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Manchester City School Board member Susan Parsley receives unexpected phone call

Lifelong Manchester resident and Manchester City Schools Board member Susan Parsley recently received a phone call from a well-wisher she is not likely to forget anytime soon—one from former President Donald Trump.

Parsley said the phone call came in the wake of some health issues, specifically an enlarged spleen that turned out to be cancerous, but unfortunately burst in July after she was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital.

“They were trying to figure out if they needed to shrink the tumor, what to do, and anyway it burst and so I was open for 2-3 days for them to work on me,” she said. “They didn’t think I was going to make it through the surgery, but God has got this.”

Parsley said she has been recovering from the ordeal and recently began chemotherapy, but the unexpected phone call arranged by her friend, Manchester native Dr. Manny Sethi, was an incredible experience.

When her phone rang Thursday Aug, 17, and Sethi’s name came up, Parsley said she assumed it was the doctor’s mom calling to catch up.

“The phone rang and it was Manny and he said hang on just a minute someone wants to speak to you,” Parsley said. “President Trump got on the phone, and I was just in shock.”

Parlsey said she recalled Sethi previously telling her that Trump would be in Nashville in August, but with everything else going on, had not thought much about it.

During the phone call, Trump wished Parsley well, telling her to fight hard.

“Manny called me back about 2:30 and he was just cackling and laughing and asked if he shocked me,” Parsley said. “I said, uh, yeah, you shocked me.”

Parsley said she feels blessed to have the support system of both her family and the Manchester community, and is thankful for the prayers and well wishes.

“My husband and children and just everybody in the community have been amazing,” she said.