Friends are putting their Christmas preparations on hold as they help the family of a Black Diamond woman lying unresponsive in a hospital bed.
Tammy McGonigle rounded up half a dozen friends to organize a fundraising event for Andy Janicki after his wife Mandy had a seizure, went into a coma and is suffering brain damage. The couple has two children Dylan, 7, and Brooklyn, 2.
“Mandy is incredibly kind, compassionate, generous and caring,” said McGonigle of her friend. “She’d be the first one to help anybody who needed a hand.”
Now it’s Mandy and her family who need help.
McGonigle said Mandy, who was born and raised in Black Diamond, was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia on Sept. 19, and days later suffered a seizure that caused her brain to swell and her heart to stop.
Mandy, who was discovered to have meningitis, went into a coma and has since been taken off of life support, but McGonigle said she remains unresponsive.
“She is breathing on her own and her heart is beating on its own but she will never come out of her bed,” said McGonigle. “I had to figure out something to help them out so (Andy) could have a worry-free Christmas.”
McGonigle created The Friends of Mandy to organize the fundraiser Christmas for the Janickis, Dec. 3 from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Black Diamond Hotel to raise money through a silent auction, raffle tickets and 50/50 draw. Entertainment will be provided by cover bands Coyote Creek and Friends and The Roamin’ Cadillacs.
McGonigle said the Janicki family has since moved to Calgary where Andy’s mom is looking after the children. She said Andy hasn’t been working for two months as he’s been going back and forth to the hospital to be with Mandy.
As The Friends of Mandy organize Christmas for the Janickis, they’ve found the support from Black Diamond and surrounding communities to be overwhelming with more than 120 items donated toward the silent auction and raffles, said McGonigle.
“The communities have been amazing,” she said. “When my little helpers went out and delivered letters I would get a phone call right away that they had something. I’m overwhelmed at how phenomenal people have been to support this family.”
