chase. You have the power to change your circumstances. Go after whatever it is you desire.

我的人生是個(gè)還在書寫中的冒險(xiǎn)——你的也是。現(xiàn)在就開始書寫你生命的第一章，用冒險(xiǎn)、愛和快樂(lè)填滿它，并好好活出你所寫的人生故事。

My life is an adventure still being written—and so is yours. Start writing the first chapter now! Fill it with adventure and love and happiness. Live the story as you write it!