Thaciana Pillay, 20, was born with Cerebral Palsy which is a condition that affects movement, posture and coordination. At the tender age of two, she was was diagnosed with Spastic diplegia – a form of Cerebral Palsy that is caused by brain damage. It usually appears in early childhood, and permanently affects muscle control and coordination.
Thaciana has been living on a wheelchair almost her entire life and while it’s has its challenges, she has always overcome it.
“My wheelchair is my own form of independence. It acts as my legs”
She attributes her positive attitude to her school Open Air School in Glenwood. Their motto is I can and I will and these are words Thaciana has lived by. She credits the school staff for molding her into the confident person she is today. They encouraged her to look beyond the wheelchair and cerebral palsy and follow her dreams and this is exactly what Thaciana has done.
It was at school, she discovered her love for wheelchair dancing. Thaciana performed Latin and ballroom dancing. Going as far as competing nationally at The South African Dance Teachers Association (SADTA)- which is affiliated to the World Dance Council. Thaciana took first place for Latin dancing in 2013 and a two years later she won for both Latin and ballroom dancing. In 2016, she was asked to dance on stage for opera singer Aviva Pelham. Sadly, Thaciana’s dream of dancing ended in 2016 when she was diagnosed with scoliosis which is a sideways curvature of the spine. Her spine curved by 40 degrees meaning it could bruise her heart or lungs so she had to undergo surgery and has been unable to dance since then.
However, this powerhouse did not let this stop her. Instead Thaciana started looking at how she could fulfil her childhood dream of opening her own salon. She has always loved doing nails and make-up and decided to pursue a nail technician course. She was grateful for her parents support and opened her own home-based business in Merebank, Durban. With her business booming, things were looking great but then lockdown hit. However, Thaciana would not sit idle and started on a make up course.
We love Thaciana’s spirt and positivity and we would love if you can support her by following her on her social media pages:
Facebook page – Nails By Tash
Instagram page – makeup_nails_by_tash