Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 Monday came, the last day before Lucas would be allowed back on the field. He'd been crossing out the days on his calendar, counting down. Mom picked him up early from school for a doctor's appointment — she wanted him checked out before he was cleared to play. "I'm fine," Lucas said. "Can't you tell?" Lucas lifted his arm and flexed his bicep. Mom laughed. "You look incredible." Mom had decided to take him to a new doctor. "I hear he's the best," she said. "We were lucky he

第四章2001年9月10日星期一到了，这是卢卡斯被允许重返球场的最后一天。 他一直在划掉日历上的日子，倒计时。 妈妈很早就去学校接他去看医生了——她想在他能上场之前给他检查一下。 “我很好，”卢卡斯说。“你看不出来吗?”卢卡斯抬起手臂，弯了弯肱二头肌。 妈妈笑了。“你看起来棒极了。” 妈妈决定带他去看一位新医生。 “我听说他是最棒的，”她说。 “我们很幸运，他

could fit you in." His name was Dr. Barrett. With his blond crew cut and huge shoulders, he looked more like a linebacker than a doctor. Dr. Barrett brought Lucas into an exam room and checked him over — looking in his eyes, listening to his heart and lungs. He asked him to walk across the room with one foot in front of the other. Lucas was sure he passed all the tests. After the exam, Dr. Barrett waved Mom and Lucas back into his office. The wall was covered with framed diplomas and pictures of football players. Lucas looked at a photo of a rough- looking man in a Denver Broncos uniform. "That's Dan Brock," Dr. Barrett said. "Have you heard of him?" The name was familiar, but Lucas didn't know why. "He was All-American at the University of Wisconsin, then a third-round pick for the NFL." Dr. Barrett pointed to the next photo in the row, a big smiling man with a busted-up nose and chubby baby cheeks. "That's Tyrus Vallone," he said. "He was a star tackle at Florida State, and then he played ten

你可以进去。”他的名字是博士。 巴雷特。他留着金色的平头，宽阔的肩膀，看起来更像一个后卫，而不是医生。 巴雷特医生把卢卡斯带进检查室，仔细检查了他的眼睛，听了他的心肺。 他让他一只脚走在另一只脚前面，穿过房间。 卢卡斯确信他通过了所有的测试。 检查结束后，巴雷特医生挥手示意妈妈和卢卡斯回到他的办公室。 墙上挂满了装裱好的文凭和足球运动员的照片。 卢卡斯看了看一张照片，照片上是一个穿着丹佛野马队制服的长相粗糙的男人。 “那是丹·布洛克，”巴雷特博士说。 “你听说过他吗?”这个名字很熟悉，但卢卡斯不知道为什么。 “他在威斯康辛大学(University of Wisconsin)是全美最佳球员，然后在美国国家橄榄球联盟(NFL)第三轮被选中。” 巴雷特医生指了指那一排的下一张照片，那是一个身材高大、微笑着的男人，鼻子翘起，脸颊圆滚滚。 “那是泰瑞斯·瓦隆，”他说。 “他是佛罗里达州立大学的明星铲球手，然后他打了十次

years for Green Bay." There were three other pictures on the wall. It was only the last one that Lucas recognized. "Is that Stan Walsh? Didn't he… isn't he…" He was dead. He had died just a few months ago. Uncle Benny had been upset about it — he'd played against Stan Walsh when he was a college player. Dr. Barrett nodded, seeing that Lucas knew about Stan Walsh. "He had just turned forty," the doctor said. "He had the same kind of brain disease you see in men in their eighties." Dr. Barrett pointed up at the wall, at all of the players. "All of those men are dead," he said. "They donated their brains to our lab, so we can study them. They all died because of concussions." A chill ran up and down Lucas's spine. He looked at Mom. Her eyes were wide with shock. "We used to think concussions were like sprained ankles," Dr. Barrett said. "You get dinged, you let it heal, and you're good to go. But now we know that too many concussions can actually change the brain."

