0:00:00.841,0:00:03.007
I'm actually going to share[br]something with you

0:00:03.031,0:00:05.928
I haven't talked about[br]probably in more than 10 years.

0:00:05.952,0:00:08.976
So bear with me as I take you[br]through this journey.

0:00:09.622,0:00:11.097
When I was 22 years old,

0:00:11.121,0:00:14.623
I came home from work,[br]put a leash on my dog

0:00:14.647,0:00:16.401
and went for my usual run.

0:00:17.353,0:00:19.040
I had no idea that at that moment,

0:00:19.064,0:00:20.976
my life was going to change forever.

0:00:21.675,0:00:24.405
While I was preparing my dog for the run,

0:00:25.222,0:00:28.372
a man was finishing drinking at a bar,

0:00:28.396,0:00:30.737
picked up his car keys, got into a car

0:00:30.761,0:00:32.293
and headed south,

0:00:32.317,0:00:33.991
or wherever he was.

0:00:35.276,0:00:36.824
I was running across the street,

0:00:36.848,0:00:39.028
and the only thing[br]that I actually remember

0:00:39.052,0:00:41.519
is feeling like a grenade[br]went off in my head.

0:00:42.218,0:00:45.900
And I remember[br]putting my hands on the ground

0:00:45.924,0:00:47.786
and feeling my life's blood

0:00:47.810,0:00:51.238
emptying out of my neck and my mouth.

0:00:53.218,0:00:55.398
What had happened is, he ran a red light

0:00:55.422,0:00:56.999
and hit me and my dog.

0:00:57.563,0:00:59.585
She ended up underneath the car.

0:01:00.897,0:01:02.458
I flew out in front of the car,

0:01:02.482,0:01:04.672
and then he ran over my legs.

0:01:04.696,0:01:06.918
My left leg got caught up[br]in the wheel well --

0:01:06.942,0:01:08.215
spun it around.

0:01:11.192,0:01:13.255
The bumper of the car hit my throat,

0:01:13.279,0:01:14.779
slicing it open.

0:01:15.724,0:01:17.690
I ended up with blunt chest trauma.

0:01:18.348,0:01:22.341
Your aorta comes up behind your heart,[br]it's your major artery --

0:01:22.365,0:01:27.202
and it was severed, so my blood[br]was gurgling out of my mouth.

0:01:27.226,0:01:30.821
It foamed, and ... horrible things[br]were happening to me.

0:01:33.201,0:01:34.891
I had no idea what was going on,

0:01:34.915,0:01:36.566
but strangers intervened,

0:01:37.899,0:01:40.088
kept my heart moving, beating.

0:01:40.500,0:01:42.786
I say "moving," because it was quivering,

0:01:42.810,0:01:45.476
and they were trying to put[br]a beat back into it.

0:01:45.810,0:01:48.771
Somebody was smart[br]and put a Bic pen in my neck

0:01:48.795,0:01:52.129
to open up my airway,[br]so I could get some air in there.

0:01:52.153,0:01:53.476
And my lung collapsed,

0:01:53.500,0:01:56.475
so somebody cut me open[br]and put a pen in there as well,

0:01:56.499,0:02:01.773
to stop that catastrophic[br]event from happening.

0:02:03.597,0:02:05.793
Somehow I ended up at the hospital.

0:02:05.817,0:02:07.080
I was wrapped in ice,

0:02:07.104,0:02:10.122
and then eventually put[br]into a drug-induced coma.

0:02:12.170,0:02:14.591
Eighteen months later, I woke up.

0:02:15.610,0:02:17.476
I was blind, I couldn't speak

0:02:17.500,0:02:19.389
and I couldn't walk.

0:02:19.413,0:02:21.245
I was 64 pounds.

0:02:25.285,0:02:29.272
The hospital really has no idea[br]what to do with people like that.

0:02:29.296,0:02:32.066
And in fact, they started[br]to call me a "gomer."

0:02:32.500,0:02:34.956
That's another story[br]we won't even get into.

0:02:36.433,0:02:39.766
I had so many surgeries[br]to put my neck back together,

0:02:39.790,0:02:41.476
to repair my heart a few times.

0:02:41.500,0:02:44.018
Some things worked, some things didn't.

0:02:44.042,0:02:45.933
I had lots of titanium put in me;

0:02:45.957,0:02:47.369
cadaver bones,

0:02:47.393,0:02:50.171
to try to get my feet[br]moving the right way.

