Christie was a senior architect at Agung Podomoro Group, a real estate company in which she has been entrusted with handling various mall and residence projects including Central Park, Senayan City, the Thamrin Residence and Braga City Walk in Bandung.

Her professionalism and perseverance frequently caused her to overlook her health and her hypertension, and she also skipped her regular medication because she was too busy.

She would enter project sites with a helmet and ascend tall buildings. In 2006, she broke her left leg when she was designing an apartment with several partners in Pancoran, Jakarta.

Some years later, she and her team were striving to complete the construction of a mall scheduled to open by mid-December, which forced them to work extra hard, with only one to two hours of sleep a night two weeks before the opening. Under such heavy pressure, though Christie claims to have enjoyed the job, she ignored her health. Instead, she consumed food she normally abstained from.

The mall project was finished on time. She was satisfied and proud when the grand opening was broadcast by several TV stations. Still overwhelmed by the joy of her success, she left for Dallas, Texas, where her younger sibling lived, for a vacation with her parents, two children and relatives.

After a few weeks in the US, on Jan. 8, 2009, at a hotel at around 3 a.m., Christie woke up to go to the toilet. As she sat on the bed and extended her leg to the floor, she lost her balance and fell. Trying to stand again, she found the right side of her body unable to move. She also lost most of her voice as she screamed for help. Luckily, her mother who was sharing the room heard her.

In her house in Tebet, East Jakarta, Christie related recently that a medical examination at a nearby hospital indicated an arterial rupture in the left brain, causing 20 percent of that part to be covered by blood and thus depriving her of vestibular balance, partial muscular movement and proper speech.

While being treated in the US for two weeks, she also underwent speech and physical therapy. “I really could do nothing at the time I was paralyzed. But I wasn’t in the least saddened by the stroke. I remained happy and optimistic about my future while praying all the time. And indeed I’ve never felt stress up to the present,” she said, smiling, showing with her left hand her iPad filled with articles and her laptop with pictures of her therapy.

In her speech therapy, she learned to pronounce basic English words like ball, cat, spoon and so forth, just like a one-year-old. As her tongue was also affected by the stroke, she spoke with a lisp. Her Indonesian speech was lost and her English speech wasn’t yet perfect. While her brain could later order limbs on her right side to move, she didn’t feel anything yet, and learned to eat with her left hand. “The southpaw concept is entirely different. I also brush my teeth with my left hand,” she said.

Returning home, Christie was hospitalized for another month in Jakarta. Besides continuing physical therapy, she was also taken by her 73-year-old father to various places for leisure, such as the hotel where his friends worked as entertainers, and his professional circles. Christie was happy there. “There was a hilarious atmosphere as a morale booster, making me convinced of my recovery,” noted the graduate of Tarumanagara University.

Six months after the stroke, she resumed her work in spite of her physical limitations. The tolerance of her boss has made Christie more motivated to lead a meaningful life, and he has earned her respect.

Now, she mostly compiles reports and once in a while handles jobs in the field though she has to be supported by her assistants.

“It’s great. They are remarkably understanding and the sympathy of my boss and peers has restored my confidence. I’m back as a project architect though not yet fully recovered. I attend meetings, make designs and formulate working concepts. I also feel God’s love and protection,” said the mother of two teenagers.

Today, Christie continues her one-and-a-half-hour physical therapy every morning. At 11 she arrives at her office for work, without the aid of a cane as advised by her therapist. She also has writing therapy to refresh her mind. A friend has introduced her to the kompasiana blog, where she writes various stories particularly about her stroke and how she survived it.

As a very productive blogger, she contributes three to four articles a day and they often become headlines. “My first kompasiana stories were a bit odd as I was receiving initial treatment. Still, praise be to God, there’s nothing wrong with my brain,” she pointed out. She also speaks at seminars to motivate post-stroke patients.  

While actively working, she is anticipating the moment next year when – after her birthday on June 13 — she will hopefully drive her car again. After recovery, she also plans to go to the hospital in the US to see the physicians and nurses who treated her. “I want to give my special thanks to them. I’m indebted to them all,” she said.

“Now I must avoid food high in fat and cholesterol. I’m going to consume a lot more vegetables and fruit. Enough is enough!” remarked the lecturer at Krida Wacana University in Jakarta laughingly. “I know a stroke patient won’t fully recover in medical terms, but I’m convinced God will bring me to total recovery.” she said.

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