0:00:00.492,0:00:05.698
Life is about opportunities --[br]creating them and embracing them.

0:00:05.722,0:00:08.809
And for me, that was the Olympic dream.

0:00:08.833,0:00:11.638
That's what defined me. That was my bliss.

0:00:12.511,0:00:15.677
As a cross-country skier[br]and member of the Australian ski team

0:00:15.701,0:00:17.808
headed towards the Winter Olympics,

0:00:17.832,0:00:21.212
I was on a training bike ride[br]with my fellow teammates.

0:00:21.936,0:00:25.540
As we made our way up[br]towards the spectacular Blue Mountains

0:00:25.564,0:00:26.715
west of Sydney,

0:00:26.739,0:00:29.179
it was the perfect autumn day:

0:00:29.203,0:00:33.365
sunshine, the smell[br]of eucalypt and a dream.

0:00:33.389,0:00:34.634
Life was good.

0:00:35.257,0:00:37.861
We'd been on our bikes[br]for around five-and-a-half hours

0:00:37.885,0:00:40.311
when we got to the part[br]of the ride that I loved,

0:00:40.335,0:00:43.056
and that was the hills,[br]because I loved the hills.

0:00:43.080,0:00:46.981
I got up off the seat of my bike[br]and I started pumping my legs,

0:00:47.005,0:00:50.823
and as I sucked in the cold mountain air,[br]I could feel it burning my lungs,

0:00:50.847,0:00:53.953
and I looked up to see[br]the sun shining in my face.

0:00:55.430,0:00:56.998
And then everything went black.

0:00:58.362,0:01:00.691
Where was I? What was happening?

0:01:01.151,0:01:03.541
My body was consumed by pain.

0:01:04.953,0:01:07.668
I'd been hit by a speeding utility truck

0:01:07.692,0:01:10.227
with only 10 minutes[br]to go on the bike ride.

0:01:10.895,0:01:14.166
I was airlifted from the scene[br]of the accident by a rescue helicopter

0:01:14.190,0:01:16.461
to a large spinal unit in Sydney.

0:01:16.485,0:01:19.231
I had extensive[br]and life-threatening injuries.

0:01:20.108,0:01:23.234
I'd broken my neck[br]and my back in six places.

0:01:23.909,0:01:26.201
I broke five ribs on my left side.

0:01:26.225,0:01:29.009
I broke my right arm.[br]I broke my collarbone.

0:01:29.033,0:01:30.878
I broke some bones in my feet.

0:01:31.410,0:01:34.405
My whole right side was ripped open,[br]filled with gravel.

0:01:34.429,0:01:36.810
My head was cut open[br]across the front, lifted back,

0:01:36.834,0:01:38.507
exposing the skull underneath.

0:01:38.531,0:01:40.633
I had head injures.[br]I had internal injuries.

0:01:40.657,0:01:41.987
I had massive blood loss.

0:01:42.011,0:01:44.090
In fact, I lost[br]about five liters of blood,

0:01:44.114,0:01:46.669
which is all someone my size[br]would actually hold.

0:01:46.693,0:01:50.263
By the time the helicopter arrived[br]at Prince Henry Hospital in Sydney,

0:01:50.287,0:01:52.867
my blood pressure was 40 over nothing.

0:01:54.209,0:01:55.987
I was having a really bad day.

0:01:56.011,0:02:02.342
(Laughter)

0:02:03.259,0:02:07.176
For over 10 days, I drifted[br]between two dimensions.

0:02:07.910,0:02:10.399
I had an awareness of being in my body,

0:02:10.423,0:02:12.675
but also being out of my body,[br]somewhere else,

0:02:12.699,0:02:15.722
watching from above,[br]as if it was happening to someone else.

0:02:15.746,0:02:19.104
Why would I want to go back[br]to a body that was so broken?

0:02:19.593,0:02:21.912
But this voice kept calling me:

0:02:22.388,0:02:24.130
"Come on, stay with me."

0:02:24.663,0:02:26.932
"No, it's too hard."

0:02:27.566,0:02:29.867
"Come on. This is our opportunity."

0:02:30.464,0:02:34.477
"No. That body is broken.[br]It can no longer serve me."

