Sweet-I in Cuba for medical treatment

Sweet-I Robertson left the state yesterday for Cuba, where she will seek medical treatment for the paralysis she has experienced since being shot in her neck in 2009.{{more}}

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, Roberston said she was excited to have the opportunity to seek additional professional help and have another chance at walking.

“I feel excited. I just feel glad that I am getting to go to Cuba,” she said.

Robertson was shot four years ago, when she was a fifth former at the Petit Bordel Secondary School.

She was caught in crossfire stemming from an altercation between young men on October 30, 2009.

Following an article about Sweet-I, published in SEARCHLIGHT on December 21, 2012, prime minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves visited the teen and put systems in place to improve her quality of life.

Following the Prime Minister’s visit, Sweet-I received an increase in public assistance from $200 to $1,000 a month, made up of contributions from the National Lotteries Authority and the National Insurances Services. She now has home help care, and transportation is provided to and from Kingstown so that she can attend physiotherapy sessions. Those sessions, which previously were done once per month, are now being done three times per month.

Sweet-I disclosed that she has regained some mobility in her upper body since the physiotherapy sessions increased.

Sweet-I confirmed that the government kept its promise and has installed indoor plumbing facilities at the home she and her family occupy at Chateaubelair. She has also received a touch-screen Tablet, purchased by the National Lotteries Authority. Wife of the Prime Minister, Eloise Gonsalves, has provided a cell phone for the young woman and pays a monthly telephone allowance for her emergency calls.

The only promise which has not yet materialized, Sweet-I said, is that of a parcel of land in Chateaubelair, on which a house is to be built at the Government’s expense for her.

For this brave young woman, giving up is not an option. Sweet-I, who was unsuccessful in her English B examinations in 2011, resat the exam this year and obtained a grade two. She wrote the exam with the assistance of a scribe.

Sweet-I obtained four other CSEC subjects in 2011, including mathematics with a grade 1 pass. The young woman thanked the Government for all they have done and also expressed gratitude to those who helped her along the way.

Racquel Roberston, Sweet-I’s sister, told SEARCHLIGHT that she is very happy for her sister and wishes her all the best.

“You have to save room for disappointment, but even if she comes back and she can’t walk, at least there would be some sort of improvement. Even if she walks funny, it doesn’t matter” she added.

Following her return, Sweet-I says she wants to attend the SVG Community College.(KW)