Unforgettable birthday for Sweet-I

Chateaubelair resident Sweet-I Robertson last Friday received a birthday gift she would long remember, when she was visited and serenaded by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.{{more}}

The prime minister visited Robertson, who turned 20 on Friday, at her Sharpes, Chateaubelair home, bringing lunch, and good news regarding assistance for the young woman who was shot four years ago.

The former Petit Bordel Secondary School student was hit in the neck by a bullet intended for another individual, following a function at her school in October 2009.

She has since been paralyzed from the neck down.

“My spirit just take her,” Gonsalves told SEARCHLIGHT on Friday. “She is my princess, my darling, and I love her so much.”

At the request of the birthday girl, lunch meals of Kentucky Fried Chicken were delivered by the prime minister, who sang happy birthday to Robertson, before eating.

The pair chatted for some time, with the prime minister bringing out giggles from the quiet and shy young woman, who family members say could hardly sleep the night before, and had her hair “done up” in anticipation of the visit.

The prime minister also informed Sweet-I and family members present that a number of systems have been put in place to ensure the assistance required to make her life more comfortable.

These include financial assistance from the National Lotteries Authority, the National Insurance Services, and the social services division of the Ministry of National Mobilization etc.

Arrangements for transportation to and from Sweet-I’s physiotherapy sessions have already been made, as well as her continued education and her membership of a credit union.

Gonsalves also indicated that an Apple Ipad would soon be delivered to help Sweet-I with her studies, and that her medical condition has also been referred to health officials in Cuba.

“Here we have a number of ministries and agencies coming together for the benefit of Sweet-I,” Gonsalves noted.

Gonsalves lauded SEARCHLIGHT for the December 21, 2012 article, which highlighted the plight of Sweet-I and her family, and brought the situation to his attention.

After reading the article, the prime minister visited Sweet-I, and called for steps to be taken to assist her.

“If it wasn’t Searchlight I wouldn’t have known you know…. People just get interested for a while and it just slipped through the cracks. There are avenues for help….”

Sweet-I was also presented with a brand new wheelchair on behalf of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, by Unity Labour Party (ULP) constituency caretaker Dr Jerrol Thompson.(JJ)