0:02:34.501,0:02:38.426
"Come on. Stay with me. We can do it.[br]We can do it together."

0:02:39.711,0:02:41.253
I was at a crossroads.

0:02:41.877,0:02:45.539
I knew if I didn't return to my body,[br]I'd have to leave this world forever.

0:02:46.695,0:02:48.406
It was the fight of my life.

0:02:49.903,0:02:54.043
After 10 days, I made the decision[br]to return to my body.

0:02:54.931,0:02:57.316
And the internal bleeding stopped.

0:02:59.045,0:03:02.137
The next concern[br]was whether I would walk again,

0:03:02.161,0:03:04.471
because I was paralyzed[br]from the waist down.

0:03:04.962,0:03:08.154
They said to my parents[br]that the neck break was a stable fracture,

0:03:08.178,0:03:09.919
but the back was completely crushed:

0:03:09.943,0:03:13.329
the vertebra at L1[br]was like you'd dropped a peanut,

0:03:13.353,0:03:16.444
stepped on it, smashed it[br]into thousands of pieces.

0:03:16.468,0:03:17.860
They'd have to operate.

0:03:19.043,0:03:21.382
They went in. They put me on a beanbag.

0:03:21.406,0:03:23.490
They cut me -- literally cut me in half.

0:03:23.514,0:03:25.948
I have a scar that wraps[br]around my entire body.

0:03:26.966,0:03:29.717
They picked as much[br]broken bone as they could

0:03:29.741,0:03:31.418
that had lodged in my spinal cord.

0:03:31.442,0:03:35.376
They took out two of my broken ribs[br]and they rebuilt my back --

0:03:35.400,0:03:38.043
L1, they rebuilt it,[br]they took out another broken rib,

0:03:38.067,0:03:41.456
they fused T12, L1 and L2 together.

0:03:41.480,0:03:44.661
Then they stitched me up;[br]they took an entire hour to stitch me up.

0:03:44.685,0:03:46.314
I woke up in intensive care,

0:03:46.338,0:03:49.970
and the doctors were really excited[br]that the operation had been a success,

0:03:49.994,0:03:52.565
because at that stage,[br]I had a little bit of movement

0:03:52.589,0:03:53.747
in one of my big toes,

0:03:53.771,0:03:56.811
and I thought, "Great,[br]because I'm going to the Olympics!"

0:03:56.835,0:03:58.871
(Laughter)

0:03:58.895,0:04:00.501
I had no idea.

0:04:00.525,0:04:04.057
That's the sort of thing that happens[br]to someone else, not me, surely.

0:04:04.081,0:04:06.462
But then the doctor[br]came over to me and she said,

0:04:06.486,0:04:09.296
"Janine, the operation was a success,

0:04:09.320,0:04:13.058
and we've picked as much bone[br]out of your spinal cord as we could.

0:04:13.082,0:04:14.471
But the damage is permanent.

0:04:14.495,0:04:17.543
The central nervous system[br]nerves -- there is no cure.

0:04:18.121,0:04:20.416
You're what we call a partial paraplegic,

0:04:20.440,0:04:23.408
and you'll have all of the injuries[br]that go along with that.

0:04:23.432,0:04:26.295
You'll have no feeling[br]from the waist down,

0:04:26.319,0:04:29.346
and at most, you might get[br]10 or 20 percent return.

0:04:30.124,0:04:32.758
You'll have internal injuries[br]for the rest of your life.

0:04:32.782,0:04:35.517
You'll have to use a catheter[br]for the rest of your life.

0:04:36.351,0:04:40.678
And if you walk again, it will be[br]with calipers and a walking frame."

0:04:40.702,0:04:41.877
And then she said,

0:04:41.901,0:04:45.027
"Janine, you'll have to rethink[br]everything you do in your life,

0:04:45.051,0:04:48.722
because you're never going to be able[br]to do the things you did before."

0:04:48.746,0:04:49.823
(Gasps)

0:04:49.847,0:04:52.259
I tried to grasp what she was saying.

0:04:52.283,0:04:55.000
I was an athlete. That's all I knew.[br]That's all I'd done.

0:04:55.024,0:04:57.828
If I couldn't do that,[br]then what could I do?

