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In the time since that Atlantic Monthly story ran,
自從大西洋月刊刊載了那片文章以來，
the life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has tripled.
唐氏綜合征患者的壽命增加了兩倍。
The experience of Down syndrome people includes those who are actors,
唐氏綜合征的人有些是演員，
those who are writers, some who are able to live fully independently in adulthood.
作家，有些在成年后能完全獨立生活。
The Robards had a lot to do with that.
羅巴茲夫婦的貢獻很大。
And I said, Do you regret it?
我問他們：你們會遺憾嗎？
Do you wish your child didn't have Down syndrome?
你們希望自己的孩子沒有唐氏綜合征嗎？
Do you wish you'd never heard of it?
是否希望從未聽說過這種病癥?
And interestingly his father said,
有趣的是這位父親說，
Well, for David, our son, I regret it,
嗯，從我們的兒子大衛角度來看，我感到遺憾，
because for David, it's a difficult way to be in the world,
因為對于大衛來說，這個世界里唐氏患兒的路走得非常艱辛，
and I'd like to give David an easier life.
我想要給大衛更輕松的生活。
But I think if we lost everyone with Down syndrome, it would be a catastrophic loss.
但我認為，如果世界上不再有唐氏癥患兒，會是很大的損失。
And Karen Robards said to me, I'm with Tom.
凱倫羅巴茲說：我同意湯姆的看法。
For David, I would cure it in an instant to give him an easier life.
為了讓大衛活得更自在，我會想瞬間治愈他的唐氏綜合癥。
But speaking for myself-well, I would never have believed 23 years ago when he was born that I could come to such a point speaking for myself, it's made me so much better and so much kinder and so much more purposeful in my whole life,
但對我來說，23年前他剛出生時，我絕不相信-我能走到今天這一步，對我來說，他的病讓我成為更好，更善良的人，讓我的人生更有意義，
that speaking for myself, I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.
對我來說，這樣的經驗是世界上任何其他東西都換不來的。
We live at a point when social acceptance for these and many other conditions is on the up and up.
現代社會對這樣那樣的病癥的接受程度越來越高。
And yet we also live at the moment when our ability to eliminate those conditions has reached a height we never imagined before.
然而，此時此刻我們治愈這些病癥的能力，也已經達到一個前所未有的高度。
Most deaf infants born in the United States now will receive Cochlear implants,
現在美國新生的耳聾嬰兒都會接受人工耳蝸植入手術，
which are put into the brain and connected to a receiver,
將人工耳蝸植入大腦并連上接收器，
and which allow them to acquire a facsimile of hearing and to use oral speech.
通過接收信號，這讓他們具有聽說的能力。