0:02:50.670,0:02:52.395
And I ended up with a plastic nose,

0:02:52.419,0:02:54.609
porcelain teeth[br]and all kinds of other things.

0:02:54.633,0:02:57.011
But eventually,[br]I started to look human again.

0:02:59.780,0:03:00.930
But ...

0:03:03.841,0:03:06.085
It's hard sometimes[br]to talk about these things,

0:03:06.109,0:03:07.377
so bear with me.

0:03:08.293,0:03:10.671
I had more than 50 surgeries.

0:03:10.695,0:03:12.296
But who's counting?

0:03:12.320,0:03:14.103
(Laughter)

0:03:14.127,0:03:17.374
So eventually, the hospital decided[br]it was time for me to go.

0:03:17.398,0:03:20.232
They needed to open up[br]space for somebody else

0:03:20.256,0:03:23.476
that they thought could come back

0:03:23.500,0:03:26.476
from whatever they were going through.

0:03:26.500,0:03:29.358
Everybody lost faith in me[br]being able to recover.

0:03:29.898,0:03:32.937
So they basically put a map[br]up on the wall, threw a dart,

0:03:32.961,0:03:35.956
and it landed at a senior home,[br]here in Colorado.

0:03:37.500,0:03:39.739
And I know all of you[br]are scratching your head:

0:03:39.763,0:03:40.990
"A senior citizens' home?

0:03:41.014,0:03:43.144
What in the world[br]are you going to do there?"

0:03:43.168,0:03:45.599
But if you think about[br]all of the skills and talent

0:03:45.623,0:03:48.171
that are in this room right now,

0:03:48.195,0:03:50.234
that's what a senior home has.

0:03:50.258,0:03:52.320
So there were all these skills and talents

0:03:52.344,0:03:53.827
that these seniors had.

0:03:54.300,0:03:57.165
The one advantage[br]they had over most of you

0:03:57.189,0:03:58.340
is wisdom,

0:03:58.364,0:04:00.554
because they had a long life.

0:04:01.110,0:04:03.704
And I needed that wisdom[br]at that moment in my life.

0:04:04.355,0:04:06.151
But imagine what it was like for them

0:04:06.175,0:04:08.072
when I showed up at their doorstep.

0:04:09.017,0:04:12.580
At that point, I had gained[br]four pounds, so I was 68 pounds.

0:04:13.001,0:04:14.244
I was bald.

0:04:14.879,0:04:16.886
I was wearing hospital scrubs.

0:04:16.910,0:04:19.577
And somebody donated tennis shoes for me.

0:04:19.601,0:04:22.770
And I had a white cane in one hand

0:04:22.794,0:04:25.802
and a suitcase full of medical[br]records in another hand.

0:04:26.183,0:04:28.374
So the senior citizens realized

0:04:28.398,0:04:30.690
that they needed to have[br]an emergency meeting.

0:04:30.714,0:04:32.476
(Laughter)

0:04:32.500,0:04:35.476
So they pulled back[br]and they were looking at each other,

0:04:35.500,0:04:39.571
and they were going, "OK,[br]what skills do we have in this room?

0:04:39.595,0:04:41.730
This kid needs a lot of work."

0:04:42.269,0:04:47.078
So they eventually started[br]matching their talents and skills

0:04:47.102,0:04:48.476
to all of my needs.

0:04:49.015,0:04:51.175
But one of the first things[br]they needed to do

0:04:51.199,0:04:53.374
was assess what I needed right away.

0:04:53.398,0:04:56.537
I needed to figure out how to eat[br]like a normal human being,

0:04:56.561,0:04:59.902
since I'd been eating[br]through a tube in my chest

0:04:59.926,0:05:01.476
and through my veins.

0:05:01.500,0:05:04.703
So I had to go[br]through trying to eat again.

0:05:04.727,0:05:06.476
And they went through that process.

0:05:06.909,0:05:08.476
And then they had to figure out:

0:05:08.500,0:05:10.251
"Well, she needs furniture.

0:05:10.275,0:05:13.356
She is sleeping in the corner[br]of this apartment."

0:05:13.380,0:05:15.476
So they went to their storage lockers

0:05:15.500,0:05:17.476
and all gathered their extra furniture --

0:05:17.500,0:05:19.641
gave me pots and pans, blankets --

0:05:21.038,0:05:22.214
everything.

