Shahd Alhamdan

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — When optimism becomes the spark of a person’s dreams anything is possible.



Asia Alrobaei, a Saudi, suffers from hemiplegia, or paralysis of one side of her body. Despite her disability, she has achieved many of her goals.



When she was only 8 months old, Alrobaei fell from a balcony at her family home, and was paralyzed from the fall.



For the last ten years she’s lived with her grandmother, who says she believes in Alrobaei’s abilities and encourages her to complete her studies.



Alrobaei, who appeared on Iqraa channel over a year ago to talk about her experience, is now in her late 20s, and has a sister.



“My grandmother is the most closest person to me,” Alrobaei said. “She has a compassionate heart.”



Currently, Alrobaei studies psychology at King Abdulaziz University and is expecting to graduate next year.



She hopes to work as a psychologist after graduation.



“I am studying the major that I love,” she says. “For me this is a successful step and this is because of God’s blessing. I want to develop myself after graduation by taking English courses.”



Alrobaei describes herself as an extrovert who loves to meet new people.



“I worked for a while in a private hotel in Jeddah as a receptionist but after my contract period was over I left. Because of this experience I had new friends and connections. I learned more about feeding information in computers and gained more computer skills.”



Alrobaei said she believes that people in Saudi Arabia treat those with disabilities very well, and that people take care of those with special needs.



She also said her experience is that hospitals have a good level of service when it comes to physiotherapy care.



She still visits a physiotherapist at a public hospital for regular treatment, and said she will always thank God for all that she has.