Natasha Smyth’s legacy rocks its way 15,000km around the world
Natasha Smyth has a rare terminal illness but part of her legacy is finding itself around the world.
Townsville
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NATASHA Smyth has a rare terminal illness but part of her legacy is finding itself around the world.
The 34-year-old was diagnosed with leukodystrophy, a rare genetic neuromuscular condition about seven years ago and is now under the full-time care of her mother Leann Shields.
Natasha was once a qualified chef and martial arts expert but is now limited in her ability to move and relies on an electric scooter.
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Still wanting to see faraway parts of the world, Natasha has taken an artistic approach.
“She started painting the rocks about April or May 2019,” Leann said.
“Abbie Richardson, from Positive Possibilities, encourages her to hide the rocks. It’s a group of young females who get together on Sunday.”
Natasha and Abbie, together, hide rocks with a unique code across Townsville that can be tracked on gorock.com.
The website logs when the rocks are found and how far they have travelled.
Some of Natasha’s uniquely painted rocks have since been tracked more than 15,000km away in England and Ireland.
About 60 colourful rocks have been hidden across Townsville. Leann said each new notification brought a smile to her daughter’s face.
“We just think: ‘Wow. This is what the power of people can do,’” she said.
Leann doesn’t like saying her daughter has a terminal condition but is adamant to make the most of each day she spends with her.
She said her daughter’s transformation happened fast.
“She’s a qualified chef, and she was also a black belt in taekwondo,” Leann said.
“Then we started noticing a few things. Up until then she was very active, now she is now in an electric scooter.”
Leann said Natasha had sadly lost contact with her friends but had a good support network.
Originally published as Natasha Smyth’s legacy rocks its way 15,000km around the world
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