I’ve always agreed with the clichéd (albeit, very true saying) health is wealth. I’m all for a healthy and active lifestyle and about being mindful of what I eat and making sure to drink lots of water and exercise. That being said, no matter how healthy you appear to be, you can’t predict when health can take a turn for the worse. While there’s so much you can do to make sure you stay healthy, an illness can kick in out of nowhere and set your life on a completely different path.
Mandy Harvey, 29, from St. Cloud, Florida, USA, always had her heart set on a musical career. She loves music and has been singing since she was four! “Growing up the only thing I wanted to do was sing.” She went to school for vocal music education, eager to dedicate her life and talent to pursue her passion. But in college, she started to suffer from a lot of pain in her ears from a stubborn ear infection that wouldn’t go away.
She was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder after getting really sick causing the nerves in her ears to deteriorate. Mandy quickly started to lose her hearing. Only a few months later, she was considered legally deaf in both ears. Consequently, she had to drop out of her music program. “That was a bad day,” she recalls.
But, since then, she’s made strides. At her father’s suggestion, he urged her to try to play a song. With a guitar tuner, and humming her starter note, she went for it. It was through this last go, she was able to work her way up to establishing a style and way to perform. “Music now isn’t about the sound, it’s about the feeling.”
And, here she is today, standing in front of the judges on “America’s Got Talent” after figuring out a way to sing. Mandy uses musical and visual tuners and just has to trust she’s got the right pitch. She facilitates the process by taking off her shoes to feel the tempo and beat through the floor. In front of the judges, she sings a song she wrote called “Try.” Let’s just say, she blows everyone away. The judges are floored and Simon reaches for the gold buzzer, saying, “I don’t think you’ll need a translator for this.” The rest is history!
Click below to watch Mandy’s story and her magnetic performance.
