just then the attendant appeared from the back of the store shouting, "lady, get down on the floor. i've just been robbed and shot at!"
這時一名服務員從店後面走出來叫到：“小姐，過來一下，我剛才被打劫了，他們還向我開了槍。”
sharon quickly dropped to the floor screaming, "have you seen my boyfriend? he has auburn hair." the man did not reply but went back to the cooler where he found me choking on my vomit. the attendant quickly cleaned my mouth and then called for the police and an ambulance.
沙倫跌跌撞撞地過來哭喊到：“你見到我的男朋友了嗎?長褐色頭髮的。” 那人默默走到冷凍機旁，找到了我，此時嘔吐快令到我窒息了。他趕忙幫我擦乾了嘴，叫了警察和救護車。
sharon was in shock. she was beginning to understand that i was hurt, but she could not begin to comprehend or imagine the severity of my injury.
沙倫被嚇壞了。漸漸地她才明白我受傷了，但是她根本想像不到傷勢的嚴重性。
when the police arrived they immediately called the homicide division as they did not think i would survive and the paramedic reported that she had never seen a person so severely wounded survive. at 1:30 a.m. my parents who lived in houston, were awakened by a telephone call from brackenridge hospital advising them to come to austin as soon as possible for they feared i would not make it through the night.
警察來了，他們很快斷定是殺人案，因為沒人相信我還能活過來，而救護人員說她從來沒有見過傷勢如此嚴重的人可以逃離死劫。下午一點半，我住在奧斯汀的父母被來自布萊肯瑞吉醫院的電話鈴驚醒，醫院通知他們儘快趕到奧斯汀，因為他們認為我熬不過當晚了。
but i did make it through the night and early in the morning the neurosurgeon decided to operate. however, he quickly informed my family and sharon that my chances of surviving the surgery were only 40/60. if this were not bad enough, the neurosurgeon further shocked my family by telling them what life would be like for me if i beat the odds and survived. he said i probably would never walk, talk, or be able to understand even simple commands.
但那晚我挺了過來，第二天清晨神經外科醫生決定給我動手術。但他立即告知我的家人和沙倫我存活的機會只有百分之四十。然後他還雪上加霜地告訴我的家人，向他們描述如果我萬幸活下來將面臨怎樣的生活——我可能再也不會走路了，不會說話了，甚至不能理解一些極其簡單的命令。這些對我的家人來說都是莫大的打擊。
my family was hoping and praying to hear even the slightest bit of encouragement from that doctor. instead, his pessimistic words gave my family no reason to believe that i would ever again be a productive member of society. but once again i beat the odds and survived the three and a half hours of surgery. granted, i still could not talk, my entire right side was paralyzed and many people thought i could not understand, but at least i was stable. after one week in a private room the doctors felt i had improved enough to be transferred by jet ambulance to del oro rehabilitation hospital in houston.
本來家裡人祈望能從醫生的口中聽到一點點鼓勵的話，而他悲觀的言語讓他們沒理由相信我還會成為一個對社會有用的人。在經歷了三個半小時的手術之後，我再次僥倖地活了下來。醫生的話得到了應驗，我不能說話，整個右邊的身體癱瘓了，許多人認為我變傻了，但至少我身體狀況是穩定的。在私人看護病房裡呆了一個星期後，醫生覺得我已經好轉了許多，並可以坐救護飛機轉到奧斯汀的德歐洛康復醫院。
my hallucinations, coupled with my physical problems, made my prognosis still very bleak. however, as time passed my mind began to clear and approximately six weeks later my right leg began to move ever so slightly. within seven weeks my right arm slowly began to move and at eight weeks i uttered my first few words. my speech was extremely difficult and slow in the beginning, but at least it was a beginning. i was starting to look forward to each new day to see how far i would progress. but just as i thought my life was finally looking brighter i was tested by the hospital euro-psychologist. she explained to me that judging from my test results she believed that i should not focus on returning to college but that it would be better to set more "realistic goals."