0:04:57.852,0:04:59.662
And the question I asked myself is:

0:04:59.686,0:05:01.163
If I couldn't do that,

0:05:02.088,0:05:03.357
then who was I?

0:05:07.655,0:05:11.125
They moved me from intensive care[br]to acute spinal.

0:05:11.149,0:05:13.379
I was lying on a thin, hard spinal bed.

0:05:13.403,0:05:14.864
I had no movement in my legs.

0:05:14.888,0:05:18.236
I had tight stockings on[br]to protect from blood clots.

0:05:18.260,0:05:21.127
I had one arm in plaster,[br]one arm tied down by drips.

0:05:21.151,0:05:24.127
I had a neck brace and sandbags[br]on either side of my head

0:05:24.151,0:05:26.097
and I saw my world through a mirror

0:05:26.121,0:05:28.195
that was suspended above my head.

0:05:29.100,0:05:32.553
I shared the ward with five other people,

0:05:32.577,0:05:33.879
and the amazing thing is,

0:05:33.903,0:05:37.449
because we were all lying paralyzed[br]in a spinal ward,

0:05:37.473,0:05:39.879
we didn't know[br]what each other looked like.

0:05:39.903,0:05:41.697
How amazing is that?

0:05:41.721,0:05:47.855
How often in life do you get to make[br]friendships, judgment-free,

0:05:47.879,0:05:49.845
purely based on spirit?

0:05:50.800,0:05:53.433
And there were[br]no superficial conversations

0:05:53.457,0:05:56.507
as we shared our innermost[br]thoughts, our fears,

0:05:56.531,0:05:59.483
and our hopes for life[br]after the spinal ward.

0:06:01.101,0:06:04.953
I remember one night,[br]one of the nurses came in, Jonathan,

0:06:04.977,0:06:08.027
with a whole lot of plastic straws.

0:06:08.051,0:06:10.313
He put a pile on top[br]of each of us, and he said,

0:06:10.337,0:06:12.513
"Start threading them together."

0:06:13.185,0:06:16.463
Well, there wasn't much else to do[br]in the spinal ward, so we did.

0:06:16.487,0:06:17.512
(Laughter)

0:06:17.536,0:06:20.353
And when we'd finished,[br]he went around silently

0:06:20.377,0:06:25.693
and he joined all of the straws up[br]till it looped around the whole ward.

0:06:25.717,0:06:26.884
And then he said,

0:06:26.908,0:06:29.752
"OK everybody, hold on to your straws."

0:06:30.245,0:06:33.027
And we did. And he said, "Right ...

0:06:33.953,0:06:35.868
Now we're all connected."

0:06:37.469,0:06:41.708
And as we held on and we breathed as one,

0:06:42.773,0:06:45.343
we knew we weren't on this journey alone.

0:06:47.033,0:06:50.759
And even lying paralyzed[br]in the spinal ward ...

0:06:51.742,0:06:54.935
there were moments of incredible[br]depth and richness,

0:06:54.959,0:06:57.435
of authenticity and connection

0:06:58.243,0:07:00.641
that I had never experienced before.

0:07:02.449,0:07:05.476
And each of us knew[br]that when we left the spinal ward,

0:07:07.237,0:07:08.892
we would never be the same.

0:07:12.286,0:07:15.024
After six months, it was time to go home.

0:07:15.950,0:07:19.442
I remember Dad pushing me[br]outside in my wheelchair,

0:07:19.466,0:07:21.600
wrapped in a plaster body cast,

0:07:22.408,0:07:25.606
and feeling the sun on my face[br]for the first time.

0:07:25.630,0:07:27.029
I soaked it up and I thought,

0:07:27.053,0:07:30.281
"How could I ever[br]have taken this for granted?"

0:07:31.470,0:07:34.201
I felt so incredibly grateful for my life.

0:07:35.203,0:07:36.583
But before I left hospital,

0:07:36.607,0:07:39.639
the head nurse had said to me,[br]"Janine, I want you to be ready,

0:07:39.663,0:07:42.348
because when you get home,[br]something's going to happen."

0:07:42.372,0:07:43.537
And I said, "What?"

0:07:43.561,0:07:46.274
And she said, "You're going[br]to get depressed."