0:05:23.317,0:05:26.795
And then the next thing that I needed

0:05:26.819,0:05:27.985
was a makeover.

0:05:28.296,0:05:29.446
(Laughter)

0:05:29.470,0:05:31.025
So out went the green scrubs,

0:05:31.049,0:05:33.915
and in came the polyester[br]and floral prints.

0:05:33.939,0:05:38.230
(Laughter)

0:05:38.254,0:05:40.362
We're not going to talk[br]about the hairstyles

0:05:40.386,0:05:43.464
they tried to force on me[br]once my hair grew back.

0:05:44.003,0:05:45.738
But I did say no to the blue hair.

0:05:45.762,0:05:47.895
(Laughter)

0:05:49.317,0:05:52.993
So eventually, what went on is,

0:05:53.017,0:05:55.897
they decided that, well,[br]I need to learn to speak.

0:05:55.921,0:05:57.725
You can't be an independent person

0:05:57.749,0:06:00.476
if you're not able to speak[br]and you can't see.

0:06:00.500,0:06:03.417
So they figured not being able[br]to see is one thing,

0:06:03.441,0:06:05.019
but they need to get me to talk.

0:06:05.500,0:06:08.476
So while Sally, the office manager,

0:06:08.500,0:06:10.396
was teaching me to speak in the day --

0:06:10.420,0:06:14.545
it's hard, because when you're a kid,[br]you take things for granted.

0:06:14.569,0:06:16.266
You learn things unconsciously.

0:06:16.290,0:06:19.757
But for me, I was an adult[br]and it was embarrassing,

0:06:19.781,0:06:23.683
and I had to learn how to coordinate[br]my new throat with my tongue

0:06:23.707,0:06:26.476
and my new teeth and my lips,

0:06:26.500,0:06:28.971
and capture the air and get the word out.

0:06:28.995,0:06:30.823
So, I acted like a two-year-old,

0:06:30.847,0:06:32.583
and refused to work.

0:06:34.152,0:06:36.640
But the men had a better idea.

0:06:36.664,0:06:38.986
They were going to make it fun for me.

0:06:39.010,0:06:42.785
So they were teaching me[br]cuss-word Scrabble at night.

0:06:42.809,0:06:45.924
(Laughter)

0:06:47.112,0:06:50.742
And then, secretly,[br]how to swear like a sailor.

0:06:50.766,0:06:51.779
(Laughter)

0:06:51.803,0:06:55.611
I'm going to just leave it[br]to your imagination

0:06:55.635,0:06:58.151
as to what my first words were --

0:06:58.175,0:06:59.166
(Laughter)

0:06:59.190,0:07:02.167
when Sally finally got[br]my confidence built.

0:07:02.191,0:07:04.380
(Laughter)

0:07:04.404,0:07:06.404
So I moved on from there.

0:07:06.428,0:07:09.604
And a former teacher[br]who happened to have Alzheimer's

0:07:09.628,0:07:11.959
took on the task of teaching me to write.

0:07:13.356,0:07:15.673
The redundancy was actually good for me.

0:07:15.697,0:07:17.476
So, we'll just keep moving on.

0:07:17.500,0:07:21.710
(Laughter)

0:07:24.369,0:07:26.564
One of the pivotal times for me

0:07:26.588,0:07:29.255
was actually learning[br]to cross the street again

0:07:29.279,0:07:30.921
as a blind person.

0:07:32.000,0:07:33.469
So close your eyes.

0:07:34.261,0:07:37.155
Now imagine you have to cross a street.

0:07:37.179,0:07:39.742
You don't know how far that street is,

0:07:40.861,0:07:43.476
and you don't know[br]if you're going straight.

0:07:43.500,0:07:46.059
And you hear cars whizzing back and forth,

0:07:46.908,0:07:48.476
and you had a horrible accident

0:07:48.500,0:07:50.793
that landed you in this situation.

0:07:51.293,0:07:53.847
So there were two obstacles[br]I had to get through.

0:07:54.500,0:07:57.289
One was post-traumatic stress disorder.

0:07:57.932,0:08:01.693
Every time I approached[br]the corner or the curb,

0:08:01.717,0:08:03.004
I would panic.

0:08:03.028,0:08:04.829
And the second one

0:08:04.853,0:08:07.987
was actually trying to figure out[br]how to cross that street.

