Susana the Martian … is the fun nickname she had given herself, my neighbour and friend, that for many reason has become my heroin. With the fighting nature of a women, she had to abandon the work world, due to mobbing (work harassment). Susy has dedicated herself to leave her peculiar footprints in society, narrating her story and documenting everything about her unknown syndrome.
The background
At 13 she was diagnosed with Mobius syndrome, an unusual sickness, which is produced from poor development of racial nerves during pregnancy, and whose main characteristics are facial paralysis, strabismus and malformed limbs.
Susana won the title of being a fighter since the day she was born and it was possible, she couldn’t open her mouth and be breast fed, due to luck and the cleverness of her mother, she was fed with a dropper. It was then only, when she was a few days old, and without even knowing much about Mobius that, she underwent the first of several operations looking to solve her eating problem.
In spite of the obstacle that welcomed her to the world, Susana had a childhood of games, adventures and knowledge; at 15 she graduated high school, then she studied English and at 17 she enrolled in the Universidad Central de Venezuela, the one where she obtained her Civil Engineering Degree.
Although it took her a long time to find her first job, this free time led her to meet who is her love, her husband and father of her son. Although she believed that due to her conditions she would be doomed to single-hood Susy and Emilio, share until today their love, that without a doubt it will be forever.
Victim of mobbing
Two weeks after she got married, Susana started working in the Ministry of Communication and Transport as manager of the department, a job that gave her a lot of acknowledgements. After working there for 21 years, she was asked to work with an adjacent organism, with new challenges and a better wage.
Unfortunately and in spite of the emotion and expectative of the new job, Susana saw herself as victim of mobbing and she had to endure two years of abuse that led to a diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders, and she had to leave her career as an Engineer. Leaving aside such a bitter end, this fighter accomplished all of her goals and life also surprised her by obtaining some goals that she hadn’t proposed to herself.
And, of course, this bad experience didn’t not destroy completely her joyful nature, persistent and positive from the community heroin. And everywhere she goes. Susy always brings sweetness and laughter.
Currently she is getting to know the syndrome she has, with the purpose of helping parents with children that have the same conditions so they are able to cope with this illness and give them an opportunity to live a full life without limitations; as well as promoting positivism and prevent work place harassment.
A party for a soul
For this she has only offered different speeches and conferences at national level through the foundation “Party for the Soul (Fiesta Para El Alma)”.
She has adopted the hobby of writing, that had led her to do a course in creative writing, and thanks to what she set herself out to do. She has managed to publish a book named “Su Sana”, in the one that she narrates with humor, what characterises the story of her life.
Thus, giving us the readers a message of personal improvement and positivism. But she isn’t only an amateur in writing, in the last year she has started practicing yoga and she has shared this new hobby with those that thought that weren’t capable of realizing this type of activities, getting to know her own style “Mobius Yoga”.
It is how this Martian without a doubt a great example that the obstacles that we have along the way are of no importance, it doesn’t matter that you have been born with them. Our limits are established by ourselves. Obstacles are simple challenges that arrive to be overcomed and conquer our goals.
On the other side, it is very clear that there are no small actions in the world, every word or act or courage or humanity are capable of leaving an important footprint in the life of someone if they are used correctly. I am sure that there is a person that doesn’t exist a person that has not met Mrs. Susana Romero de Parrella or red her book, that hasn’t changed their vision in life, taking account all the capacity that we have to accomplish our own goals and all, regardless of our defects we are wonderful human beings.
