The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen
-
0:21 - 0:25Two years ago, I studied Latin
-
0:25 - 0:30and realized that I've been
diagnosed with cancer. -
0:30 - 0:32At least that it felt like
I had to study Latin -
0:32 - 0:37to understand what the doctor
who just examined me was saying. -
0:37 - 0:39He says, "You have testis cancer."
-
0:39 - 0:42I say, "I have to test what, to get what?"
(Laughter) -
0:42 - 0:45"No no no, no you have testis cancer."
-
0:45 - 0:50Testicular cancer,
testis is in Latin, means testicular. -
0:50 - 0:54I don't know if it were
because of my obvious Latin look. -
0:54 - 0:57(Laughter)
-
0:57 - 1:02He felt the need to tell me in Latin
what the problem was. -
1:02 - 1:06And — actually as a comedian
for the last 16 years, -
1:06 - 1:11I found it quite ironic that he told me
I might die in a language that's dead. -
1:11 - 1:14(Laughter)
-
1:14 - 1:19(Applause)
-
1:19 - 1:25But this little Latin session
actually became quite symbolic to me, -
1:25 - 1:28when I experienced the following
one and a half years, -
1:28 - 1:32as I realized how hard it is for people
-
1:32 - 1:36to talk to people
who have a serious illness, -
1:36 - 1:41and not just for you and me
but also for doctors. -
1:41 - 1:45And it really became clear to me
when the cancer spread to my lung -
1:45 - 1:48that even my wife and mother
became awkward -
1:48 - 1:50about the communication with me.
-
1:50 - 1:53My wife withdrew and held back
-
1:53 - 1:57and she didn't want to ask me
too many questions of how I felt, -
1:57 - 1:59and she was afraid
to put too much stress on me, -
1:59 - 2:05and my mom, she was
a seriously concerned mom, -
2:05 - 2:07no one wants to see her child sick.
-
2:07 - 2:12So she was too uncomfortable
about calling me, -
2:12 - 2:14and —
-
2:28 - 2:33so we decided that I should just call her
when I had the energy to do it. -
2:34 - 2:36But if there's someone
-
2:36 - 2:37you really want to be in charge with
when you're sick -
2:37 - 2:40is your mom and you wife.
-
2:40 - 2:42You want a thousand questions a day,
-
2:42 - 2:46and you want a thousand missed calls
from your mother a day. -
2:46 - 2:49And I heard from a lot of my friends
they say, -
2:49 - 2:51
"Yeah, we didn't want to contact you, -
2:51 - 2:53we're afraid we're going to cry
or you're going to cry, -
2:53 - 2:59we weren't certain that what we say
will be profound enough." -
2:59 - 3:03And my advice to anyone who knows
anyone who's seriously ill, -
3:03 - 3:08there's nothing you can say or do
that's wrong, -
3:08 - 3:11the only wrong you can do
it's doing nothing at all. -
3:11 - 3:15And just a small "I'm thinking of you"
is enough, -
3:16 - 3:19it doesn't have to be long [unclear].
-
3:19 - 3:22And — my mom doesn't have
a mobile or a computer, -
3:22 - 3:27so she couldn't text me or send an email,
-
3:27 - 3:30but you know we all have -
except for my mom, -
3:30 - 3:34(Laughter)
this little device here, -
3:34 - 3:36and if you know someone who's ill
-
3:36 - 3:40you know, this is accessible 24/7.
-
3:40 - 3:43Send them a text, an email,
a facebook, a twitter -
3:43 - 3:47and let them know that you are thinking
of them and their loved ones. -
3:48 - 3:52And you know I remember when I was -
-
3:53 - 3:57it wasn't always I got hundreds
of messages from friends and family -
3:57 - 4:00and it wasn't always
I had the strength to read them, -
4:00 - 4:04but on good days
you know when I turn on my phone, -
4:04 - 4:07hearing these messages coming in
and seeing them -
4:07 - 4:10you know it really kept me going
and made my day. -
4:12 - 4:15And especially the ones
that made me laugh. -
4:17 - 4:22There was few moments where I laughed
I forgot that I was ill. -
4:22 - 4:25I'll give you an example:
I had long hair -
4:25 - 4:27I had to go through chemotherapy
and lost my hair, -
4:27 - 4:31I had long hair for 20 years,
it was my brand, it was my image, -
4:32 - 4:37and I got a text from a stand-up comedian
one of my colleagues -
4:37 - 4:39with a picture of him
wearing a long hear wig, -
4:39 - 4:40(Laughter)
-
4:40 - 4:43saying, "Don't worry my friend
I'll do your gigs for you," -
4:43 - 4:45(Laughter)
-
4:45 - 4:48"And of course keep the money."
(Laughter) -
4:48 - 4:52I worked at a radio station at the moment
and my boss came round -
4:52 - 4:54with 6 chocolate balls.
