The Author

Natasha Maughan was born in London on Feb 11 1976. At the age of 4, her family relocated to Barbados, her parents’ birthplace. During her years in Barbados, Natasha developed a love for dance and was always the performer, choreographing dances with her cousins and ‘treating’ the family to concerts every summer. At a young age, Natasha knew she wanted to be a choreographer and it was clear to all that to her, dance was life.

London

Natasha moved back to London at 16 where she gained a National Diploma in Performing Arts, majoring in Dance. During this time, she became active at her local church within the youth group and Creative Worship teams. By the age of 18, Natasha’s reputation of being the resident dancer was set, and Natasha was living the life she always wanted – a life of dance. One day, while at a rehearsal at college, Natasha realized that at times it was a challenge to say her lines. She found that her mouth had to work a little bit harder to form words and she was becoming a little bit clumsier than usual. Thinking that it was simply a case of over exertion, Natasha ignored it, until one day, her colleague asked her if she was ok. The small inconveniences had become noticeable to others, so Natasha decided to speak to the nurse, even if just to put her friend’s mind at ease. After recounting her symptoms, the nurse told Natasha that she could have Multiple Sclerosis. Immediately, Natasha dismissed the idea and self-diagnosed it as fatigue, but the symptoms got worse. By the time Natasha and her sister went to the doctor to find out what was going on, Natasha’s speech was slurred and walking was almost impossible. An MRI scan later,