“I wanted to be me again”

But let’s start at the beginning...

Krissia has been a part of the accounting department for Hellmann in Costa Rica for almost 13 years. Over the years, she has held various roles and demonstrated her impressive qualities as an extremely flexible, motivated, and high-performing colleague.

Today she is in the position of the Account Receivable Senior Analyst US. Issuing invoices and following up with clients does not only take a lot of organizational skills, but also sensitivity to personal circumstances, and sometimes also a little bit of creative problem-solving.

Already a proud working mom to her son, she gave birth to a lovely daughter in 2012, making her family complete. It felt as if everything had finally fallen into place for her. But - a few months later - in February 2013, she received a shocking piece of news: Due to fluid in her lungs, she would have to undergo a complicated chest drain procedure.

During the surgery, a tube was inserted into the space surrounding her lungs. Unfortunately, she experienced severe complications in the process and Krissia suffered from a pleural effusion, meaning her left lung collapsed. The surgical team had no choice but to remove her lung.

During her recovery, Krissia was left bed-bound for four months, completely dependent on her respirator and on round-the-clock support from her nurses and family.

At the time, as most people understandably would be, she was angry at the whole world, constantly asking herself, "why me?". And just when she had almost lost all faith, she tearfully told her doctor:

“I don't want to depend on a machine, nor do I want to depend on people, I want to be ME again!”

The doctor’s response was prompt: "Okay, it's all up to you, it's not up to us. Get up and fight for your life!" His response really stuck with her and served as a turning point in her recovery process.

The first three steps she took after the operation proved to be the hardest and most tiring steps of her entire life. However, they marked the beginning of her “second life”, which she says, begins the moment we truly realize we only have one life to live, and thus, to always live it to its fullest.

Her children became her biggest motivation during her recovery. The thought to leave her baby girl, who was only 8 months at the time, and her 9-year-old son without their mother, was unbearable to Krissia.

So, she pushed through the pain, deriving strength from her faith, family, friends, and co-workers and made a miraculous recovery. She realized:

“The limits are only in one's mind, not in the body.”

Fast forward to 2013 and back working for Hellmann, she decided to give herself a new personal challenge. Motivated to lose weight and become fit at the same time, she started doing CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program which employs a training method that combines weightlifting, sprinting, deadlift exercises, and gymnastics, amongst other techniques.

Becoming a Cross Fitter has taught Krissia a lot: Above all, discipline, and perseverance, but is has also been a great way to de-stress from her bustling family life and jam-packed work schedule.

Today, many competitions and awards later, people can hardly believe her medical history, but she’s got the scar to prove it. Her positive attitude and strong mindset inspire quite the following on her Instagram account, and never fail to motivate her Hellmann family, too. 

Apart from being on the Accounts Receivable team, she also contributes to the company as part of the “Spirit Engagement” group, which was created with the purpose to make the work environment pleasant and enjoyable for all colleagues:

“We spend so much time at work. So, we should make it as comfortable and nice as possible for everyone. After all, being happy, motivated and content is super important, don’t you think?”

Absolutely Krissia, we couldn't agree more. Thank you for sharing your story!