The Winter Carnival horn goes silent

By CONSTANCE SEE

Whitefish Pilot

Rick Donahue, aka Herald the Hark of Whitefish Winter Carnival fame, will no longer be tooting his horn. A recently diagnosed brain injury has muted his horn and his life.

Donahue has been participating in Winter Carnival since his teenage years in 1973, when he was dubbed Prince Frey. He's announced the arrival of carnival royalty with his trumpet since 1984.

"I'm restricted in my usual participation with Winter Carnival as well as in my ability to blow the trumpet due to pressure required to play and its effect on the brain," Donahue said. "Last year, we used a boom box with a recording of me playing."

Donahue said he was injured in August 2005, but his life was normal until 18 months later, typical of traumatic brain injuries.

A golf pro since 1978, and the only Montanan to have participated in the British Open, Donahue was giving a golf lesson when a teenage boy behind him threw a driver as he followed through his swing. The metal shaft hit Donahue on the back of his neck.

"The kid was just goofing off, but I can still feel the shaft wrapping around my neck," he said. "If I could find the boy and he admitted hitting me, maybe I could get some financial help."

A year and a half after the golfing accident, Donahue experienced his first seizure, a grand mal.

"I woke up feeling great, took about 10 steps and just started feeling super woozy," he said. "I said, 'Uh oh,' went for the phone and all of a sudden here were six telephones in my hand. I was able to dial 911, then my body went totally rigid and I fell unconscious. I hit my head severely, leaving cuts on my face, and gave myself a concussion. I probably hit the kitchen counter. The whole right side of my face was covered with contusions. That's as beat up as I've ever been."

Donahue awoke as paramedics were hacking open his front door trying to get in. The notches in the wood remain a reminder of that nearly fatal day. Over the next couple of months, he experienced nearly 300 seizures, both partial and grand mals.

Donahue underwent cat scans, MRIs and neurological exams with no explanation, but after copius research, a nurse practitioner came up with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury.

"Paul Coats saved my life," Donahue said. "He recognized what was going on and took the time to figure out there was an electrical problem in my brain. Coats put me on Topamax and this medicine helped, but it's expensive. I've paid $53 for eight pills, and that's only one of the medications I need to keep taking, plus my insulin."

The new diagnosis also helped him understand why his brain function is different. Donahue said he used to tell his golf students a list of the 24 most important things needed for a good golf swing, but since the accident, his ability to focus has changed.

"I teach from a spiritual way now," he said. "I am much more in touch with the individual than mechanics. I can jump into your body and feel tension in your back swing. When I fix your swing, I can feel your tension go away. I'm much more emotional since my accident."

After tapping all of his own personal resources, Donahue has decided to come public with his needs and ask the community for help paying his medical expenses .

A medical account has been set up in his name at Park Side Federal Credit Union at 504 Railway St. in Whitefish.

A silent auction and spaghetti dinner will be held for Donahue on Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Moose Lodge in Whitefish.

The cost is $10 per person or $25 for a family of three or more. The doors will open at 4 p.m. with dinner beginning at 6 p.m.