Sweet future for Robertson

Chateaubelair resident Sweet-I Robertson says that she is looking forward to a bright future, despite her current situation.{{more}}

The 21-year-old, paralyzed from the waist down due to a gunshot injury, told SEARCHLIGHT last Saturday that she still has hopes of someday returning to school and furthering her education, but for now she is slowly building her confidence and physical strength.

Robertson was hit by a stray bullet in 2009, when she was caught in the crossfire during a shoot-out between two rival gangs, on her way home from a school function one fateful October night.

Following three months of therapy that Sweet-I underwent in Cuba last year, the soft spoken lass said that she was not only helped by the physical exercises, but the trip has also helped her emotionally.

“It had helped me to build my self-confidence, and it is helped me to get back movement in my hands and to be a little more independent,” she told SEARCHLIGHT.

She continues her therapy on a weekly basis at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in Kingstown.

Sweet-I is also the recipient of public assistance to the tune of $1,000 monthly, through the National Lotteries Authority and the National Insurance Services.

She told SEARCHLIGHT that she is looking forward to moving to her new home, when it is completed in a few months time.

The family will receive one of the houses being constructed in Fitz- Hughes, which Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said is a gift from the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“The house that they live in currently is not belonging to them and it was not a house suited for someone who is a paraplegic, so I had to make some improvements…,” Gonsalves said during his visit to Sweet-I over the weekend.

“….And this one, I have told Minister (Montgomery) Daniel, has to be properly designed because it is a paraplegic who is going to live in it.”

Gonsalves also indicated that Sweet-I will soon be taking classes at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, as soon as all the necessary steps are in place.

“I am very grateful to the Prime Minister for what he is doing for me. I love him very much,” Sweet-I said with a smile.