"I HOPE to fall in love one day, get married and have a happy, healthy and loving family," says Laurentia Tan.

In her e-mail replies to questions, Tan, 29, who lives in England, says her motto in life is "Carpe Diem," a Latin phrase which means, "Seize the day".

She muses: "You never know where things may lead. Go ahead and follow your dreams. Focus on the things you enjoy and which make you happy. Life is too short to do otherwise."

The inspiring story of her triumphs over her physical handicaps, cerebral palsy and profound deafness, and her Olympian success, attests to her steely resolve.

She says that after doctors in Singapore told her father that his three-year-old girl was going to be a vegetable, he decided to pack the family off to England to seek medical help.

In England, she went through school, earned her A levels and proceeded to bag a BA (Honours) degree in Hospitality Management & Tourism from Oxford Brookes University.

"Who I am today, I owe to my parents, my family and closest friends who gave me love and support. I cannot imagine life without them," she says.

She also gives credit to her teachers, doctors, health professionals and trainers who gave her the added strength to clear the hurdles.

Tan spent her early years in the mainstream Knollmead Primary School in Chelsea which has a unit for deaf children.

She was also sent to mix with children in classes for "hearing" children.

"Although I was the only physically disabled pupil in the unit, I was never left out of sports activities," she recalls.

From there, she moved, at age 11, to a boarding school, Mary Hare Grammar School, Britain's only grammar school for deaf children, and stayed there until she completed her A levels.

Says Tan: "I have always striven to do things that my able-bodied friends can do, though not without moments of frustration.

"So, it was practice, practice and practice - and laughter. People around me showed patience and encouragement. I have a perfectionist trait and can be quite determined in achieving my goals." After graduation, she worked as an activities coordinator in a specialist in-patient unit for deaf adults at St Georges & South West London NHS Trust.

She resigned in June this year to train full-time for the Paralympics.

She is now preparing for the World Equestrian Games in 2010 in Kentucky, United States, and London's Paralympics in 2012.

Since April 2006, Tan had taken part in 31 dressage equestrian competitions in Britain, mainly on her horse, Nothing To Lose, whom she prefers to call Harvey, before she decided to enter the Paralympics.

Of her wins in the Paralympics, she recalls that her biggest handicap was when to start and finish her dressage routine as she could not hear the music.

She says the start was easier as the organisers allowed her to have someone indicate to the sound technician when to begin the music. "I start when his or her hand comes down."

The challenge was when to end. "I just concentrate on the horse and the movements. I am beginning to learn that perhaps I can use my feeling of Harvey's steps and rhythm to work out if we are ahead or behind the music."

Of the coming world championships, she says: "I am aiming to do well for Singapore.

"I feel privileged to have my coach, Heather Penelope (Penny) Pegrum, who is really one in a million. Riding and training sessions are made more enjoyable because of her patience and humour."

For her training sessions, she takes an hour to drive her Vauxhall Astra to the venue which is 50 miles from her home. "Because I tire quite easily, my mum or dad drive whenever they can."

Her father, Mr Anselm Tan, 59, is a businessman and her mother is a government officer. She has a brother, Ephraim, who works as an aerospace engineer in Denmark.

Tan's Yuletide message: "Christmas is a time for giving and sharing and to show love and kindness. It is also a time to share moments with loved ones and for family and friends to get together."

To aspiring Paralympic athletes, she says: "I can't remember where I read this quotation but it is one of my favourites: Aim for the moon...and even if you miss, you will land among the stars."