人生不设限·充满挑战的童年
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.
他们哀伤过，然后试着尽量把我这个身体有障碍的儿子当个“正常”孩子来养。我父母拥有坚定的信心，他们总是想着，上帝给了他们这样一个孩子，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.
受伤后如果能多动一动，有些伤口会复原得比较快，人生的挫败也是如此。你或许失业了，结束了一段亲密关系，或是账单堆积如山，但不要让你的人生停留在这里，因为这样你会一直想着过去的伤痛，你应该去寻找前进的方法。也许前面有更好、更能让你发挥所长并获得回报的工作等着你;也许你的亲密关系需要“改组”，或者还有更适合你的人;也许财务上的困难会刺激你用更具创意的方式节省开支、累积财富。
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.
人生的遭遇难以控制，有些事情不是你的错，也不是你可以阻止的。你能选择的不是放弃，而是继续努力争取更好的生活。我希望你知道，事情会发生总有理由，而最后，结果会是好的。
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.
年纪还小的时候，我想当然地认为自己是个可人儿，就像世上任何一个迷人的可爱小孩一样——我的天真无知在那个年纪真是个福气。我并不知道自己跟别人不同，也不知道人生路上有各种挑战等着我，我甚至不认为我会被赋予处理难题的权利。我向你保证，每一个你自认无能为力之处，其实都有祝福，里头有着足够的能力，带你度过挑战。
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.
上帝也为我配备了惊人的决心和其他恩赐。很快地，我证明了即使没有手脚，我依然行动敏捷，并具备良好的协调性。我整个人只有躯干，但也像个小男婴，是个滚动、到处冲撞的危险人物。我学着让身体直立，方法是用前额顶住墙面，然后使劲向上移动。长久以来，父母试着教我各种比较舒服的方法，但我总坚持要自己解决问题。
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.
妈妈试着在地板上放软垫，这样我就可以用垫子撑住自己，再爬起来。不过基于某些理由，我还是决定用额头抵住墙壁，再一寸一寸地立起身子。用自己的方法起身虽然很困难，但现在也成了我的注册商标啰!
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，善用我这颗头是我唯一的选择，这让我在头脑发达(开玩笑了)之余，也赋予我的脖子如印度圣牛般的力量，还让我的额头硬如子弹。
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.
当然，我的父母常常为我担心。其实就算孩子四肢健全，为人父母也是一个充满惊吓的体验。新手父母常开玩笑说，希望孩子出生时能附上使用手册，但就算史波克医师[4]的畅销书也没有任何一章谈到该怎么带我这种婴儿。不过，我还是顽强地长大了，愈来愈健康，胆子也愈来愈大;到了“猫狗都嫌”的两岁阶段，我给父母带来的恐怖经验，比一组八胞胎还多呢。
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.
他要怎么吃东西?他要如何上学?如果我们发生了什么事，谁来照顾他?他要怎么独立生活?
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?
人类的推理能力可以是个祝福，也可以是个诅咒。你可能也像我父母一样，想到未来就苦恼、发愁。不过，事情通常不会如我们想象的那么严重。未雨绸缪没什么不好，但你要知道，最可怕的梦魇可能变成最棒的惊喜，人生很多事的最后结果，经常是美好的。
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.
我童年最棒的惊喜之一，是学会掌控我那只小小的左脚。起先，我出于本能地用它来滚、踢、推和撑住自己，但父母和医生认为这只便利小左脚应该可以发挥更大的作用。我的小左脚有两个趾头，不过自我出生时它们就黏在一起，而父母和医生认为动个小手术分开这两个趾头，会让它们使用起来更像手指，可以做些握笔、翻页之类的事。
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.
当时我们住在澳大利亚的墨尔本，这里可以提供某些这个国家最棒的医疗照护，但我带来的挑战超过大部分医护人员所受的训练。当医生准备为我的脚动手术时，妈妈提醒他们，我大部分时间都在发烧，一定要特别提防我身体过热的状况。她知道有一个没有四肢的孩子在手术时因为体温过高引发脑部癫痫，而留下脑伤的后遗症。
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.
因为我的身体常常会自动发热，所以我家很流行一句话：“当力克觉得冷的时候，鸭子都冻僵了。”这可不是开玩笑，如果我运动得太厉害、压力大，或者在炙热的光线下待太久，我的体温会上升到危急状态，所以我必须一直提防自己别被融化了。
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.
“请小心监控他的体温。”妈妈提醒医疗团队。尽管知道我妈是护士，医生们还是没把她的话当一回事。我脚趾的分割手术很成功，但妈妈警告过的事还是发生了。离开手术室时，我全身湿透，因为医护人员没有采取任何预防我体温过热的措施。因此当他们猛然发现我体温失控时，就赶紧用湿毯子包住我，想让我冷却下来，甚至用好几桶冰块降温，以防我发生癫痫。
"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.
妈妈气炸了，医生确确实实地感受到我妈杜许卡的愤怒!
My mum was furious. No doubt the doctors felt the wrath of Dushka!
不过，当我冷静下来(真的是“冷”静下来哦)，我的生活品质的确因为两个脚趾头分开而提升了。它们没办法像医生期望的那么好用，但我会调适。对一个没手没腿的小伙子来说，这么一只小脚和两个趾头已经非常管用了。这个手术加上新科技，使我得以操作量身定做的电动轮椅、电脑和手机，行动更加自由。
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.
我不知道你的重担是什么，也不会假装自己碰过类似的难关，但看看我父母在我出生时所经历的，想象一下他们当时的感受吧。对他们来说，未来是多么凄凉无望啊。
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.
或许你目前正处于黑暗的隧道中，看不到尽头的光明，但你知道吗?当年我父母也无法想象有一天我会过着如此美妙的人生。他们当时一定不知道，儿子不但可以自给自足，而且还过着快乐、充实、喜悦且有目标的生活。
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，其实大部分都没发生。养育我当然不容易，但我相信他们会告诉你，即使经历种种挑战，我们的生活还是充满欢笑与喜乐。总的来说，我的童年生活很正常，很爱折磨弟弟亚伦和老妹蜜雪儿，就像大部分的哥哥一样。
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!
你现在的生活或许一团乱，不知道明天是否会更好，但我要告诉你，只要拒绝放弃，就会有超乎想象的美好在前方等着你。请把焦点放在你的梦想上，尽你所能去逐梦;你有改变环境的力量，所以就去追求你真心的渴望吧，无论那是什么。
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.
我的人生是个还在书写中的冒险——你的也是。现在就开始书写你生命的第一章，用冒险、爱和快乐填满它，并好好活出你所写的人生故事。
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!
