On March 12thSOTATheatreBranchburg

Directing his attention towards the occupational therapy students, Robles stated "It is very important for you to be positive and be the best you can be with patients. You will be their first contact after an incident and many do not have a support system to give them advice or encourage them. What you say will be gold to some of your patients."

After his accident, Robles decided to go back to high school and realized he could no longer achieve his dream of joining the air force to fly planes. He was maybe a B- or C+ student that never really thought about college. Robles stated: "Going back to high school, I felt like a completely different person I lost a lot of friends because they were scared to talk about disabilities. You never want to put yourself in a position where society thinks you are different. If they are uncomfortable that is their problem, not yours." RobleEEO

StephaineDeJesusSOTA

To help him with daily tasks, Robles has a service dog named Janus from Canine Companions for Independence. This non-profit organization trains assistance dogs to people with disabilities and to professional caregivers providing pet assisted therapy. Service dogs are trained for two years to work with a disabled person as well as understanding commands and praises. Service dogs can get items out of the fridge, pick up things off the floor as well as get an individual motivated to do something. Robles showed Janus' abilities by having him pick up his cell phone and put it on his lap.

Robles speaks at elementary schools and at hospitals to share his story and experiences. He also provides guidance and mentorship for other disabled individuals. After 28 years of living with a spinal cord injury, Robles still has a great deal of faith that science is closer to a cure. He stated "There is hope for the future and research is progressing. So much is being discovered every day."