At 19-years-old, Oviah Setra O’Selmo was bursting with typical youthful optimism and ready to take on the world. Then a horrific accident left her without the use of both of her legs. The teenager, once the life of the party, sunk into a depression and became a shadow of herself.
It was 2007 and she was in the trailer of a pick-up driven by a sibling. The vehicle turned turtle due the condition of the road, which had just been graded, and O’Selmo was tossed from the trailer. She said she saw her relatives in pain and wanted to assist but realised that she could not get up. She was later told that she would never walk again.
“After my accident I didn’t think that I was beautiful. I didn’t think that I was worthy…,” O’Selmo told Stabroek Weekend during a recent interview in which she spoke openly about her depression following the accident.