Icha's Story
Icha, Indonesia
(English translation below, scroll down for original text.)
My name is Icha Krisdiana Agestasari. I’m an Indonesian survivor of TB meningitis complicated by hydrocephalus. The doctors thought I would die within 2 months but I’m currently living a totally healthy life with a VP shunt tube that will remain attached to my body for the rest of my life.
People who have had to experience the uncertain and often tumultuous journey of having meningitis, hydrocephalus, tuberculosis, and typhoid, perhaps feel as though they have had to fight death itself. This is certainly how I felt when the doctor said told me I was suffering from tuberculous meningitis complicated by hydrocephalus.
Picture 1 was taken in 2016 when I had just woken up from beng in a coma for a month. After having brain surgery for the installation of a VP shunt tube which is in my body from outside the brain to my abdominal cavity. At that time, I was only 19 years old. At the early age of 19, I was introduced to the operating room, struggling with a deadly disease that everyone thought would kill me within 2 months.
Picture 2 was taken one year after brain surgery. I became a new student at STIA Pembangunan Jember. Thank God, even though my brain was sick, I can still absorb lecture material well and my GPA is always cum laude.
Picture 3 is me, not only as a student, but as a semi-working student. I work in a restaurant in Jember – Indonesia. I work from morning to evening, then continue studying until evening. So far, I have completed my bachelor's degree in business administration. Here, I feel that the greatness of God does exist if we are enthusiastic and really try. The spirit is limitless.
Perkenalkan nama saya Icha Krisdiana Agestasari. Saya penyintas Meningitis TB komplikasi hydrocepalus dari Indonesia. Manusia yang sempat divonis meninggal 2 bulan lagi oleh dokter dan saat ini menjalani hidup sehat total dengan selang vp shunt yang terpasang di tubuh selama sisa hidup saya.
Manusia yang pernah divonis penyakit meningitis, hidrocepalus, tuberculosis, dan typoid. Berganti-ganti diagnosis, terombang ambing tak pasti. Tapi, ternyata kata dokter lagi, menderita tuberculosis meningitis komplikasi hydrocepalus. Yang kebanyakan pasiennya berakhir dengan satu kata yang ditakuti penduduk bumi : meninggal.
Gambar 1 di tahun 2016 saat saya baru sadar koma selama satu bulan. Pasca operasi otak yang saya jalani, operasi otak untuk pemasangan selang vp shunt di tubuh saya dari selaput otak sampai rongga perut saya. Saat itu saya baru berusia 19 tahun. Di awal usia 19 tahun, saya sudah dikenalkan ruang operasi oleh Allah. Berjuang melawan sakit mematikan, bahkan sempat menjadi anak cacat dan idiot dan divonis meninggal 2 bulan lagi oleh dokter.
Gambar 2 selang satu tahun pasca operasi otak. Saya menjadi mahasiswa baru di STIA Pembangunan Jember. Alhamdulillah, walaupun otak saya yang sakit, tapi saya masih bisa menyerap materi kuliah dari dosen dengan baik dan ipk saya selalu cumlaude.
Gambar 3 saya tidak hanya menjadi mahasiswa, tapi saya juga mahasiswa semi pekerja. Saya bekerja di salah satu restaurant di Jember – Indonesia. Bekerja dari pagi sampai sore, lalu dilanjut kuliah sampai malam. Hingga saat ini saya sudah lulus menyelesaikan pendidikan sarjana ilmu administrasi bisnis. Di sini saya merasakan kebesaran Allah memang ada kalau kita semangat dan sungguh-sungguh berusaha. Semangat tiada batas, lampaui keterbatasanmu.
To read another personal meningitis story from around the world, click here.
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