0:08:08.500,0:08:11.386
So one of the seniors just came up to me,

0:08:11.410,0:08:14.742
and she pushed me[br]up to the corner and said,

0:08:14.766,0:08:17.761
"When you think it's time to go,[br]just stick the cane out there.

0:08:17.785,0:08:19.612
If it's hit, don't cross the street."

0:08:19.636,0:08:25.131
(Laughter)

0:08:25.155,0:08:26.580
Made perfect sense.

0:08:26.604,0:08:27.741
(Laughter)

0:08:27.765,0:08:31.354
But by the third cane[br]that went whizzing across the road --

0:08:31.378,0:08:32.729
(Laughter)

0:08:32.753,0:08:35.810
they realized that they needed[br]to put their resources together,

0:08:35.834,0:08:37.304
and they raised funds

0:08:37.328,0:08:39.415
so that I could go[br]to the Braille Institute

0:08:39.439,0:08:44.036
and actually gain the skills[br]to be a blind person,

0:08:44.060,0:08:46.058
and also to go get a guide dog,

0:08:46.082,0:08:47.452
who transformed my life.

0:08:47.955,0:08:49.724
And I was able to return to college

0:08:49.748,0:08:53.476
because of the senior citizens[br]who invested in me,

0:08:53.500,0:08:56.633
and also the guide dog[br]and skill set I had gained.

0:08:57.500,0:08:59.770
Ten years later, I gained my sight back.

0:08:59.794,0:09:01.183
Not magically --

0:09:01.865,0:09:04.834
I opted in for three surgeries,

0:09:04.858,0:09:06.728
and one of them was experimental.

0:09:06.752,0:09:08.476
It was actually robotic surgery

0:09:08.500,0:09:10.998
that removed a hematoma[br]from behind my eye.

0:09:13.096,0:09:17.925
The biggest change for me[br]was that the world moved forward,

0:09:17.949,0:09:21.991
that there were innovations[br]and all kinds of new things --

0:09:22.015,0:09:23.944
cellphones, laptops,

0:09:23.968,0:09:26.615
all these things[br]that I had never seen before.

0:09:26.639,0:09:28.291
And as a blind person,

0:09:28.315,0:09:30.834
your visual memory fades,

0:09:30.858,0:09:34.876
and is replaced with how you[br]feel about things

0:09:34.900,0:09:36.719
and how things sound

0:09:36.743,0:09:38.100
and how things smell.

0:09:39.500,0:09:41.986
So one day, I was in my room

0:09:42.010,0:09:44.083
and I saw this thing sitting in my room.

0:09:44.107,0:09:45.476
I thought it was a monster,

0:09:45.500,0:09:47.615
so I was walking around it.

0:09:47.639,0:09:49.641
And I go, "I'm just going to touch it."

0:09:49.665,0:09:51.047
And I touched it and I went,

0:09:51.071,0:09:53.189
"Oh my God, it's a laundry basket."

0:09:54.332,0:09:57.214
(Laughter)

0:09:58.217,0:10:02.253
Everything is different[br]when you're a sighted person,

0:10:02.277,0:10:03.939
because you take that for granted.

0:10:03.963,0:10:07.974
But when you're blind,[br]you have the tactile memory for things.

0:10:08.815,0:10:11.364
The biggest change for me[br]was looking down at my hands

0:10:11.388,0:10:14.208
and seeing that I'd lost[br]10 years of my life.

0:10:15.301,0:10:18.360
I thought that time[br]had stood still for some reason

0:10:18.384,0:10:20.218
and moved on for family and friends.

0:10:20.242,0:10:21.726
But when I looked down,

0:10:21.750,0:10:24.320
I realized that time[br]marched on for me, too,

0:10:24.344,0:10:26.068
and that I needed to get caught up.

0:10:26.092,0:10:27.567
So I got going on it.

0:10:29.167,0:10:33.087
We didn't have words like "crowdsourcing"[br]and "radical collaboration"

0:10:33.111,0:10:34.476
when I had my accident.

0:10:34.853,0:10:36.616
But the concept held true --

0:10:36.640,0:10:39.053
people working with people to rebuild me;

0:10:39.077,0:10:41.886
people working with people[br]to reeducate me.

0:10:41.910,0:10:43.727
I wouldn't be standing here today

0:10:43.751,0:10:47.476
if it wasn't for extreme[br]radical collaboration.

0:10:47.500,0:10:48.794
Thank you so much.

0:10:48.818,0:10:52.301
(Applause)