A 59-year-old Zimmerman woman became paralyzed from the waist down after she had an extreme medical emergency May 29 but was delayed getting specialized treatment during the riots in the Twin Cities.

Retired Minnesota National Guard Master Sgt. Launette Figliuzzi said she had a spinal stroke and needed to be airlifted to a metro hospital that specializes in emergency stroke care, but airspace over the metropolitan area was restricted at the time and major highways were closed as well due to the rioting.

“I needed to get an injection into my spine as soon as possible to try and break up the blood clot,” Figliuzzi said. “But since we had to go by ambulance, it took an hour and a half, about twice as long, to get to the specialized stroke center, and when I got there I was told I had missed my window for a safe injection, and now I am paralyzed.”

The death of George Floyd in police custody sparked massive protests in both Minneapolis and other cities nationwide, with fires and shootings breaking out over several days of demonstrations.

Figliuzzi said the spinal injection has a “very good chance” of succeeding if it is administered quickly and to not have that opportunity to possibly avoid paralysis has made her angry.

“It is terribly frustrating to know I was essentially denied that type of care and possible treatment,” Figliuzzi said. “This has profoundly affected my life and my family’s life in ways I could never have imagined.”

While Figliuzzi was delayed in getting into the Twin Cities, her son, Anthony LaBrie, was deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in Minneapolis and St. Paul and his primary assignment was protecting first responders handling the riots.

“I was able to help out somebody’s mother, somebody’s father or somebody’s sister and somebody’s brother,” LaBrie said.  “But I am sad I wasn’t able to help one of my own.”

LaBrie is president of the nonprofit 2 Wheels 4 Heroes, which raises money for veterans who need help. The group held a motorcycle rally to help with his mom’s medical needs.

“The board of the nonprofit voted to do this so there would not be a conflict of interest,” LaBrie said. “So we are very grateful for that help and any help we can get from the public.”

Launette served 22 years in the US Army and retired and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant (E-8). She then served another 15 years as the County Veterans Service Officer in Sherburne and Wright County, and in Cass County, ND. She has helped thousands of veterans, to obtain their earned benefits; and now ironically she is needing the help.

Here is Launettes’ story as told by her husband, Tom.

“My wife Launette couldn’t sleep (11:30 p.m.), so she went downstairs to get a snack. While she was cutting up an apple, she felt the most intense neurological pain in her back that she has ever had. She called for me and I called for an ambulance.

They promptly came, loaded her up and closed the door. The ambulance took her to the nearest hospital which is in Princeton, about 10 miles from our home. I followed the ambulance in my truck. I waited in the parking lot as I was not permitted to accompany my wife into the hospital due to COVID. I didn’t know that night that I would not hold my wife’s hand for the next three months.

About an hour later, I received a call from the doctor explaining that she believed my wife may have suffered a spinal stroke. The doctor informed me that time was crucial and they were taking steps to call forva medical helicopter and airlift her to a hospital that was best equipped to handle this rare kind of stroke.

A while later, the doctor called me again to tell me that the medical helicopters have been grounded due to the heavy air traffic as a result of the uncontrolled riots. They informed me that they would then be transporting her by ground; however a huge obstacle still existed. All of the major highways had been closed down due to the riots. This caused the ambulance to be rerouted down many different side streets, causing further delays in her care.

By the time my wife arrived at the hospital, her paralysis had moved up to her waist and shortly thereafter, up to her chest. After multiple MRI’s, a diagnosis of a spinal stroke was confirmed. However, by then it was too late for my wife to receive a drug that is used to break up blood clots and can halt and reverse the damage caused by strokes.

That night as she lay there terrified and all alone; seeing only masked faces, she couldn’t have imagined that she would become permanently paralyzed from the chest down — and that her life would become so irrepperably altered.

I wholeheartedly believe that the mayhem and violence that was allowed to go unchecked for three whole days by our state and local officials directly impacted my wife’s access to the critical care she so desperately needed that night. As a result, she is permanently paralyzed from her chest down to her toes. Launette is such a positive person, but it does bother her when she hears commentary coming from the state and city leadership proclaiming that ‘the damage is only bricks and mortar.”

Launette pleads ‘Governor, I am not bricks and mortar — I’m a real live human being who is now paralyzed for the rest of my life.’

Sadly, In the media, Launette has remained a silent casualty. Collateral damage in a war that should have never been.

A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $21,000 of its $35,000 goal to help cover the cost of a specialized wheelchair for Figliuzzi.