Help Jen Recover from Her Stroke

My name is Fartoon Hagi-Mohamed, and I’m writing this on behalf of my best friend Jennifer Manalili. On January 2nd at 2:30 p.m., Jen was home alone when she suffered a stroke.

She was rushed to Sharp Hospital in Chula Vista, where they were able to administer life-saving medicine to help burst the blood clot in her brain. On January 5th, Jen was transferred to Sharp Grossmont for an angiogram to help determine the cause of the stroke. She was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a rare and progressive blood vessel disorder which affects 1 in 1 million people in the US. At Sharp, she also encountered the added stress of dealing with her insurance company giving her the back-and-forth for weeks. First, they denied her the chance to start acute rehab. Their reasoning for the decision was that she was too “low-level” for such intensive therapy.

Luckily, her case manager Mylene was patient and vigilant and fought hard to appeal Jen’s case. She was finally able to start rehab at Sharp Grossmont on January 23rd, where she was cared for by the incredible team there and began working hard on her physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

However, this win was short-lived, as, after three weeks, Jen’s health insurance company suddenly informed us that she would be leaving acute rehab early because, as her doctor explained, she sounded “too good on paper.” We were only informed one day before she was discharged that the insurance company would stop paying for her rehab and that she would have to leave the program a whole five days early. This made Jen feel depressed and anxious. It was like she couldn’t win. First she was too “low-level” for rehab, and then she had recovered too much to stay. Now, she had to miss out on five crucial days of therapy while also scrambling to prepare her home for her early return.

As per her doctor’s strong recommendation, Jen will need 24/7 supervision for at least the first month after she is discharged. Jen’s parents have both passed, and she is an only child. Without direct familial support, the prospect of finding at least one person to stay with Jen every day for a month created additional anxiety for her in an already stressful situation. Despite these obstacles, Jen remains determined to continue to expand on the progress that she started in rehab. Fortunately, Jen also has her chosen family of friends who have rallied behind her and created a schedule of care so that there is always someone with her.

After nearly two months in the hospital, Jen was discharged to her apartment this past Friday, on February 14th.

While Jen has made a ton of progress since having the stroke, she is still working to regain full mobility on her right side. We hope that she will be able to go back to Sharp Grossmont for outpatient therapy, but we expect another battle with the insurance company before she can be approved. Right now, she is using a combination of a wheelchair and walker to get around and requires the support and presence of one other person at all times to move safely around her apartment and complete her self-care tasks. She is still trying to regain movement in her right hand. The right side of her face is affected by a slight facial droop which can sometimes make articulation difficult. As of right now, Jen won’t be able to return to work for several months. The money raised via this campaign will help to support Jen during her recovery so that she can focus 100% of her energy on therapy and recuperation. Please help me to help my best friend.

At the ER at Sharp Chula Vista, just two hours after she had first started having symptoms of the stroke, the first thing that Jen said when she saw me was, “I’m sorry.” When I asked her why on Earth she was apologizing, she said, “I don’t want to leave you.” Even while the nurses were working to stabilize her after she had a literal stroke, Jen was still thinking of me and my pain. She was thinking of how to make such an unfathomable event less terrifying for her friend, even as she was the one actively experiencing it.

If you know anything about Jen, you know that that is just who she is. Jen is always the person who is ready and willing to volunteer her time, attention, and energy to those who need it, sometimes even at the expense of her own comfort. Whether it’s helping you move, offering up her couch for the night, baking up a storm for a birthday, or remembering a special interest of yours, Jen is always helping others to feel seen, supported, and cared for. She loves to cook, which we are all hopeful she will get to do again one day. She also loves BTS and Harry Styles—the former of which she says she is working hard for because she hopes to recover in time for their reunion in June.

Jen is the first to discourage negative self-talk, compliment a new fashion choice or hairstyle, laugh, cry, and fan-girl with you. Even her job as a writing tutor revolves around helping people develop a clear and confident voice and belief in their capabilities. To know Jen is to know what it means to feel like a cherished member of a community.

Just as she has always helped her community, Jen also deserves to be cared for and looked after during this incredibly difficult time. If you have the means to donate to this campaign, please do so. If you can’t donate, sharing this GoFundMe is still a huge help! Our hope is that Jen will be able to go back to living her life on her own terms, fully independent and healthy.

Any funds raised through this campaign will be used to support Jen during her recovery as she is not able to return to work just yet. A claim for disability has also been filed, but we were told that it could take 6-8 weeks before the application is processed. Your donations would help pay for Jen’s rent and other bills, any medical equipment or supplies not covered by insurance, and transportation to appointments and physical/occupational therapy. Let’s show up for Jen the way she has always shown up for us.