意識上的幻覺和生理上的病疾使我的病情預斷非常的渺茫。然而時間的飛逝使我的意識開始變得清晰，大約六個星期以後我的右腿可以輕微地活動了，七周以後我的右臂開始緩慢地活動了，八周以後我終於開口說話了。說話對於我非常地艱難並且開始的時候說得很慢，但是總算是開頭了。我開始寄希望於新的一天的到來，祈望著新的進步。但正當我以為生活總算初露光明的時候，醫院裡有個歐洲來的心理學家對我做了測試。她向我解釋到，從檢測的結果來看她堅信我不能再重返學校，勸我對此不要抱有任何希望，希望我最好樹立些更現實點的目標。
upon hearing her evaluation i became furious for i thought, "who is she to tell me what i can or cannot do. she does not even know me. i am a very determined and stubborn person!" i believe it was at that very moment that i decided i would somehow, someday return to college.
她的這番結論讓我怒不可遏，“她是誰，憑什麼告訴我能做什麼或不能做什麼。她根本不了解我。我是很堅強而固執的人!”我相信就在那時我決定無論如何，總有一天我會返回學校的。
it took me a long time and a lot of hard work but i finally returned to the university of texas in the fall of 1983 -- a year and a half after almost dying. the next few years in austin were very difficult for me, but i truly believe that in order to see beauty in life you have to experience some unpleasantness. maybe i have experienced too much unpleasantness, but i believe in living each day to the fullest, and doing the very best i can. and each new day was very busy and very full, for besides attending classes at the university i underwent therapy three to five days each week at brackenridge hospital. if this were not enough i flew to houston every other weekend to work with tom williams, a trainer and executive who had worked for many colleges and professional teams and also had helped many injured athletes, such as earl campbell and eric dickerson. through tom i learned: "nothing is impossible and never, never give up or quit."
在經歷了一年半垂死掙扎的生活後，在漫長的等待和艱辛的付出後，終於在1983年的秋天，我返回了德克薩斯大學。在奧斯汀接下來的幾年裡我生活得非常艱難，但我確信為了看到生活中的真善美你必須要經歷一些苦難。也許我經歷的苦難太多了，但我有一個信念——充實地過每一天，盡力做到最好。日子過的很繁忙、很充實，除了讀書，每周我還在要在布萊肯瑞吉醫院接受三到五次的治療。如果這還不夠忙的話，我還要隔周和湯姆·威廉斯飛到奧斯汀工作。湯姆是一個教練兼主管，他曾效力於許多大學校隊和職業聯隊，並幫助過許多受傷的運動員，如：厄爾·坎貝爾和艾立克·迪克森。從湯姆的身上我學到“沒有什麼是不可能的，千萬千萬不要放棄，永不放棄。”
early, during my therapy, my father kept repeating to me one of his favorite sayings. i have repeated it almost every day since being hurt: "mile by mile it's a trial; yard by yard it's hard; but inch by inch it's a cinch."
早在我接受治療的時候，父親總是重複他最愛的那句話，每天當我感到痛苦的時候我也對自己重複那句話，那就是“腳踏實地，切勿急功近利。”
i thought of those words, and i thought of tom, my family and sharon who believed so strongly in me as i climbed the steps to receive my diploma from the dean of liberal arts at the university of texas on that bright sunny afternoon in june of 1986. excitement and pride filled my heart as i heard the dean announce that i had graduated with "highest honors", been elected to phi beta kappa, and been chosen as one of 12 dean's distinguished graduates out of 1600 in the college of liberal arts. the overwhelming emotions and feelings that i experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing ovation, i felt would never again be matched in my life-not even when i graduated with a masters degree in social work and not even when i became employed full time at the texas pain and stress center. but i was wrong!
1986年六月那個陽光明媚的午後，當我步履蹣跚地走上德克薩斯大學迪安文學院的台階接受文憑的時候，我思索著這些話，想到湯姆、父母還有沙倫，他們都那么堅定地給予了我信任。當我聽到院長宣布我以最高榮譽畢業時，我的心中充滿了驕傲和自信。接著他還宣布我被選入美國大學優等生榮譽學會，並在1600名畢業生中當選為12名迪安文學院的傑出畢業生之一。當場有許多觀眾站起來為我鼓掌，那一刻令我心潮澎湃、百感交集。我甚至覺得生命中不可能再經歷那樣的感慨和激情，這種想法一直延續到我獲得社會學的碩士學位，成為德克薩斯止痛減壓中心的一名全職工作人員。但幸運之神再次眷顧了我!