University of Groningen
Quality of life, work, and social participation among individuals with spinal cord injury
Ferdiana, Astri
DOI:
10.33612/diss.154424958
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below.
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Publication date: 2021
Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database
Citation for published version (APA):
Ferdiana, A. (2021). Quality of life, work, and social participation among individuals with spinal cord injury. University of Groningen. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.154424958
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“Be patient for what was written for you was written by greatest of writers.”
I thank the Lord Almighty for guiding me to go through this journey until the end. It was truly a life-changing experience for me. Thank you for the life and blessings You have given to me. Thank you for sending wonderful people that I mentioned in this Acknowledgment, I know that Your hands work through them.
I thank all the people with spinal cord injury who participated in my research and shared their rich perspectives, knowledge, reflections, and wisdom. Going through your life stories has been an incredible, tearful but rewarding experience. Thank you for learning me invaluable lessons of what is important in life. I cannot do much except portraying part of your struggles in this thesis, and I will continue to do so in my upcoming journey as a researcher.
I would like to express my gratitude to University Medical Center Groningen for giving me a golden opportunity to pursue a PhD research on my topic. I also want to thank the Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine for the generous support during my PhD research. The scientific yet friendly atmosphere at the Department, provided me with a very supportive environment to grow as a scientist. I really miss the birthday celebrations, Christmas breakfast, the cakes at the PHR meetings and even the terrible coffee machine!
Professor Ute Bültmann, I am deeply grateful to have you as my primary supervisor. Ute has been influential in this long journey till the end. With her endless energy, cheerful spirit and unconditional understanding, she relentlessly motivated me to keep going. She has been a great supervisor, mentor, teacher, and a dear friend for me. I have also learnt so much from her about how to think and write in a much systematic and structured manner and how to express my thoughts clearly. Working with her also made me realize the importance of paying detailed attention to my work. This habit is something that becomes deeply ingrained in me and surely will be passed on to my future students as well.
To my second supervisor Professor Jac van der Klink, I cannot express in words how much I thank you for always being patient, wise, humble, understanding, and supporting throughout this process. Your deep, almost philosophical, understanding in work disability issues is always my last resort whenever I stumble on a problem.
Acknowledgments
To my third supervisor Professor Marcel Post, thank you for the great mentorship in spinal cord injury research. I am really grateful that we met in Nottwil exactly 10 years ago and that you agreed to be my supervisor. Your dedication in spinal cord injury research truly inspires me. I also admired your fast response to almost everything I sent you, which really helped me to move forward (although very slowly). Your straightforward retorts and no-nonsense point of views really shaped my often-illogical way of thinking. I also thank my co-authors: Reuben Escorpizo, Monika Finger, Professor Luc van der Woude, Sonja de Groot, Trynke Hoekstra, and Professor Nigel King. Your contributions to the paper greatly improved the quality of paper. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with you and learn from you expertise.
Reuben, thank you so much for being a great supervisor during my short research stay at Swiss Paraplegic Research in Nottwil. I am very grateful that I had the chance to work at this international research center in spinal cord injury. It was my first experience to write a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal, and my first experience of being rejected 5 times. Your quick and sharp responses to my writings really helped me to improve. My thanks also go to my former roommate in at Swiss Paraplegic Research in Nottwil, Ursina Arnet. Thank you for sharing stories and experience and also for lending me that bicycle! Despite my short stay in Nottwil, I’ve learnt so much from you on what “hard-work” means for Swiss people. Work starts at 7.30 and ends at 17.00 with coffee break at 10 am sharp! Oh, how much I miss that. I also miss dearly Carolina Ballert, I love your relaxed approach to statistics! I thank other colleagues at SPF, I admired your passion, dedication and commitment to spinal cord injury research.
Words are not enough to thank my paranymph and office roommate at UMCG, Karin Veldman. Karin, you have taught me the Dutch way of being honest but kind and caring at the same time. I really wish to visit you, Roel, the babies and the dog (forgot her name!) at Sint Annen, the place that I always complained “too far” for daily commutes. Thank you for your countless help in almost everything especially towards the end of my PhD journey.
Marijke Kleefman, thank you for always spreading positive spirit and energy in the room! I can never forget your help and Rutger when I moved apartment. With Karin, you guys made my 3.5 years in the Netherlands so enjoyable! I cannot thank you enough
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guys for making the room 606 as my home. Wish we could do dinner again, sometime somewhere with the babies!
Bas, thank you so much for being the best paranymph ever (with Karin of course)! Your detailed, extensive information for almost every silly question that I had was enlightening. It was really stressful to prepare a defense from remote like this, but your quick, witty response to any problem has relieved my stress.
To the senior staff at the Department: Jitse, thank you for your occasional visits to my room for a chit-chat. Obbe, thank you for always having a solution for almost every problem that I had. Janneke and Lida, thank you so much for your support. I thank all the other senior staff for being a great role model for me in pursuing research excellence. To Femke Abma, thank you for helping me with the data analysis for my papers. I admired your persistence in work disability research!
I thank Josue for helping me with the data analysis for the paper that is now being my most highly-cited paper. Thank you for making statistics look easy although they actually don’t.
