Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast
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0:05 - 0:07If your life were a book
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0:07 - 0:11and you were the author,
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0:11 - 0:14how would you want your story to go?
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0:15 - 0:18That's the question
that changed my life forever. -
0:19 - 0:22Growing up in a hot Last Vegas desert,
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0:22 - 0:24all I wanted was to be free.
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0:25 - 0:29I would daydream about
travelling the world, -
0:29 - 0:32living in a place where it snowed
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0:32 - 0:35and I would picture all of the stories
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0:35 - 0:38that I would go on to tell.
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0:38 - 0:40At the age of nineteen,
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0:40 - 0:43the day after I graduated high school,
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0:43 - 0:46I moved to a place where it snowed
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0:46 - 0:48and I became a massage therapist.
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0:48 - 0:51With this job all I needed were my hands
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0:51 - 0:54and my massage table by my side
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0:54 - 0:57and I could go anywhere.
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0:57 - 1:00For the first time in my life,
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1:00 - 1:03I felt free, independent
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1:04 - 1:08and completely in control of my life.
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1:09 - 1:12That is until my life took a detour.
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1:14 - 1:16I went home from work early one day
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1:16 - 1:18with what I thought was the flu
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1:19 - 1:21and less than 24 hours later
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1:22 - 1:24I was in a hospital
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1:24 - 1:26on life support,
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1:26 - 1:28with less than a 2% chance of living.
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1:29 - 1:31It wasn't until days later
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1:31 - 1:34as I lay in a coma
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1:34 - 1:36that the doctors diagnosed me
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1:36 - 1:39with bacterial meningitis,
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1:39 - 1:42a vaccine-preventable blood infection.
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1:44 - 1:46Over the course of two and a half months
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1:46 - 1:49I lost my spleen, my kidneys,
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1:50 - 1:52the hearing in my left ear
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1:52 - 1:55and both of my legs below the knee.
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1:57 - 2:00When my parents
wheeled me out of the hospital -
2:00 - 2:03I felt like I had been
pieced back together -
2:03 - 2:05like a patchwork doll.
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2:06 - 2:08I thought the worst was over
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2:09 - 2:11until weeks later when I saw my new legs
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2:11 - 2:13for the first time.
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2:13 - 2:17The calves were bulky blocks of metal
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2:18 - 2:21with pipes bolted together for the ankles
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2:22 - 2:24and a yellow rubber foot
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2:24 - 2:27with the raised rubber line
from the toe to the ankle -
2:27 - 2:30to look like a vein.
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2:30 - 2:33I didn't know what to expect
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2:33 - 2:36but I wasn't expecting that.
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2:36 - 2:39With my mum by my side
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2:39 - 2:43and tears streaming down our faces
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2:45 - 2:48I strapped on these chunky legs
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2:48 - 2:51and I stood up.
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2:51 - 2:55They were so painful and so confining
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2:55 - 2:58that all I could think was
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2:58 - 3:00how am I ever going to travel the world
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3:00 - 3:02in these things?
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3:02 - 3:04How was I ever going to live
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3:04 - 3:07the life full of adventures and stories
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3:07 - 3:09as I always wanted?
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3:09 - 3:13And how was I going to snowboard again?
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3:14 - 3:17That day, I went home, I crawled into bed
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3:17 - 3:19and this is what my life looked like
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3:19 - 3:21for the next few months.
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3:21 - 3:25Me passed out, escaping from reality
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3:26 - 3:29with my legs resting by my side.
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3:30 - 3:36I was absolutely, physically
and emotionally broken. -
3:38 - 3:42But I knew that in order to move forward,
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3:42 - 3:46I had to let go of the old Amy
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3:47 - 3:51and learn to embrace the new Amy.
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3:53 - 3:56And that is when it dawned on me
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3:56 - 3:59that I didn't have to be 5,5 ft. anymore.
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4:01 - 4:03I could be as tall as I wanted!
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4:03 - 4:07(Laughter) (Applause)
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4:09 - 4:12Or as short as I wanted
depending on who I was dating. -
4:12 - 4:14(Laughter)
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4:14 - 4:17And if I snowboarded again,
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4:17 - 4:18my feet aren't going to get cold.
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4:18 - 4:20(Laughter)
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4:20 - 4:22And best of all, I thought
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4:22 - 4:26I can make my feet the size
of all the shoes -
4:26 - 4:29that are on the sales rack
(Laughter) -
4:29 - 4:30and I did!
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4:31 - 4:33So there were benefits here.
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4:33 - 4:36It was this moment that I asked myself
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4:36 - 4:38that life defining question:
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4:39 - 4:41if my life were a book
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4:41 - 4:44and I were the author,
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4:44 - 4:46how would I want the story to go?
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4:47 - 4:49And I began to daydream.
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4:49 - 4:52I daydreamed like I did as a little girl
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4:52 - 4:55and I imagined myself
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4:55 - 4:58walking gracefully,
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4:58 - 5:00helping other people through my journey
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5:00 - 5:03and snowboarding again.
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5:03 - 5:05And I didn't just see myself
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5:05 - 5:07carving down a mountain of powder,
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5:07 - 5:10I could actually feel it.