-
4:54 - 4:58I had my testicles removed and —
(Laughter) -
4:58 - 5:01he thought I need a replacement
(Laughter) -
5:01 - 5:04and they're all different sizes
as he didn't know my exact size. -
5:04 - 5:06(Laughter)
-
5:08 - 5:11When I was declared cancer-free
-
5:11 - 5:14which is 1 year and 8 days ago,
-
5:14 - 5:15I posted on...
(Applause) -
5:15 - 5:20Thank you.
(Applause) -
5:20 - 5:24(Applause)
-
5:24 - 5:28And I posted it on my Facebook
enthusiastically, -
5:28 - 5:32"Yeah I beat cancer, it's so great,"
-
5:32 - 5:36and I got 4000 likes,
4000 people like my update! -
5:36 - 5:40And I showed it to my nurse,
"Look, 4000 people like my update," -
5:40 - 5:44She just looked and said,
"Well, you have 50,000 fans!" -
5:44 - 5:48(Laughter)
-
5:48 - 5:52So does that mean that 46,000
was like 'Oh, fuck'?. (Laughter) -
5:54 - 5:57And I texted all my friends and family
-
5:57 - 5:59150 to be exact,
-
5:59 - 6:02and I said,
"Yeah I'm back, I'm alive, I beat cancer." -
6:02 - 6:04and 149 wrote back,
-
6:04 - 6:08"That's amazing, that's amazing
we love you, we love life." -
6:08 - 6:12Except for one guy, my friend Uve,
from my university, -
6:13 - 6:16he wrote, "Oh dear Geo,
this is so great, good news. -
6:18 - 6:22I myself have been ill lately,
I've had a little bit of fever. -
6:23 - 6:27(Laughter)
-
6:27 - 6:29And I've also been dizzy,
but I'm all right now! -
6:29 - 6:31(Laughter)
-
6:31 - 6:33And I just booked tickets to Mexico,
It's going to be great." -
6:33 - 6:36I had to go back,
I wrote to Uve, -
6:36 - 6:37and he was,
"Yeah I've been struggling, -
6:37 - 6:40fighting against cancer
for the last 1 and half years, -
6:40 - 6:45I beat it, I might be mentally,
physically and financially broke, -
6:45 - 6:47but who cares I'm alive!"
-
6:47 - 6:50"I've been a little bit dizzy."
(Laughter) -
6:50 - 6:52But it just shows, I mean,
these four examples -
6:52 - 6:54show how extreme it can be
-
6:54 - 6:56and still, you know they all meant well,
-
6:56 - 6:59Uve meant well, his text
might have been a bit off (Laughter) -
6:59 - 7:03but it certainly made me glad
-
7:03 - 7:06and it made me laugh for sure.
(Laughter) -
7:08 - 7:11But my point is Uve did something
-
7:11 - 7:15and I see - now I've my phone out
-
7:15 - 7:17and I see you have your phones out,
-
7:17 - 7:20and I'm done here in a few seconds and -
-
7:20 - 7:23when I'm done I want you to
-
7:23 - 7:26text or call a person
who needs to hear from you. -
7:29 - 7:32And remember, you can't do
or say anything wrong -
7:32 - 7:35the only wrong you could do is
not doing anything. -
7:35 - 7:36Thank you very much.
-
7:36 - 7:40(Applause)
-
7:40 - 7:43(Cheers)
- Title:
- The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen
- Description:
-
Why do we find it so hard to communicate with people who are seriously ill? When Geo, a stand-up comedian was diagnosed with cancer he experienced in every aspect how awkward people behave when having to deal with a person who has a potentially fatal disease. How should the surroundings react? How should they communicate with a sick friend, husband or son? Geo's talk deals with this matter through his first hand experiences with the subject.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 07:57
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom commented on English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Chryssa R. Takahashi commented on English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen | ||
Ivana Korom commented on English subtitles for The only wrong you can do is not doing anything: Geo at TEDxCopenhagen |
Armando Vázquez
Hi, I'm new at this and this is my first contribution. I don't mean any disrespect and I apologize if so.
Just did a few observations and corrections from what I heard, I'm open to discussion if anyone feels so.
When he talks about his friend I think he says "über", so I added to the transcript.
Cheers
Ivana Korom
This transcript needs improvement! Please revise the guidelines and change the transcript accordingly before you submit it. You should not transcribe slips of toungue and repetitions (uhm, and.. and... and...), some lines are too long and need to be shortened.http://translations.ted.org/wiki/How_to_Tackle_a_Transcript
Chryssa R. Takahashi
The name of his friend could be Uve as it is a danish male name
babynology [dot] com/meaning-uve-m17.html
Also on 1:50 - 1:53 It should be held back, not help back
On 3:53 - 3:57 & 3:57 - 4:00 he says It wasn't always
Ivana Korom
I broke subtitles that were over 42 characters into two lines. I also fixed some line breaks in some subtitles to make the lines more balanced in length and/or to keep linguistic "wholes" together (e.g. keep the word "that" in the same line as the clause that it introduces as a relative pronoun). To learn more about why and how to break subtitles into lines, see this guide on OTPedia: http://translations.ted.org/wiki/How_to_break_lines
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