Hi, there! My name is Natalie Shaw, but my students call me "Miss Natalie." I have been a music teacher since 2002. The summer between my junior and senior year at college, a newlywed, I was given a job teaching music K-12 at a private school. This led to five wonderful years, teaching music, choir, drama, art, theater, etc. to some pretty amazing students. I also began giving some of these students private voice and piano lessons as well! In 2007, we moved our family across the country from Pittsburgh to Boise and private lessons were a great way for me to make friends in the area and begin making my musical mark on the Treasure Valley... Shaw Studios was born! During my time living here in Idaho, I have had many adventures and many challenges. One of these challenges has been my health. After our fourth child was born, I developed a thyroid disease called Hashimoto's. Things have gone downhill for my body ever since. Some (many) of you may know that the "Idaho Shaws" are do-it-yourself-ers. We own our own businesses, we do our own renovations, we pay cash for vehicles, we grow our own food, we raise chickens, and we try to be good stewards with what we have! Unforunately, owning a landscaping business and a private music studio do not make gaining health insurance easy. We have been self-pay for our whole time in Idaho. In the fall of 2022 my health declined rapidly and I have been struggling to regain strength and normalcy as a wife, mother, teacher. I have painful inflammation all throughout my body - but it has settled mainly in my hands and feet. Wait a minute, a piano teacher with pain in her hands?! Uh oh. This past weekend, I was diagnosed with Lupus (to add to the list) and I was also seen by an orthopedic doctor. I have to have surgery. There is a mass on my left wrist that is causing considerable nerve pain. Playing the piano is becoming more and more difficult. This situation is also quite time-sensitive, as I am going to be finishing up online grad school - getting my Masters in Music Education at Liberty University - and I need to be able to type this summer! This is where our friends and family can step in and help. Would you consider assisting me? I am scheduled to have this surgery on Friday, May 12th, but I do not have a way to pay for it. They are rushing me in so that the recovery time will be completed before the summer months. I desperately need to get rid of this pain and I need my hands to work again! Please help my family. Please help my students. Please help me continue to teach music. Thank you. "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." - Bob Marley