Update – Mandy Nagy 4 years later
“Now she listens to music often. It took four years, but better late than never.”
On Sunday, September 7, 2014, I received an email directed to the “contact” email address for Legal Insurrection.
Prof. Jacobson,
I hope this email is directed to you and not Mandy. I am Mandy’s mother. Mandy is in the hospital. She had a stroke early Saturday morning. She is unable to speak and cannot move the right side of her body. If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at: xxxxxxxxxxxx. I am also going to go to her home and look on her computer to see if I can find your contact information.
It made sense that Mandy’s mom thought our general “contact” email might go to Mandy, not me. Mandy had been writing for us since March 2013, had taken an increasing administrative role, and was to start the next day full time to run the place.
My first post, which was updated repeatedly, followed her medical condition, Pray for Mandy Nagy:
We’re praying for Mandy, and keeping her seat at Legal Insurrection warm awaiting her return, however long it takes.
But it wasn’t to be. Mandy never returned to Legal Insurrection, and has struggled to gain some quality of life. Her parents, who I met at the hospital not long after the stroke, have been heroic.
Each year I update readers on Mandy’s progress, through emails from her mom:
Mandy Nagy – One year later
Update: Mandy Nagy two years later
Update – Mandy Nagy 3 years later
I have another update from her mom:
Hi Bill,
I hope you and your family are well. Thank you again for thinking of Mandy.
Not much has changed. She was hospitalized once a few months ago. We thought she had another stroke but it was a seizure. She still has an aide assisting her each day and I fill in on Sundays, holidays and days when the aide is not available.
Her only improvement occurred about six months ago when she became interested in the music playing on my IPhone. It always puzzled her family that she lost interest in music after the stroke, since music was such an important part of her life. Anyway, I downloaded music she likes on her IPad. She can’t read who the artist is, but she can identify the photo of the artist. So, now she listens to music often. Her doctors had said that music is good for recovery. It took four years, but better late than never.
I’ll let Mandy know you asked about her.
Regards,
Ginny
I can’t say it better than Mandy once said it:
September 11th taught me the importance of family and loved ones in our lives, as well as the compassion of those we may not know, and that we can never, ever take life for granted.
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Comments
G-d bless, Mandy and family!
This is especially tragic when it is a young person, as is the case with Mandy.
Good luck to her. She’ll remain in our prayers.
I think this is a good time to mention the Act FAST stroke test …
Use FAST to remember and recognize the following signs and symptoms of stroke:
F: Face drooping. Ask the person to smile, and see if one side is drooping. …
A: Arm weakness. Ask the person to raise both arms. …
S: Speech difficulty. …
T: Time to call 9-1-1!
FAST action can mitigate and even reverse the effects of a stroke.
You can read more about this test here.
My prayers continue for this lovely lady and her family.
Two years ago, during the worst storm of that winter, one of my parents called and asked me to come and verify that the generator was working properly. I drove over, started the generator, ran it for five minutes, and then went in to visit. We were talking, and all of a sudden there were slurred and unintelligible words. I said , you are having a stroke, we need to go to the hospital now. There was a brief argument about this, but I had my parent at the hospital in 40 minutes. There is a four hour window to administer blood thinners to mitigate the damage. The hospital waited 3 hours and 45 minutes to administer the meds.
There was damage, but speech is mostly OK, transfer of short to long term memory is shot. Reading for short periods is OK, but mostly watching TV, with lots of naps.
It could have been much worse.
3 hours and 45 minutes. Have you or your parents changed that policy now that you own a hospital after the malpractice suit?
Thank you for posting this, great information.
Knowing symptoms and rapid response is the difference between at least having some quality of life, and being in really bad shape. There most certainly is a serious issue with competency of hospitals where I live. One of my parents passed about twenty years ago, the other is unlikely to make it for more than a few years.
Thank you for the update. God bless Mandy and her family.
I wish her and her family only the best.
Thoughts and prayers for Mandy and her family. Music can be healing, even if it is just for the calming influence or the memories invoked. Hoping for some recovery for her.
Along the lines of what legacyrepublican has posted, parents of young women (and young women themselves) should be aware of Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that can lead to clotting problems. It is a leading cause of stroke in young women. I bring it up because use of birth control pills in women with this condition will greatly increase the risk and is contraindicated. Despite this, women are generally NOT screened for APA syndrome prior to BC pills being prescribed. It angers me that in our zeal to push sexual liberties, we neglect genuine health concerns.
For more on this condition, please see the American College of Rheumatology’s page on this condition.
https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Antiphospholipid-Syndrome
Please note: I have no absolutely idea what might have triggered Mandy Nagy’s stroke. I would just like individuals who might fall into this risk group (and their families) to be aware of the danger.
As others have said, I will pray for Mandy and her family.
Factor V Leiden also increases clot and stroke risk, particularly when pregnant or on the pill. We only found out I had the mutation when my annual optometrist visit caught the signs of a branch retinal vein occlusion. I was fortunate to have no vision damage.
I’ve seen estimates in the 5% range for the percentage of the European and European-ancestors population with a copy of this mutation.
Prayers for Mandy and her wonderful family. That she can now recognize and listen to her music again is wonderful.
Professor,
Modern medicine still doesn’t understand how the brain works, or can repair itself. Please ask if Mandy’s family if they would like a copy of “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge. I just made a donation to your website, and if they are interested please consider using a portion of that donation to fund the purchase of the book.
Also, please let them know that the Feldenkrais method may be beneficial for her. It’s described in one of the book’s chapters. I’d be willing to help fund some treatments. A practitioner can be found here, and they often are willing to make house calls:
https://www.feldenkrais.com/practitioner-search/
You can contact me directly via email, at your discretion.
Thank you for the update and best wishes to Mandy and her family. I love these updates, but they always make me kind of sad.
Thank you for the update. I still pray for Mandy. I am thankful for the improvement. I also salute Mandy’s mom and Bill Jacobson and the LI team for their practical love.
I still hope for the day when Liberty Chick rejoins us in the fight for freedom
Thanks very much for the update on Mandy. I continue to hope for improvement for her. It’s good to hear she’s enjoying music again. I am so sad at what happened to her, though, and I think that her parents are heroes.
Thanks for the update. LOVE hearing that she’s connecting to music again! Still praying for her. Still miss her great work here at LI.
Thanks for the update. I bypassed the article this morning, because I knew from the headline what the news had to be. I am glad, at least, that there is a little bit more pleasure in her life. The future does not look good right now, but I’ll keep her in my prayers. The brain does have some surprising capacity to heal, and I hope a trigger can be found for Mandy.
Professor, please tell Ginny that Mandy & family are always in our thoughts.
Liberty Chick hit Breitbart by storm. Boy is she missed. Few can top her pounding truthfulness.
God bless you Mandy!
Well, even just a small reawakening of her interest in music is a tiny step forward.
My prayers remain with her, her family and the good professor for standing by her.
Thanks for your continuing coverage of Mandy’s condition. I have spent the better part of twenty years caring for stroke and dementia patients in my family and extended family. Mandy is still there, inside. It’s only her interface to the world that is not working right. It is a terrible blow to all affected. It is also an opportunity to rise to new heights love, compassion, and grit. I pray the God increase your blessings.