By SGN | 18 Dec 2023
In 27 years of living in Suzhou, Glory cycled, e-biked and drove without incident – until February 16, 2023.
It was a work morning like any other. Traffic was light, and she kept to the bicycle lane. Then, during the half-hour ride to Dulwich College Suzhou, she met with an accident that fractured her skull and injured her brain. But she remembers none of this.
“I have no memory of the accident,” she says. “What I know now is what friends and doctors tell me.”
Her best friend – configured as the emergency contact on her Apple Watch – received a notification of the hard fall. “She called me immediately, and I answered the phone, not making any sense when she asked me what had happened.”
Thankfully, a colleague in a DiDi saw Glory on the ground and stopped to assist her. At the hospital, she was found to have had a mini-stroke that left her brain bleeding internally.
“They operated immediately to remove the fractured pieces of skull,” she recounts. “I was put in an induced coma in the ICU for two weeks.”
The road to recovery
Miraculously, Glory suffered no headaches, no long-term memory loss, and – because she cannot recall the accident – no PTSD.
The first two weeks out of the ICU were a blur. According to friends, she was delirious and incoherent but in good spirits. When she regained consciousness, she was in a wheelchair for about a month and underwent a second surgery to mend her skull with 3D-printed parts.
Friends, colleagues, students and their parents came to visit, and her siblings flew in from Singapore. “I missed the children, and the cards they made for me motivated me to be strong,” she shares. “I was fearful of not being able to work, and of losing cognitive function.”
Upon being discharged, Glory commenced thrice weekly rehabilitation led by a Singaporean doctor whom she has known for 15 years. “Thank goodness for Dr Jason Ho,” she says. “He understands my background and my situation very well as he visited me a few times and met with the doctors at the hospital.”
In addition to physiotherapy, IV therapy and TCM treatments, Glory received neurofeedback therapy to improve her eyesight and restore her left peripheral vision. To strengthen psychomotor skills on the left side of her body, she would practise using scissors or chopsticks with her left hand, even though she is right-handed.
Returning to the regular rhythm of life
The rehab process awakened in Glory an obsession with health and fitness. “I have done a lot of reading and am a believer in regenerative medicine,” she shares. “I believe that we can live and age with vitality.”
At home, she does her own exercises and plays a special computer game for visual training. She works out regularly and is careful to get sufficient sleep, a vital factor for brain health.
According to doctors, Glory’s pace of recovery has been phenomenal. “I am getting stronger and stronger each day,” she says. “I will focus on doing more with my life as it is too fragile but so precious.”
She attributes her heartening progress to the support of medical staff and close friends. “I want to share my story to encourage people to not lose hope when things go wrong, but to stay positive and fight. With the support of those who care, things can get better.”
Glory and her friend have four dogs and a cat: Pepper, Panda, Sheila, Ally and Sesame.
Dulwich College has also been a great source of help and comfort. “They have been so supportive from day one,” she notes.
After six months away from work, Glory returned in August for 3.5 days a week, before resuming her full-time schedule in October. “I love my work and was so excited to go back to school,” she says. “Seeing all the children energises me and makes me so happy.”
One thing that’s changed: Glory no longer cycles to work. This is so as not to worry her friend, who drives her to school each morning instead.
Glory attributes her speedy recovery to the care and support of friends, colleagues and students.
More years in Suzhou than Singapore
Glory’s life abroad began in 1996, when she joined the pioneer batch of teachers at the Suzhou Singapore International School. The school had been set up to serve the needs of expat families moving to Suzhou Industrial Park, a massive development established by China and Singapore a couple of years earlier.
Today, she is Deputy Head of Junior School at Dulwich College Suzhou, where she has worked for the last 15 years. “I have now spent more years in Suzhou than I have in Singapore,” she remarks.
Well-loved by students, parents and colleagues alike, Glory is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, and has received the My Favourite Foreign Teacher award in Suzhou, a testament to her ability to inspire and motivate those under her care.
Outside of work, Glory is heavily involved in animal rescue: raising funds, volunteering at the shelter, fostering stray cats and dogs and setting them up for adoption. With Tang Mama Charity Center – founded by her friend Annie Tang – she participates in community service activities such as visiting old folk’s homes, helping children with disabilities, and joining charity walks.
While she counts many Singaporeans and Malaysians as close friends, Glory has also formed strong bonds with locals in Suzhou. “It is crucial to have a local network wherever you are,” she says. “They know the city and the culture best.”
“You don’t have to stick to Singaporeans,” she advises. “But I would say just let nature take its course. Have an open mind and know that you can always learn from people of different backgrounds.”
As she regains her strength to live her fullest life in Suzhou, she’s also looking forward to a trip home this Christmas, her first in four years.
“I can’t wait to be back in Singapore, to be with my family and to eat our local food,” she says.
Meet Glory
Glory is an Apple Distinguished Educator with 27 years of experience at international schools in China. As Deputy Head of Junior School at Dulwich College Suzhou, she oversees pastoral care and the integration of technology into curriculum.
Connect with her here.