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5:10 - 5:13I could feel the wind against my face
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5:13 - 5:16and the beat of my racing heart
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5:16 - 5:20as if it were happening
in that very moment. -
5:21 - 5:24And that is when a new chapter
in my life began. -
5:27 - 5:31Four months later
I was back up on a snowboard, -
5:31 - 5:33although things didn't go
quite as expected: -
5:33 - 5:36my knees and my ankles wouldn't bend
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5:36 - 5:40and at one point I traumatized
all the skiers on the chair lift -- -
5:41 - 5:45(Laughter)
when I fell and my legs, -
5:45 - 5:47still attached to my snowboard --
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5:47 - 5:51(Laughter)
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5:51 - 5:54went flying down the mountain --
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5:54 - 5:57and I was on top of the mountain still.
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5:57 - 5:59(Laughter)
I was so shocked, -
5:59 - 6:03I was just as shocked as everybody else,
and I was so discouraged, -
6:03 - 6:07but I knew that if I could find
the right pair of feet -
6:07 - 6:09I would be able to do this again.
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6:09 - 6:12And this is when I learned
that our borders -
6:12 - 6:15and our obstacles
can only do two things: -
6:16 - 6:19one, stop us in our tracks
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6:19 - 6:22or two, force us to get creative.
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6:23 - 6:26I did a year research,
still couldn't figure out -
6:26 - 6:27what kind of legs to use,
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6:27 - 6:30couldn't find any resources
that could help me. -
6:30 - 6:32So I decided to make a pair myself.
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6:33 - 6:36My leg maker and I
put random parts together -
6:36 - 6:39and we made a pair of feet
that I could snowboard in. -
6:39 - 6:41As you can see,
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6:41 - 6:45rusted bolts, rubber,
wood and neon pink duct tape. -
6:48 - 6:51And yes, I can change my toe nail polish.
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6:51 - 6:53It was these legs
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6:53 - 6:57and the best 21st birthday gift
I could ever receive - -
6:57 - 6:59a new kidney from my dad -
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6:59 - 7:02that allowed me to follow my dreams again.
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7:02 - 7:04I started snowboarding,
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7:04 - 7:06then I went back to work,
and back to school. -
7:06 - 7:10Then in 2005 I co-founded
a non-profit organization -
7:10 - 7:13for youth and young adults
with physical disabilities -
7:13 - 7:16so they could get involved
with action sports. -
7:16 - 7:20From there, I had the opportunity to go
to South Africa -
7:20 - 7:23where I helped to put shoes
on thousands of children's feet -
7:23 - 7:25so they could attend school.
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7:25 - 7:28And just this past February,
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7:28 - 7:32I won two back to back
World Cup gold medals - -
7:32 - 7:37(Applause)
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7:41 - 7:43- which made me
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7:43 - 7:46the highest ranked
adaptive female snowboarder -
7:46 - 7:48in the world.
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7:48 - 7:5111 years ago, when I lost my legs,
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7:51 - 7:54I had no idea what to expect.
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7:54 - 7:56But if you ask me today,
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7:56 - 7:58if I would ever want to
change my situation, -
7:58 - 8:01I would have to say no.
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8:01 - 8:03Because my legs haven't disabled me,
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8:03 - 8:06if anything they've enabled me.
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8:06 - 8:09They forced me to rely on my imagination
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8:09 - 8:12and to believe in the possibilities,
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8:12 - 8:14and that's why I believe
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8:14 - 8:16that our imaginations can be used as tools
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8:16 - 8:18for breaking through borders
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8:18 - 8:21because in our minds,
we can do anything -
8:21 - 8:24and we can be anything.
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8:24 - 8:26It's believing in those dreams
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8:26 - 8:29and facing our fears head on
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8:29 - 8:31that allows us to live our lives
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8:31 - 8:34beyond our limits.
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8:34 - 8:38And although today is about
innovation without borders, -
8:38 - 8:41I have to say that in my life,
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8:41 - 8:43innovation has only been possible
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8:43 - 8:46because of my borders.
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8:47 - 8:50I've learned that borders are where
the actual ends -
8:51 - 8:54but also where the imagination
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8:54 - 8:56and the story begins.
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8:57 - 8:59So the thought that
I'd like to challenge you with today -
9:00 - 9:04is that maybe instead of
looking at our challenges and limitations -
9:04 - 9:07as something negative or bad,
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9:07 - 9:10we can begin to look at them as blessings,
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9:10 - 9:14magnificent gifts that can be used
to ignite our imaginations -
9:16 - 9:19and help us go further
than we ever knew we could go. -
9:21 - 9:25It's not about breaking down borders.
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9:25 - 9:28It's about pushing off of them
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9:28 - 9:31and seeing what amazing places
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9:31 - 9:33they might bring us.
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9:33 - 9:34Thank you.
(Applause)
- Title:
- Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast
- Description:
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Amy Purdy talks about the power of imagination. She explains how our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by the choices we make. Imagination allows us to break down borders, to move beyond our circumstances, to create and constantly progress.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 09:37
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Ivana Korom commented on English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Elena Montrasio accepted English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Elena Montrasio edited English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast | ||
Paola B edited English subtitles for Living Beyond Limits: Amy Purdy at TEDxOrangeCoast |
Ivana Korom
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