0:07:46.298,0:07:49.284
And I said, "Not me,[br]not Janine the Machine,"

0:07:49.308,0:07:51.022
which was my nickname.

0:07:51.046,0:07:54.129
She said, "You are, because,[br]see, it happens to everyone.

0:07:54.153,0:07:58.404
In the spinal ward, that's normal.[br]You're in a wheelchair. That's normal.

0:07:58.428,0:08:02.023
But you're going to get home[br]and realize how different life is."

0:08:02.690,0:08:04.086
And I got home.

0:08:05.052,0:08:06.729
And something happened.

0:08:08.641,0:08:10.714
I realized Sister Sam was right.

0:08:11.999,0:08:13.388
I did get depressed.

0:08:14.943,0:08:16.696
I was in my wheelchair.

0:08:16.720,0:08:18.573
I had no feeling from the waist down,

0:08:18.597,0:08:20.050
attached to a catheter bottle.

0:08:20.074,0:08:21.224
I couldn't walk.

0:08:21.813,0:08:23.980
I'd lost so much weight in hospital,

0:08:24.004,0:08:26.576
I now weighed about 80 pounds.

0:08:28.050,0:08:29.886
And I wanted to give up.

0:08:29.910,0:08:33.982
All I wanted to do was put my running[br]shoes on and run out the door.

0:08:34.006,0:08:37.165
I wanted my old life back.[br]I wanted my body back.

0:08:37.189,0:08:39.591
And I can remember[br]Mom sitting on the end of my bed

0:08:39.615,0:08:42.597
and saying, "I wonder if life[br]will ever be good again."

0:08:43.585,0:08:45.511
And I thought, "How could it?

0:08:46.321,0:08:49.826
Because I've lost[br]everything that I valued,

0:08:49.850,0:08:51.959
everything that I'd worked towards.

0:08:51.983,0:08:53.133
Gone."

0:08:54.993,0:08:58.809
And the question I asked was,[br]"Why me? Why me?"

0:08:59.911,0:09:01.437
And then I remembered

0:09:02.731,0:09:05.752
my friends that were still[br]in the spinal ward,

0:09:05.776,0:09:07.086
particularly Maria.

0:09:07.887,0:09:09.348
Maria was in a car accident,

0:09:09.372,0:09:11.297
and she woke up on her 16th birthday

0:09:11.321,0:09:14.416
to the news that she was[br]a complete quadriplegic,

0:09:14.440,0:09:16.709
had no movement from the neck down,

0:09:16.733,0:09:19.731
had damage to her vocal chords,[br]and she couldn't talk.

0:09:20.747,0:09:23.100
They told me, "We're going[br]to move you next to her

0:09:23.124,0:09:25.160
because we think it will be good for her."

0:09:26.193,0:09:29.926
I was worried. I didn't know[br]how I'd react to being next to her.

0:09:30.703,0:09:34.569
I knew it would be challenging,[br]but it was actually a blessing,

0:09:34.593,0:09:39.412
because Maria always smiled.

0:09:39.436,0:09:44.172
She was always happy,[br]and even when she began to talk again,

0:09:44.196,0:09:49.428
albeit difficult to understand,[br]she never complained, not once.

0:09:50.198,0:09:55.200
And I wondered how had she ever[br]found that level of acceptance.

0:09:55.758,0:10:00.025
And I realized[br]that this wasn't just my life;

0:10:00.571,0:10:01.834
it was life itself.

0:10:02.409,0:10:06.819
I realized that this wasn't just my pain;[br]it was everybody's pain.

0:10:07.314,0:10:10.160
And then I knew, just like before,

0:10:10.184,0:10:13.962
that I had a choice:[br]I could keep fighting this,

0:10:14.944,0:10:19.547
or I could let go[br]and accept not only my body,

0:10:19.571,0:10:21.965
but the circumstances of my life.

0:10:23.055,0:10:25.720
And then I stopped asking, "Why me?"

0:10:26.476,0:10:28.805
And I started to ask, "Why not me?"

0:10:29.932,0:10:32.224
And then I thought to myself,

0:10:32.248,0:10:36.879
maybe being at rock bottom[br]is actually the perfect place to start.

