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Pastry chef recovering from medical emergency
Metro Atlanta's Chef Sharrod Mangum captivated hearts around the world when he competed in national baking competitions. Now he's facing major health and financial struggles.
ATLANTA - You might have experienced some of Chef Sharrod Mangum's tasty treats at the Salty Donut before or seen him compete on televised baking shows. For the last several months, the Atlanta pastry chef has been recovering from a life-altering medical episode.
Mangum is no stranger to high-stakes situations. From baking on camera for competitions to preparing treats for celebrities and even a first lady.
"They were like, 'Well, Michelle Obama is asking for a dessert item for a particular event.' And I was just floored. I was obviously going to say yes," Mangum said.
His sister, Nekeyta Newkirk, said Mangum has been working hard to achieve his dreams.
"If you saw him on the baking show. If you saw him from Atlanta to D.C. to Texas, he's always about getting to his dream and putting in that work," Newkirk said.
But Magnum's dreams came to a sudden halt in March when he had a stroke.
"I believe I went into cardiac arrest. I had two strokes, and they ended up finding a pulmonary embolism which wound up traveling up to my heart or my lungs, which caused the strokes," Mangum said.
Doctors placed him in a coma. He woke up more than a month later.
(Courtesy of the family)
"The first few days were a little hazy when I woke up from the coma," Magnum said. "A side effect, an effect from the stroke, is I lost quite a bit of vision. So, when I woke up, my vision was blurry. I couldn't see anything. It was just a lot to wake up to."
Since then, Mangum has been in rehab programs, first at Shepherd Center and then in Texas, where his parents live. Every day he's working to regain his strength and keep his skills in the kitchen.
"We're always baking something or cooking something, but mainly baking. We've made fresh bread and strawberry cream cheese danishes. We made cookies. We made spaghetti. They definitely keep me busy for sure, and that keeps me motivated," he said.
While he works to get back to where he left off, his sister has been trying to make sure Mangum has what he needs to get back into the kitchen. So she started a GoFundMe.
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"You have to focus on healing your body and healing your mind, and that does take time. So for him to be in this position where he can't wake up at 4 in the morning to go knead dough and look out for those next opportunities, I know how stressful that can be," Newkirk said.
Mangum said he's motivated to return to doing what he loves, making something sweet for everyone from the White House to his neighbors.
"It definitely gives me motivation. I have several ideas and plans already thinking about future businesses I can do and people I can reach out to and more connections I can make," Mangum said.
If you want to donate to Magnum's GoFundMe or stay updated on his recovery, you can visit the website here.