After Surviving Stroke, Bank Exec Spreads the Word on Healthy Lifestlye

Elizabeth Pomer was comatose for a week and when she slowly regained consciousness, she was nevertheless, confined to her bed for months, barely able to move herself. She struggled to move on her own, literally crawling using her limbs, arms and legs or whatever is left of her body that has not hardened after the left part of her body was paralyzed.

She was at the peak of her career as a Systems and Maintenance Computer Head of the Bank of Philippine Islands on May 9, 1999 when she was rushed to the hospital after suffering from stroke due to hypertension at the age of 41.

Her husband who was an overseas contract worker had to go home immediately to take care of her. They have just enrolled their eldest son who’s entering his third year in high school in an exclusive school for the boys. The other boy was about to enter Grade 5.

“I suddenly lost my pay slip and career. My husband had to cut his employment contract short along with his hefty income to find a living here in the Philippines,” said Pomer.

Risky lifestyle

Pomer became a bank officer at the age of 25. She thought she had to “survive” the corporate culture and blend with the generations younger than her.

However, as she rose up the corporate ladder, she began to smoke that seemed to be cool at first. She attended meetings and conferences that looked like worry-free as she developed the habit of smoking that strengthened her self esteem in front of her peers.

When her body was paralyzed after the stroke, she found her skin tightened as a result of the hardening of the nerves of her arms, legs and body. She found her appearance in stark contrast with the pleasant and spruced up look that she had to maintain due to her line of work.

“I was mindless about the life I was going through because everything seemed to be in order and in perfect harmony with an ideal corporate career until the attack that struck like a thief in the middle of the night,” recalled Pomer.

Pomer shared she did not realize the gravity of hypertension before the stroke. She found about it earlier during the wake of her mother-in-law in Bataan. She was not able to move her body or rise up when she woke up. She was carried and brought to the hospital.

“I continued to smoke and did not mind about the findings. Now, I realize the need to warn the younger generations who are hooked into the fatal habit and other unhealthy diet regimen as they increasingly feel the pressure of getting things done at work and in school, no matter what,” explained Pomer.