To my former colleagues at the Department: sweet Margriet Hielkema, Anja Holwerda, Wendy Koolhaas, Iris Arends, Hardy van der Ven, Ronald Uittenbroek, Sophie Spoorenberg, Marieke Nanninga, Marieke Potijk, Yeshambel Tesfa, Priya Vart, Sander van der Zon, Feija Schaap, Jorijn Hornman, Edwin Spijkers, and everyone that was there in the Department during my stay, thank you so much for sharing the spirit, laughter and frustration as fellow PhD promovendi!
I want to thank the work disability group at UMCG for sharing knowledge and experience in this fascinating field of research.
I also thank James Middleton for the opportunity to pursue research in spinal cord injury research at the John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, University of Sydney. Thank you for the incredible help in all stages of the research, I learned a lot from your concise, witty advice in research, but actually very conceptual. I will always remember when you cited my paper during your plenary lecture at the Asian Spinal Cord Network Conference – I was on cloud nine!
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my former colleagues at John Walsh. Nieke, you were such a sweet roommate. I enjoyed our talk in our small room at the office and thank you for meeting me in Amsterdam! Mohit Arora, I admired your determination in spinal cord injury research. Ilaria Pozzato, I love the spirit and energy that you radiate in the room! I also thank my fellow researchers in spinal cord injury from Malaysia, Nazirah Hasnan and Kumaran, wish our paths will ever cross again!
I would like to thank the Sayur Lodeh group for making my stay in UMCG fun and enjoyable: mbak Lia, mas Yayok, Niar, Amirah, mas Didik, Morita, Auliya, Neily, Doti, Ferro and Putri. Thank you for sharing laughter, food, jokes, and frustration for those 4 years. Mbak Lia and mas Yayok, thank you for being a great role model and for showing me that when somebody in the house is doing a PhD, the whole family is actually involved. I also thank Keisha and Katya for being great company for Arqi. Niar, thank you for the silly jokes, for making life look simple and your visits to Haren that made Haren doesn’t look that far anymore. Auliya and Neily, thanks for having me and my “boneka kelinci” in Beren. I know I’m not an easy person to live with, but you guys made it. Amirah, you have made the word “principle” (prinsip) comes to life. Mas Didik, thanks for pushing me to finish my thesis through your garing jokes. Morita and Ferro, I respect your persistence and that you finally made it to PhD while taking care of the babies! Doti, thank you for the great conversations. Putri, thanks for the great tips for the thesis!
I also thank Angela, your stories, strength and persistence always amazed me girl! Thank you Mackenzie Hadi, mas Kadek Yota, mas Panji Triadyaksa and Astri Handayani, for being a great “senior” at UMCG.
To Aizati and Amir, thank you for being such a great neighbor in Haren! I cannot thank you enough for keeping an eye to Arqi during my leave to Indonesia.
To all fellow Indonesian students and also their families, mas Hengki and mbak Erna, Rully and Intan, Iging and Desti, and everyone that I cannot mention one by one, thanks for making Groningen a pleasant place to stay for me. My deepest gratitude goes to lieve mbak Ari and (late) oom Herman, oom Rudy and (late) tante Sylvie, pak Archie, tante Pantja and oom Bas, tante Indah and oom Yon, I can never thank you enough for your kindness, help and hospitality during our stay in Groningen.
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My sincere gratitude goes to Professor Mulyanto and the University of Mataram Indonesia for giving me an opportunity to pursue PhD study abroad. I wish to return as soon as possible to help advancing public health research in West Nusa Tenggara. To all my dear senior, colleagues and friends at the University of Mataram, I’ve been away for so long, thank you very much for always welcoming me any time.
My respect also goes to mas Donnie, dr Fatwa, mbak Supri, Professor Yayi and bu Siwi at Universitas Gadjah Mada for their support and spirit to finish my study.
I want to thank “Ukhty-ukhty Soleha” group: Wulan, Putri, Anin, Ade and Hapsari for their love and support during my ups and downs, thank you for being my loyal listener. I know that I could be so annoying but couldn’t help it.
To my sisters/brother in law, Yeni Rosilawati, Milana Pandanwangi and Akhmad Ikhwanudin, thank you for your endless support through this journey. I know that I am the most difficult youngest sister ever, but I know that you love me still. Aya and Haznan and Dzaki, thanks for being patient with “tante geje”. I also thank the big family of Hadiwandowo and Sastrowiyoto for their great support and love.
To my mother, thank you for your unconditional love. You have taught me about true love, to your late husband and also to your children. Despite your illness that sometimes caged you in silence, I know that you love me. I am so sorry for not always being a good daughter. I wish I could have a bit of your courage and strength in facing this world. To my sonshine, little walrus Sharqi Ash-Shiddiqi, thank you for going through this journey across three continents with me. I always assumed that it would be easy for you to go through these changes and uncertainties, but it was actually not. Now you are not that little anymore. Thank you for your patience and understanding to your silly mother throughout these years.
To my late father. Thank you for inheriting me your spirit, compassion and love to medicine. Your visit to Groningen years ago is always being memorized. It’s amazing that I finally finished my study in a city that you visited a few years not long before you were ill. I finally did it.
