SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JUNE 27, 2021
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Cowboy artist needs help after stroke
BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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ontemporary cowboy artist Michael Swearngin and his sister, Lindsey Nix, are in search of the community’s support. Nix set up a GoFundMe on May 30 to raise money for Swearngin, who recently suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side. “He makes his living as a painter and now he can barely move or talk,” wrote Nix. “He has visual and mobility impairments. He needs financial help to cover the doctor bills from his surgery and stroke.” The stroke followed surgery to correct the artist’s hydrocephalus, what the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes as an abnormal buildup of fluid in the cavities deep within the brain.
Local contemporary cowboy artist Michael Swearngin suffered a stroke after he had surgery for hydrocephalus. (GoFundMe/Lindsey Nix)
The excess fluid causes the ventricles to widen, in turn putting pressure on the brain’s tissues. According to Nix, Swearngin’s insurance stopped paying for his therapy in early June. The money raised by Nix’s GoFundMe will go toward paying for Swearngin’s therapy as well as his assisted-living costs. Swearngin is currently staying at Hazelwood Manor Assisted Living in Scottsdale, where his monthly room and care expensive costs $3,500 out of pocket. “He is still not able to walk, move his right arm, talk well, and see properly. He needs all the help he can get,” Nix said. Nix added, “Will you help Michael?” Other ways the public can help Swearngin is by purchasing his original artwork from his Etsy page, michaelswearngin, and his website, contemporarycowboy.com.
see STROKE page 21
Longtime swimmer marks 91 in the pool
BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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ancy Moore was shocked to see dozens of friends and family members gather around the pool at Westminster Village on recent Monday morning. Nancy and her family – including husband Bud Moore and her three kids – thought they would celebrate her 91st birthday with a smaller, more intimate group of people who would cheer her on as she swam one mile in the pool. That mile would commemorate her past triumphs as a competitive swimmer in her 70s. But instead, her birthday celebration and aquatic feat attracted her many friends. “And when Nancy saw the crowd, she
Nancy Moore poses for a photo with husband Bud Moore, just before she swam a mile in celebration of her 91st birthday. (David Moore)
said, ‘I kind of like it,’” laughed Kim Eavenson, spokeswoman for Westminster Village, a retirement and assisted living facility in northern Scottsdale. On June 21, Nancy rang in her 91st birthday, greeting and mingling with her many friends and family before hopping in the pool to swim several laps. As spectators hollered and cheered, tables displayed signs that read, “Nancy’s Fan Club.” “I swam at Alcatraz, and I thought I can show them I can do it again,” Nancy said, citing her past experiences swimming the Alcatraz “Sharkfest” Swim in San Francisco. “She came up to me the other day and said, ‘I’m going to do something for my
see SWIMMER page 20
