单腿人生的精彩

by Kresten Ballantyne

翻译：法比仔

单腿人生的精彩

by Kresten Ballantyne

翻译：法比仔

It was a hot summer’s day and the air was filled with the1）scent of freshly cut grass. As the2）blue jays3）fluttered their wings through the light breeze， I could hear them4）chirping a melody. I was playing in my5）backyard with some kids. My mom came out with lunch for us， and one of my friends suddenly said， “Hey， your mom is6）handicapped， she only has one leg.”

I never thought my mother was handicapped， and I never really realized that she only had one leg. As my mom served us lunch， I asked， “Mom， are you handicapped and why do you only have one leg？”

My mom put down the food and looked at all of us with a big smile. She was not7）offended. She almost knew the question was coming. She sat down and rested her8）crutch against the picnic table. My friends and I surrounded her as she began to tell her story about the loss of her leg.

1） scent ［sent］ n. 气味

2） blue jay 冠蓝鸦

3） flutter ［'flʌtə］ v.（鸟）拍翅振翼

4） chirp ［tʃʒːp］ v.（鸟）吱吱叫

5） backyard ［bæk'jɑːd］ n. 后院

6） handicapped ［'hændɪkæpt］ adj. 残疾的

7） offended ［ə'fendɪd］ adj. 生气的

8） crutch ［krʌtʃ］ n. 拐杖

She said it all started with a fall. The fall showed that she had cancer. I was not really sure what that cancer was. My mother explained that when she was five， she was playing around with her9）stuffed animals. She was running when she10）tripped over them and hurt her leg. My grandmother took her to the doctors but nothing came back to show that there was a problem. The doctor told my grandmother that there was something11）definitely going on in her leg. However， the hospital in her home town did not have the12）equipment to make a13）diagnosis.

In Boston， the doctors14）ran a15）biopsy test. The doctor in her home town was right， it was bad—she had cancer. They said the cancer was in her16）femur just above her17）knee cap. They would have to do an18）emergency surgery to remove her leg before the cancer19）spread to any of her20）vital organs. The next day， they cut her leg off. My mom said she was only five then and did not really know what was going to happen next. When she woke up from the surgery， she had a long pole for a leg. My mom said she could feel her leg and the pain， but when she touched it， there was just a cold pole.

For over two years， she had to go back and forth to Boston.21）Every other week， she would get something called22）chemotherapy. She explained that this was a drug that killed the good and bad cells， and that made her very sick. The chemotherapy would make her lose all her hair on the top of her head.

As my mom told us the story with my friends all around， all I could think of was that my mom was the strongest person in the world. I tried to imagine her as a little kid and bald without any hair. It was scary， because when I looked at her， she was beautiful to me.

She told us that she got married then and had us six kids. She loved taking us23）hiking in the Yellowstone National Park注. I asked her if she was handicapped， and she said that she never felt that way because she was able to do whatever any other person could. After we ate our lunch， my mom played with us. I watched her lean on her crutch so she could kick the ball with her foot. My mom kicked it so hard that it went flying over the24）fence， and she kicked a25）home run that day.

I watched my mom and I said to myself，none of the other moms come out to play with us. The other boys may see that my mom only has one leg， but to me， she has just what she needs.

9） stuffed animal 填充动物玩具

10） trip over 被……绊倒

11） definitely ［'defɪnɪtlɪ］ adv. 无疑

12） equipment ［ɪ'kwɪpmənt］ n. 设备

13） diagnosis ［,daɪəg'nəJsɪs］ n. 诊断

14） run ［rʌn］ v. 进行

15） biopsy ［'baɪɒpsɪ］ n. 活组织切片检查

16） femur ［'fiːmə］ n. 大腿骨，腿节

17） knee cap 膝盖骨

18） emergency surgery 紧急手术

19） spread ［spred］ v. 蔓延，扩散

20） vital organ 生命器官，重要器官

21） every other 每隔一个的

22） chemotherapy ［,kiːməJ'θerəpɪ］ n. 化疗

23） hike ［haɪk］ v. 长途徒步旅行

24） fence ［fens］ n. 栅栏，篱笆

25） home run 全垒打

那是个炎热的夏日，空气中弥漫着刚刚修剪过的青草的香味。冠蓝鸦在微风中挥动着翅膀，我能听到它们鸣唱的旋律。我正在后院和一些小孩子玩耍，妈妈为我们端来了午餐。我的一个朋友忽然说道：“嘿，你妈妈是残疾的啊，她只有一条腿哦。”

我从不认为我的妈妈是残疾的，我也从来没有真正意识到她只有一条腿。正当我妈妈为我们端上午餐的时候，我问道：“妈妈，你是残疾的吗？为什么你只有一条腿呢？”

妈妈放下手中的食物，笑容满面地看着我们。她并没有生气，仿佛知道迟早会面对这个问题。她坐下来，把拐杖靠在了野餐桌边上。我和我的小伙伴们围着她，她便开始讲述那个关于她失去一条腿的故事。

她说这一切全都始于一次摔倒，那次摔倒表明她患了癌症。我实际上并不清楚什么是癌症。妈妈解释说，在她五岁那年，有天她正玩着毛绒动物玩具，她在乱跑的时候被它们绊倒摔伤了腿。我的外婆带她去看医生，却没有检查出任何问题。医生告诉外婆，妈妈的腿里一定存在着某种毛病。然而，家乡的医院还没有设备能够诊断出结果。

在波士顿，医生给她做了一个活组织切片检查。妈妈家乡的医生说得没错，情况真的不容乐观—她患了癌症。他们说癌细胞在她略高于膝盖骨的股骨位置，他们必须做个紧急手术，切除掉她的腿，以防癌细胞扩散到其他重要器官上。第二天，他们切除了她的腿。我妈妈说她当时只有五岁，完全不知道接下来会发生些什么。当妈妈术后初醒，她的一条腿已经变成了一根长杆。妈妈说，她能感觉到她腿上的疼痛，但是，当她往下触摸的时候，所剩的只是一根冰冷的长杆。

自那以后两年多的时间里，她必须在波士顿和家乡之间来回奔走。每隔一周，她便要接受化疗。她说这是一种可以同时杀死好细胞与坏细胞的药物，那让她十分难受。化疗会让她头顶上的头发都掉光。

当我妈妈告诉我们这个故事的时候，我所能想到的，便是我妈妈是这个世界上最坚强的人。我努力地想象着她变成秃顶小孩的样子。那真是可怕，因为当我看着她时，她是如此美丽。

她告诉我们，后来她结了婚，还有了我们这六个孩子。她喜欢带着我们在黄石国家公园里远足。我问妈妈她是不是残疾了，她说她从来没有那样想过，因为她能够做到任何其他人所能做的事情。午餐过后，妈妈和我们一块儿玩了起来。我看着妈妈在靠着她的拐杖踢球，她还用了很大的力气，把球踢出了栅栏。那天，她踢出了个全垒打。

看着妈妈，我心想，其他小孩的妈妈都不会出来和我们一起玩的。或许其他小伙伴所看到的是我妈妈只有一条腿，但在我看来，她已经拥有了她所需要的一切。

注： 美国黄石国家公园（Yellowstone National Park），简称黄石公园，被分为五个区，主要位于美国怀俄明州，部分位于蒙大拿州和爱达荷州。1872年3月1日，它被正式列为保护野生动物和自然资源的国家公园，于1978年被列入世界自然遗产名录。这是世界上第一个最大的国家公园。

She Only Has One Leg