Janet James was 22 years old when she was diagnosed with MS - a disease that attacks the body's nerves.
22岁那年,珍妮特·詹姆士被诊断出患有多发性硬化症——一种影响人体神经系统的疾病。
She has just graduated from college and got a job at an advertising agency
她刚刚大学毕业,已在广告公司找到了一份工作,
when she began to sense that something strange was going on inside her body.
但这时,她开始感觉到自己的体内正发生着一些奇怪的变化。
When James realized how severe her illness was, she knew she had better hurry up and live life.
当詹姆士意识到疾病的严重性之后,她知道自己应该加快脚步,活出自己的人生。
MS is the biggest crippler of young adults.
多发性硬化症是年轻人残疾的最大敌人。
And although she didn't have many symptoms, she knew it was just a matter of time.
尽管症状还不明显,但她知道这只是时间问题。
First on her agenda was to pursue her dream of hosting a pop music programme.
她计划的第一步就是追求自己的梦想——主持一个流行音乐节目。
She worked at a radio station for a year, always aware that her body was degenerating.
她在广播电台工作了一年,期间,身体的恶化一直伴随着她。
Then her best friend moved away.
之后,她最好的朋友离开了。
And one night James began screaming, "I got to go! I got to go!"
一天晚上,詹姆士突然喊道:“我必须离开这里!我必须离开这里!”
Two weeks later, she arrived in Alaska, thousands of miles from her friends, her family and her past.
两周以后,她来到了阿拉斯加,将千山万水隔在了自己与朋友、与家人、与自己的过去之间。
"Everything fell into place," she recalls.
“一切的一切都已安置妥当。”她回忆道。
A 23-year-old girl with an incurable disease can fly to Alaska and everything can work out.
一个罹患不治之症的23岁女孩能够独自飞到阿拉斯加,那么任何事情对她来说都不算难事。
The MS attacks came and went.
多发性硬化症时不时地侵扰着詹姆士。
And most of the time they hardly slowed her down.
大多数时候,它们都无法阻挡她前行的脚步。
James hiked, fished, learnt to sail and experimented with hot air ballooning.
詹姆士不但远足、钓鱼,还学会了航海、尝试了热气球飞行。
"I lived for adventure," she says.
“我为冒险而活,”她说。
"Nobody ever had a better time or did more exotic strange things than I did in an 8-year period."
“没有人像我一样在八年时间里过得如此快乐、获得了如此多奇妙的体验。”
Inevitably however, the day came when she was so weakened that she had to return to Pittsburgh, her hometown.
然而这一天终究还是到来了。由于过于虚弱,她不得不回到自己的家乡——匹兹堡。
There she began relieving her adventures by writing a book about them.
她在那儿开始写书,讲述自己的冒险经历。
Her book was published in 1993.
她的书出版于1993年。