Chronic Pain Treatment for Kolina

Claire and Jessica, sisters of Kolina Chadwick Winburn, invite you to donate for treatment to help relieve Kolina’s chronic pain!

Kolina and her spouse, Andrew, have gone through some incredibly difficult times over the past few years. These trials have included Kolina’s medical diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis, in addition to Long Covid, as well as failed medical trials to alleviate some of Kolina’s symptoms. By donating to this GoFundMe, you will be helping Kola to attend the Lemons Center for Chronic Pain Rehabilitation in Kansas City, which focuses on alleviating her physical pain through therapy and biofeedback.

In March of 2021, Kolina began experiencing debilitating pain in the lower part of her body. The pain was so intense and severe that she had difficulty walking or having anything touch her lower extremities, particularly her feet. After several weeks of hospitalization, and plenty of doctors, nurses, specialists and tests, a diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis was eventually identified. This condition has caused the myelin sheath of the nerve endings in Kolina’s lower extremities to become damaged. Now, instead of being able to sense touch, pressure, or temperature on her feet and lower legs, Kola’s dominant sensation is pain. This debilitating condition has caused major changes in her and Andrew’s lives, including Kolina's need to now use a wheelchair because her pain is too intense to stand or walk. She now lives in a constant state of pain.

In July of 2022, doctors, after trying many pain-reducing medications and physical therapy, decided to try their last hope for pain management for Kolina using a spinal cord stimulator. The hope was that electrical signals would shock her nerve endings into sensing the correct sense such as pressure, touch, or temperature instead of pain. The procedure was not successful.

Lemons Center, however, is another hope on the horizon. This clinic utilizes therapy and biofeedback to retrain the brain in how it understands pain. Because the techniques are not commonly used, it is not covered under insurance. The medical team will work with Kolina using breathing techniques, meditation, and relaxation techniques to help her to control her pain. Your donation to this GoFundMe will help Kolina to lead a life with less pain, more control over her body and more joy in everyday living. A gift of any size will help to reach the goal of $8,500 to cover the cost of this treatment. In addition, if you are in the Kansas City area, we will also be looking for volunteers to transport Kolina to Lemons Center each day for eight weeks. If you are interested in volunteering for that effort, please let Jessica or Claire know, and they will be in touch with more information. Thank you for helping.