Mandie Asay

Long before she became the beloved music teacher in Cowley, Mandie Asay grew up in Powell, where her family’s house was always filled with music. This is where she found her love for singing.

Her voice has gone on to fill the classrooms at Rocky Mountain schools for nearly two decades. 

“She taught me how to be confident with myself,” former student Rebecca Herren said. “She helped me get over my fear of singing in front of people. One year I was singing for the talent show and she helped me practice so I wouldn’t get too nervous during the performance.”

But at the beginning of the school year, health problems, something Mandie’s dealt with for years, once again came to the fore.

Since age 12, Mandie has had health problems. She was eventually diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a rare nerve disease, and has had many surgeries to combat it over the years. 

On Sept. 4, Mandie was admitted to the hospital after experiencing dangerously high blood pressure and signs of atrial fibrillation. The doctors found that she was experiencing heart failure, pneumonia and an aggressive strep infection. She was also having trouble breathing, so she was intubated and placed on a ventilator and sent to Billings for more intensive care. 

After being medically paralyzed for a few weeks, a tracheotomy (tube placed in the neck to help with breathing) was performed. She was in a rehabilitation facility when she suffered an allergic reaction to some medications, and suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism (blood clotting in the lungs), resulting in a backtrack to the ICU. 

Mandie has now improved enough to be transferred once again to the rehab hospital. 

“She’s always been an independent and private person,” sister Maggie Asay said. “...And it’s hard to ask for help, but I just want people to to know that, we wouldn’t be asking for help if she didn’t need it.”

Even while she has been away from the classroom, Mandie continues to impact the community around her. Colleagues and students describe her as a teacher who always lights up the room and makes each student feel important and included. She is known for her fun concerts and bubbly, funny and caring personality. 

“She has a very warm, loving culture that she’s built in the elementary and the middle school here,” band teacher Gerry Burton said. “And the kids, the kids really love her and miss her. She has a good work ethic with them and gets them to work hard on their songs that they’re doing.”

In Asay’s absence, the school and community have rallied around her. A GoFundMe has been started and there was a live auction at one of the volleyball games to help support her. 

“Aside from the fundraisers and things, I know there’s been a lot of teachers stepping in and taking different roles to help cover what she was doing here,” Burton said. “We’re just trying to keep the program going so that the students have success.”

There has been a noticeable void in the building since Mandie has been on medical leave. 

“There’s a lot of confusion with the younger students,” Herren said. “They don’t fully understand why she isn’t there and why she hasn’t come back yet.”

As the school works to keep things running, Mandie’s family has been focused on helping her heal and navigate this next chapter, knowing she’ll continue to need the community’s support as her recovery stretches on.

“I don’t think she would ever ask for help from the community for herself,” Maggie said. “Even though she’s had these health problems for her whole life, she’s always dealt with them privately. And so it’s us that are reaching out for help for her, because we want her to be supported and for her to just be able to focus on getting better.”

With a long recovery ahead, the community remains hopeful that Mandie makes a good recovery and that she can some day sing and teach again.

“[We are] definitely missing a good, good elementary and middle school teacher,” Burton said. “But we’re also missing the laughter, and a lot of the kids like to give her big hugs and just that love that she brings to the children … I just miss her, and can’t wait for her to return. No matter how it is, we just need to have her back and have some fun and do some great things together again.”

To donate to Asay, visit gofundme.com/f/make-ms-asay-sing-again.