Listing Jozi’s Lara Nathan keeps it real

Exuding glamour and positivity in spite of the multiple challenges she’s faced, award-winning Pam Golding real estate agent Lara Nathan stars in BBC Lifestyle’s Listing Jozi, now in its second season. Having recently published a book about her special-needs son, Jamie, Nathan reveals why she lives each day to the fullest.

When she was hand-picked to star in reality television series, Listing Jozi, which showcases some of Joburg’s most beautiful properties sold by the city’s top agents, Nathan grabbed the opportunity. It’s this kind of enthusiasm that she shows for whatever comes her way. Yet her belief in embracing life was born of tragedy.

Only 20 when she lost her beloved mother to a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road, Nathan knew she had to make a choice. “I remember feeling so absolutely beyond broken and devastated, wondering how I could possibly get through this,” she says. “I was sitting one day in absolute tears, and thinking I can go north, or I can go south. And I just thought, I want to live. You never know what’s around the next corner, and I chose to live in the best way possible. I don’t ever want to focus on the negative.”

This positivity was repeatedly tested. The first time, two and a half years later, was when her brother was killed in a car accident almost identical to the one that claimed their mother’s life. Then it was tested again when she lost her grandmother, and later when her father died six weeks before her wedding. Nathan says her strength and optimism come from her mother.

“I absolutely adored my mother. She was my everything. She and my father divorced when I was two, and she was just so strong. She never stopped or let anything get in the way of us having the best childhood and family life. In spite of her strength, she never failed to show her emotional side, and she had a passion for life, no matter what was thrown at her.”

Nathan drew on a similar philosophy when she and her husband, Colin, discovered that their son, Jamie, now nine, had cerebral palsy due to oxygen deprivation during birth. Jamie was almost eight months before he was diagnosed. In spite of assurances that her son was fine after a clear MRI scan report, which turned out to be incorrect, Nathan knew something was wrong and pushed to see a neurologist.

After viewing the scan and feeling and moving Jamie’s hands and feet, the neurologist delivered devastating news. “She said, ‘He’ll never walk or talk,’ which was just crushing,” says Nathan. “But we hit the ground running. We took him to America twice for a stem-cell infusion, and returned to the United States multiple times for another form of therapy. We never sat still, we just did whatever we could, and we still do.”

The Nathans have always embraced life with Jamie. “He’s been both my greatest gift and my greatest challenge,” says his mother. “For us, Jamie is our normal. We feed him through a tube and assist him with everything. Our reliable nanny also plays a crucial role in Jamie’s care. We don’t let it slow us down. We’re always on the move with him. We go overseas, we’ll never do anything without Jamie that we do as a family.”

The Nathans also have a daughter, Kyla, who adores Jamie, as does Colin’s son from his first marriage. They’re also all very close to Colin’s ex-wife, Dawn, who is like a second mother to Jamie and Kyla. “We just have such a great family dynamic, which I’m so grateful for,” says Nathan.

She says Colin is a hands-on dad. “Having a special-needs child can either kill or make a marriage. It’s tough for parents. We chose the high road, we chose to do it together as best we could, and I’m so grateful for that. If anything, our experiences have made us even stronger as a family.”

Jamie is at a special-needs school called OWL (Occupational, Wellness and Learning) which has a swing and merry-go-round for wheelchairs. He’s also able to communicate with the use of a revolutionary eye tracker. While the part of his brain that was damaged is that which controls the muscles – used to eat, swallow, talk, walk, and more – Jamie can smile, blink, and move his eyes willingly. Through the eye tracker, his eyes are used as a cursor on a computer screen.

“He has to hold his gaze on a square for two seconds and then it clicks it for him, whether it be in programmes including games, music, alphabet, numbers, colours and so on,” Nathan explains. “It speaks for him, and he builds things on the games and creates his own stories. It was such a game changer to see how smart he actually is.”

Nathan is so inspired by her son and the magical effect he has on those around him that she decided to write a children’s book titled Jamie Shai and his Superpower, which was published in America. She’s now distributing the book in South Africa, and hopes to inspire others through Jamie’s story. “I always wanted to do the book because, for me, Jamie has this superpower,” says Nathan.

“Kids are drawn to him. Once we were flying to Cape Town, and this little boy, who was around 12, was fighting with his sisters as we were coming off the plane. Colin and I were putting Jamie in his wheelchair and this little boy looked at him. Jamie just smiled at him, and he stopped fighting with his sisters and came up to Jamie and held his hand and smiled at him. His parents told us he’d never done that before.”

It’s impossible not to love Jamie, says Nathan. “He just has this effect on people. He’s got this soft, beautiful nature and this beautiful smile. I always say it lights up my world, but I feel like it lights up the world for other people too. The book came about because I wanted to share that.” She also wants to encourage kids to interact with special-needs children, who love connecting with them.

In addition to her dedication to her husband and children, Nathan has forged a highly successful career. As a child of divorce who witnessed her mother’s struggles, she always had a drive to be financially independent. After attaining a marketing degree and then working for Sky TV in the United Kingdom, she returned to South Africa, fell into property, and never looked back.

“I really do love what I do, so the fact that I get to extend that on this platform has been such a rewarding experience,” she says, speaking of Listing Jozi. “I learned very early on to appreciate life; more than most would at a younger age. I appreciate every single day.”