生命以驚嘆號開始，以奇跡的形態綻放……

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，憑什么告訴我能做什么或不能做什么。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.

在經歷了一年半垂死掙扎的生活后，在漫長的等待和艱辛的付出后，終于在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里我生活得非常艱難，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。

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."

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，他曾效力于許多大學校隊和職業聯隊，并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“沒有什么是不可能的，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，父親總是重復他最愛的那句話，每天當我感到痛苦的時候我也對自己重復那句話，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.

1986年六月那個陽光明媚的午后，當我步履蹣跚地走上德克薩斯大學迪安文學院的臺階接受文憑的時候，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，并在1600名畢業生中當選為12名迪安文學院的杰出畢業生之一。

The overwhelming emotions and feelings that I experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing 17)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!

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！