0:10:41.396,0:10:44.415
I had never before thought of myself[br]as a creative person.

0:10:44.439,0:10:47.600
I was an athlete; my body was a machine.

0:10:48.513,0:10:52.935
But now I was about to embark[br]on the most creative project

0:10:52.959,0:10:54.943
that any of us could ever do:

0:10:54.967,0:10:56.802
that of rebuilding a life.

0:10:57.992,0:11:01.427
And even though I had absolutely[br]no idea what I was going to do,

0:11:01.451,0:11:04.691
in that uncertainty came[br]a sense of freedom.

0:11:05.619,0:11:07.898
I was no longer tied to a set path.

0:11:08.605,0:11:13.504
I was free to explore[br]life's infinite possibilities.

0:11:14.258,0:11:18.388
And that realization[br]was about to change my life.

0:11:20.595,0:11:25.184
Sitting at home in my wheelchair[br]and my plaster body cast,

0:11:25.208,0:11:27.351
an airplane flew overhead.

0:11:28.482,0:11:32.153
I looked up, and I thought[br]to myself, "That's it!

0:11:32.875,0:11:35.621
If I can't walk,[br]then I might as well fly."

0:11:35.645,0:11:36.660
(Laughter)

0:11:36.684,0:11:39.313
I said, "Mom, I'm going[br]to learn how to fly."

0:11:39.337,0:11:41.091
She said, "That's nice, dear."

0:11:41.115,0:11:43.190
(Laughter)

0:11:43.214,0:11:45.585
I said, "Pass me the yellow pages."

0:11:45.609,0:11:48.342
She passed me the phone book,[br]I rang up the flying school,

0:11:48.366,0:11:51.187
I said I'd like to make a booking[br]to come out for a flight.

0:11:51.211,0:11:53.527
They said, "When do you want to come out?"

0:11:53.551,0:11:57.121
I said, "Well, I have to get a friend[br]to drive me because I can't drive.

0:11:57.145,0:11:59.539
Sort of can't walk, either.[br]Is that a problem?"

0:11:59.563,0:12:01.213
I made a booking, and weeks later,

0:12:01.237,0:12:04.010
my friend Chris and my mom[br]drove me out to the airport,

0:12:04.034,0:12:06.432
all 80 pounds of me covered[br]in a plaster body cast

0:12:06.456,0:12:07.890
in a baggy pair of overalls.

0:12:07.914,0:12:09.012
(Laughter)

0:12:09.036,0:12:11.792
I can tell you, I did not[br]look like the ideal candidate

0:12:11.816,0:12:13.182
to get a pilot's license.

0:12:13.206,0:12:14.800
(Laughter)

0:12:14.824,0:12:17.277
I'm holding on to the counter[br]because I can't stand.

0:12:17.301,0:12:19.365
I said, "Hi, I'm here[br]for a flying lesson."

0:12:19.389,0:12:23.023
They took one look and ran[br]out the back to draw short straws.

0:12:23.047,0:12:25.990
"You get her." "No, no, you take her."

0:12:26.014,0:12:29.209
Finally a guy goes, "Hi, I'm Andrew.[br]I'm going to take you flying."

0:12:29.233,0:12:30.407
I go, "Great!"

0:12:30.431,0:12:32.126
They get me out on the tarmac,

0:12:32.150,0:12:35.618
and there was this red, white and blue[br]airplane -- it was beautiful.

0:12:35.642,0:12:39.428
They had to slide me up on the wing[br]to put me in the cockpit.

0:12:39.452,0:12:42.211
They sat me down. There are buttons[br]and dials everywhere.

0:12:42.235,0:12:45.840
I'm going, "Wow, how do you ever know[br]what all these buttons and dials do?"

0:12:45.864,0:12:48.515
Andrew got in the front,[br]started the plane, and said,

0:12:48.539,0:12:50.517
"Would you like to have a go at taxiing?"

0:12:50.541,0:12:53.287
That's when you use your feet[br]to control the rudder pedals

0:12:53.311,0:12:55.158
to control the airplane on the ground.

0:12:55.182,0:12:57.057
I said, "No, I can't use my legs."

0:12:57.081,0:12:58.264
He went, "Oh."