在绿湾呆了几年。”墙上还有另外三幅画。 这是卢卡斯认出的最后一个。 “那是斯坦·沃尔什吗?”他不是……他不是……”他死了。 他几个月前刚刚去世。 本尼叔叔对此很不高兴——他上大学的时候和斯坦·沃尔什打过球。 巴雷特医生点点头，看出卢卡斯知道斯坦·沃尔什的事。 “他刚满四十岁，”医生说。 “他得了和80多岁的人一样的脑病。” 巴雷特博士指着墙上所有的球员。 “那些人都死了，”他说。 “他们把自己的大脑捐赠给了我们的实验室，这样我们就可以研究它们。 他们都死于脑震荡。” 一股寒意在卢卡斯的脊背上窜来窜去。 他看着妈妈。她震惊得睁大了眼睛。 “我们过去认为脑震荡就像扭伤了脚踝。” 巴雷特说。“你受到打击，让它愈合，然后你就可以走了。 但现在我们知道，太多的脑震荡实际上会改变大脑。”

"How many concussions is too many?" Mom asked. Lucas held his breath. "I would say that in an eleven-year-old boy, three concussions in two years is too many." The room was suddenly quiet. Lucas could feel the eyes of those football players looking down on him. "I can stay out another week," Lucas said. It would be torture. But he'd be back in time for the first game. "I'm sorry, Lucas," Dr. Barrett said. "But what I'm suggesting is that you never play football

“多少次脑震荡算太多?”母亲问。 卢卡斯屏住了呼吸。“我想说，对于一个11岁的男孩来说，两年内三次脑震荡太多了。” 房间里突然安静下来。 卢卡斯能感觉到那些足球运动员俯视着他的眼睛。 “我可以在外面再待一个星期，”卢卡斯说。 这将是一种折磨。但他会在第一场比赛前回来的。 “我很抱歉，卢卡斯，”巴雷特博士说。 “但我的建议是，你永远不要踢足球

again." All night Lucas argued and begged. He had a million reasons why that doctor was wrong, and he told Mom and Dad practically every single one. When that didn't work, he offered to sit out for two more weeks — then three. "Just please don't make me quit!" Finally Dad put his hands on Lucas's shoulders. "Lucas," Dad said in a soft voice. "Football is a game. I know you love it. But it is just a game." A game. Of course Lucas knew that. But that game was the most important thing in his life. What would he do without his team? That night he lay awake in bed for hours, thinking. It was past midnight when he realized what he needed to do. He had to see Uncle Benny. Before Mom and Dad talked to Coach. Before it was too late.

了。”卢卡斯整晚都在争论和乞求。 他有无数个理由证明那个医生是错的，他几乎把每一个理由都告诉了爸爸妈妈。 当那不起作用时，他提出再休息两周，然后是三周。 “求你了，别逼我辞职!”最后爸爸把手放在卢卡斯的肩膀上。 “卢卡斯，”爸爸轻声说。 “足球是一项游戏。我知道你喜欢。 但这只是一场游戏。”一个游戏。 卢卡斯当然知道这一点。 但那场比赛是他生命中最重要的事情。 没有他的团队他该怎么办? 那天晚上，他躺在床上几个小时都没睡，一直在思考。 午夜过后，他才意识到自己需要做什么。 他必须去见本尼叔叔。 在爸妈和教练谈过之前。 趁还来得及。

Dad left early the next morning. He was teaching a class at The Rock, the firefighter training school, across a bridge from Manhattan, on Randall's Island. Mom dropped Lucas off at the bus stop on her way to work. The minute her car disappeared, Lucas sprinted back home. He grabbed his bike and pedaled as fast as he could to the train station. He caught the 7:17 with one minute to spare. Lucas knew how wrong this was — to skip school, to sneak into the city without Mom and Dad knowing. But right then, none of that mattered. He had to see Uncle Benny. Somehow, Uncle Benny would make this right.

爸爸第二天一大早就走了。 他当时在兰德尔岛(Randall’s Island)上的消防员培训学校The Rock授课，学校与曼哈顿隔着一座桥。 妈妈在去上班的路上把卢卡斯送到公共汽车站。 她的车一消失，卢卡斯就飞奔回家。 他抓起自行车，以最快的速度骑向火车站。 他赶上了7点17分的火车，还有1分钟的时间。 卢卡斯知道这有多错——逃学，瞒着爸妈偷偷溜进城里。 但在当时，这些都不重要。 他必须去见本尼叔叔。 本尼叔叔总有办法弥补的。