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.
