A New Zealand 64-year-old stem cell recipient has returned home soundly from surgery in China and within hours of her arrival played nine holes of golf, according to New Zealand media reports Monday.

Rotorua woman Willie Terpstra, who suffers from motor neurone disease, had stem cell surgery in a Beijing hospital on March 21.

Terpstra and her husband Rein arrived in Auckland on Friday and returned to Rotorua, their hometown in north island of New Zealand,on Saturday.

In a statement on her website, Terpstra said she wanted to come home because she was homesick.

Terpstra's surgery attracted a lot of attention. "People came up to us in Hong Kong and said 'we recognize you,'" said Terpstra.

A fortnight after the surgery, Terpstra was able to drink and eat without choking and able to poke her tongue out, something she had not been able to do previously. She is not able to speak clearly yet but her husband hopes her speech will improve soon.

Source: Xinhua