A December miracle in Eagles Manor

A Havre man acted quickly during an emergency in Eagles Manor and ended up saving another resident's life, allowing him to get out of the hospital in time to ring in the New Year.

U.S. Army veteran Mark Dongu, originally from Illinois, has lived in Eagles Manor for about a year, he said. He also has epilepsy, which can cause seizures, as he has experienced several times.

"Some nights, you have rough nights when you have epilepsy, and I was having one of those kinds of nights," Dongu said.

He said in the first week of December, he had a seizure, fell, and put his head through a wall below a window in his apartment.

"The reason, we were playing with my medicine a little bit, me and my neurologist, we are trying to get me off what I am on now, because of the side effects, and switch over to another one,"Dongu said. "And so, as that was going on, there is always a risk of having a seizure, and that's pretty much what triggered it."

The impact broke the C4 vertebrae in his neck and also to the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

"So, I laid down, and I don't remember anything after that," Dongu said. "He (Sherman Grace) knows, he could take the story from here."

Grace, who has lived in the Eagles Manor for eight years, said he happened to be passing by the door to Dongu's apartment about 7:50 p.m. and heard what happened.

"I was passing his door, and I heard this loud boom. ... I was thinking to myself, 'I don't wanna leave him alone in case something did happen.' So, I was waiting there, and it went quiet," Grace said, "I asked him if he needed assistance or if he needed help. He said 'no', but then I heard another loud boom."

Within 10 minutes, Grace said, he had made enough communication with Dongu to realize Dongu needed serious help - and that he couldn't get in. The next thing Grace did was run to the apartment of the Eagles Manor maintenance man to get keys to open the door.

"The main thing I was concentrating on was staying calm myself and don't panic and keeping him responsive and alert and calm," Grace recalled.

As they managed to get the first door lock unlocked, they faced a locked deadbolt that prevented further entry into Dongu's apartment. After multiple attempts, the correct key was found, and the apartment became accessible for the paramedics.

"When I was younger, I wanted to go to EMT school... that's always been a field of interest to me," Grace added.

Eagles Manor Resident Leah Shulund, a Havre native and volunteer at the Havre Food Bank, said when she heard about the incident she persuaded the two men to tell their story.

Dongu was reluctant at first, saying, "there used to be a stigma about epilepsy, we were coached by our doctors to not tell anybody."

"I've learned a lot just talking to these two. It's important for people to know," Shulund said, "I work with the public. I deliver to 10 disabled tenants here at the Eagles Manor. We all help each other here, one big happy family."