0:12:58.288,0:13:01.090
I said, "But I can use[br]my hands," and he said, "OK."

0:13:01.114,0:13:04.047
So he got over to the runway,[br]and he applied the power.

0:13:04.071,0:13:06.291
And as we took off down the runway,

0:13:06.315,0:13:10.015
and the wheels lifted up off the tarmac,[br]and we became airborne,

0:13:11.062,0:13:14.689
I had the most incredible[br]sense of freedom.

0:13:15.665,0:13:17.212
And Andrew said to me,

0:13:18.237,0:13:20.093
as we got over the training area,

0:13:20.974,0:13:22.888
"You see that mountain over there?"

0:13:23.250,0:13:24.793
And I said, "Yeah."

0:13:24.817,0:13:29.294
And he said, "Well, you take the controls,[br]and you fly towards that mountain."

0:13:29.318,0:13:31.777
And as I looked up, I realized

0:13:31.801,0:13:35.242
that he was pointing[br]towards the Blue Mountains,

0:13:35.266,0:13:36.969
where the journey had begun.

0:13:38.496,0:13:40.075
And I took the controls,

0:13:40.899,0:13:42.342
and I was flying.

0:13:42.978,0:13:45.916
And I was a long, long way[br]from that spinal ward.

0:13:45.940,0:13:48.531
I knew right then[br]that I was going to be a pilot.

0:13:49.713,0:13:52.345
Didn't know how on Earth[br]I'd ever pass a medical.

0:13:52.369,0:13:53.479
(Laughter)

0:13:53.503,0:13:56.758
But I'd worry about that later,[br]because right now, I had a dream.

0:13:56.782,0:14:00.156
So I went home, I got a training[br]diary out, and I had a plan.

0:14:01.084,0:14:03.803
And I practiced my walking[br]as much as I could,

0:14:03.827,0:14:06.523
and I went from the point[br]of two people holding me up ...

0:14:07.573,0:14:09.134
to one person holding me up ...

0:14:09.970,0:14:12.438
to the point where I could[br]walk around the furniture

0:14:12.462,0:14:14.197
as long as it wasn't too far apart.

0:14:14.221,0:14:15.958
And then I made great progression,

0:14:15.982,0:14:18.268
to the point where I could walk[br]around the house,

0:14:18.292,0:14:19.982
holding onto the walls, like this.

0:14:20.425,0:14:22.656
And Mom said she was forever following me,

0:14:22.680,0:14:24.179
wiping off my fingerprints.

0:14:24.203,0:14:26.552
(Laughter)

0:14:26.576,0:14:28.716
But at least she always knew where I was.

0:14:28.740,0:14:30.818
(Laughter)

0:14:30.842,0:14:33.315
So while the doctors continued to operate

0:14:33.339,0:14:35.391
and put my body back together again,

0:14:35.415,0:14:37.236
I went on with my theory study.

0:14:38.069,0:14:42.395
And then eventually, amazingly,[br]I passed my pilot's medical,

0:14:42.419,0:14:44.627
and that was my green light to fly.

0:14:44.651,0:14:47.469
And I spent every moment I could[br]out at that flying school,

0:14:47.493,0:14:49.047
way out of my comfort zone,

0:14:49.071,0:14:52.142
all these young guys that wanted[br]to be Qantas pilots, you know,

0:14:52.166,0:14:55.095
and little old hop-along me[br]in first my plaster cast,

0:14:55.119,0:14:57.594
and then my steel brace,[br]my baggy overalls,

0:14:57.618,0:15:01.194
my bag of medication[br]and catheters and my limp.

0:15:01.218,0:15:02.832
They use to look at me and think,

0:15:02.856,0:15:06.134
"Oh, who is she kidding?[br]She's never going to be able to do this."

0:15:06.158,0:15:07.942
And sometimes I thought that, too.

0:15:07.966,0:15:09.569
But that didn't matter,

0:15:09.593,0:15:12.375
because now there was something[br]inside that burned

0:15:12.399,0:15:15.415
that far outweighed my injuries.

0:15:16.431,0:15:18.721
And little goals[br]kept me going along the way,

0:15:18.745,0:15:21.619
and eventually I got[br]my private pilot's license.

