Sometimes when we read or hear about what other people experience in life we gain new perspective and appreciation. Their stories can leave us with a positive feeling and maybe some inspiration.
That’s why I’m beginning a series of profiles of people who I think have interesting and heartfelt stories to share. My hope is that you not only enjoy reading about them, but draw inspiration from their experiences.
The first story is about Donna Brown, a 72-year-old author, retired registered nurse (RN) and professional musician who lives in a small rural community in Arizona.
As a child, Donna was raised in what she refers to as a chaotic household. Although her mother was abusive, she also served as a musical role model. “She played piano by ear and enrolled me in piano lessons that gave me my first introduction to music,” Donna says.
One of the biggest challenges Donna faced as a child was severe asthma. It became so severe that she depended on inhalers to help her breathe. She even landed in the emergency room a few times due to extreme shortness of breath.
In those days, Donna says, people with asthma were prohibited from exercise. It was thought to bring on significant coughing fits and shortness of breath. “I vividly recall sitting on the sidelines watching my classmates run and play all the sports I wished I could play,” she says.
Fortunately, her father, who ran track in his youth, encouraged her to join a running club. “Running changed my life!” she says. “The farther I ran, the less I relied on inhalers to help me breathe. And eventually I was able to stop using inhalers. I ran marathons, triathlons, and numerous road races in my youth, and still run one to two miles daily in my ‘golden years.’”
As she was growing up, Donna liked listening to music on the radio. This inspired her to learn how to play guitar. After practicing for several years, she became proficient enough to join a rock band in the early 1970s called Medusa. She met Gary, the lead guitarist, who she would eventually marry.
The band played local gigs for three years until Donna left for nursing school, and Medusa split up shortly after. The couple would leave music behind for the time being.
In 1996, Donna developed a severe ringing in her ears known as tinnitus. She says this was likely caused by listening to loud rock bands in the ’60s and ’70s. “Doctors were not very helpful, and told me to learn to live with it,” she says.
The medical community at the time knew little about this health problem, which affects thousands of people in the U.S. “Unfortunately, there is no cure for tinnitus,” Donna says. “It affects every aspect of your life, limits your ability to concentrate, sleep, and your peace of mind. Tinnitus left me depressed, anxious, unable to sleep, and immobilized.”
Gary conducted extensive online research and found an organization called the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). While reading the organization’s publication Tinnitus Today, Donna came across an article about a treatment called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). It involved wearing white noise generators, similar to hearing aids.
After wearing these devices for a few months from eight to 10 hours a day, Donna started noticing significant relief. Over time, she found that the tinnitus symptoms receded more in the background. “I felt like I had a new and more positive outlook on life,” she says. She resumed running, “and running reignited my passion for pursuing other outdoor sports, such as hiking and climbing,” she says.
That includes technical climbs—which involve the use of specialized climbing equipment—on Mt. Rainier in Washington and Mt. Hood in Oregon to raise funds for the ATA’s continued research for an eventual cure. All told, she raised almost half a million dollars from these climbs.
Donna worked as a licensed practical nurse and RN at hospitals and senior care facilities for more than 30 years, and the long shifts with little time for meals or bathroom breaks took a toll.
The exhaustion caused Donna to retire from her nursing career. But the change in her day-to-day routine led to an unexpected positive result: a chance to return to playing live music. “I never dreamed that burnout would serve as a powerful motivation to steer me back to my musical roots,” she says.
Additional motivation came in the form of an unexpected, life-changing phone call from a producer at a prominent Chicago record label, Numero Group, who had rediscovered a 45 RPM record of Medusa’s music.
A year later, the group released it first album, “First Step Beyond”. Much to their surprise, the album received worldwide acclaim. Donna and Gary reformed the band with three new members, toured the country and received wild fanfare wherever they played. Unfortunately, this band also split up two years later, after the release of its second album, “Rising From The Ashes”. Once again, the couple’s musical career was derailed, or so they thought.
Donna, Gary and a third musician, John, formed a trio and learned new songs from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. They play at several assisted living facilities for the residents to enjoy.
The group now plays at least five or six shows per month. And despite traveling an hour and a half to do these performances and making only enough to pay for gas money, the effort is well worth it.
“We bring such joy to the residents,” Donna says. “You just can’t put a price on that. We are so grateful to have found our purpose of bringing joy through music to people. Music is a powerful healer, and I directly observe this with every gig we play. Seeing the joyous expressions on the faces of the residents as they sing, clap their hands, shuffle their feet in time to our music, and even dance, reinforces the fact that I have truly found my life purpose as a musician.”
Donna’s experiences have taught her that limitations will not hold her back.
“Despite whatever negative circumstances you have encountered in your life, you are ultimately the master of your own fate,” she says. “You have the choice to either find ways to overcome the challenges you are faced with or succumb and be victimized by them. When you overcome adversities, you discover your own inner power, and this enables you to pursue your passions, promote positivity, and pay it forward.”
“Music can change the world.”—Ludwig van Beethoven
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