0:15:22.222,0:15:26.407
Then I learned to navigate,[br]and I flew my friends around Australia.

0:15:27.352,0:15:30.303
And then I learned to fly[br]an airplane with two engines

0:15:30.327,0:15:32.129
and I got my twin-engine rating.

0:15:32.746,0:15:36.056
And then I learned to fly in bad weather[br]as well as fine weather,

0:15:36.080,0:15:37.879
and got my instrument rating.

0:15:38.569,0:15:41.236
And then I got[br]my commercial pilot's license.

0:15:41.260,0:15:43.488
And then I got my instructor rating.

0:15:44.298,0:15:47.158
And then I found myself[br]back at that same school

0:15:47.182,0:15:49.650
where I'd gone for that very first flight,

0:15:49.674,0:15:51.554
teaching other people how to fly ...

0:15:52.678,0:15:56.792
just under 18 months[br]after I'd left the spinal ward.

0:15:56.816,0:16:03.816
(Applause)

0:16:06.579,0:16:08.634
(Applause ends)

0:16:08.658,0:16:10.661
And then I thought, "Why stop there?

0:16:10.685,0:16:12.707
Why not learn to fly upside down?"

0:16:12.731,0:16:13.833
(Laughter)

0:16:13.857,0:16:16.643
And I did, and I learned[br]to fly upside down

0:16:16.667,0:16:18.992
and became an aerobatics[br]flying instructor.

0:16:19.016,0:16:20.864
(Laughter)

0:16:20.888,0:16:23.871
And Mom and Dad? Never been up.

0:16:23.895,0:16:27.363
(Laughter)

0:16:27.387,0:16:32.616
But then I knew for certain[br]that although my body might be limited,

0:16:32.640,0:16:35.402
it was my spirit that was unstoppable.

0:16:38.420,0:16:40.759
The philosopher Lao Tzu once said,

0:16:41.743,0:16:43.742
"When you let go of what you are,

0:16:43.766,0:16:46.251
you become what you might be."

0:16:47.197,0:16:52.473
I now know that it wasn't until I let go[br]of who I thought I was

0:16:52.497,0:16:55.581
that I was able to create[br]a completely new life.

0:16:56.480,0:17:00.718
It wasn't until I let go[br]of the life I thought I should have ...

0:17:01.861,0:17:04.866
that I was able to embrace[br]the life that was waiting for me.

0:17:06.272,0:17:08.921
I now know that my real strength

0:17:08.945,0:17:11.007
never came from my body.

0:17:12.341,0:17:17.240
And although my physical capabilities[br]have changed dramatically,

0:17:17.264,0:17:20.303
who I am is unchanged.

0:17:21.415,0:17:25.267
The pilot light inside of me[br]was still alight,

0:17:25.291,0:17:28.171
just as it is in each and every one of us.

0:17:30.262,0:17:32.062
I know that I'm not my body.

0:17:33.244,0:17:35.637
And I also know that you're not yours.

0:17:36.812,0:17:40.966
And then it no longer matters[br]what you look like,

0:17:40.990,0:17:44.461
where you come from,[br]or what you do for a living.

0:17:45.397,0:17:51.081
All that matters is that we continue[br]to fan the flame of humanity

0:17:51.105,0:17:55.035
by living our lives[br]as the ultimate creative expression

0:17:55.059,0:17:57.132
of who we really are,

0:17:58.607,0:18:00.677
because we are all connected

0:18:01.324,0:18:04.226
by millions and millions of straws.

0:18:06.059,0:18:08.832
And it's time to join those up

0:18:08.856,0:18:10.175
and to hang on.

0:18:10.901,0:18:14.139
And if we are to move[br]towards our collective bliss ...

0:18:15.155,0:18:17.711
it's time we shed our focus[br]on the physical

0:18:17.735,0:18:21.097
and instead embrace[br]the virtues of the heart.

0:18:21.121,0:18:23.849
So raise your straws if you'll join me.

0:18:24.704,0:18:25.854
(Applause)

0:18:25.878,0:18:27.039
Thank you.

0:18:27.063,0:18:32.110
(Applause)

0:18:32.134,0:18:33.460
Thank you.

0:18:33.484,0:18:37.230
(Applause)