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Kat & Family

Craig resident Kat Winn is a 39-year-old mother of five. As you might imagine, she’s brought her kids to Memorial Regional Health Clinic for illnesses and wellness visits countless times. Winn has also been a frequent flyer in the emergency room, rushing her children in for typical childhood mishaps—broken bones, cuts requiring stitches, even the sudden onset of Type 1 diabetes in one child.

But many who know Winn as a busy mom and community member aren’t aware that she herself lives with serious chronic illness. Winn has relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. She also battles severe allergies and a rare disease called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency—a genetic protein deficit that causes breathing challenges similar to emphysema.

“I moved to Craig in 2004,” Winn said. “I was perfectly healthy. Everything hit when I turned 25.”

Better with Care at MRH

After she started experiencing symptoms, Winn suffered through several years of illness and many ER visits and hospital admissions. Then about 10 years ago, Winn was diagnosed at Denver’s National Jewish Health—a nationally respected hospital specializing in respiratory and immune disorders. Since then, her MS has been kept in check with steroids, but her alpha-1 deficiency was causing her breathing to slowly worsen over time.

“It got to the point that just walking to my mailbox, my pulse ox would drop,” Winn said. “I was very limited activity-wise. When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters.”

Winn, who’s originally from Galveston, and her husband, Phil, who works at Trapper Mine, considered relocating to Texas, where she would have more access to specialty care. But then Dr. Elise Sullivan saw Winn and told her a treatment was available for the alpha-1 deficiency and that Winn could receive those infusions right here at MRH.

“God bless that lady,” Winn said.

Dr. Jeff Womble put in Winn’s infusion port in April of this year, and Winn began augmentation therapy. She goes to MRH’s Infusion Center every Monday morning at 8:45 and is there for about two and a half hours receiving the AAT protein she lacks. The protein is extracted from donated blood.

“Now I can walk and exercise and be active with my kids,” said Winn, who likes to fish and camp with her family.

Winn was already familiar with the Infusion Center. Every two weeks for 12 years, she’s been receiving allergy injections there. “The infusion nurses Jo and Erica really do an amazing job and care about their patients,” she said.

Winn is also grateful for the help she’s received from MRH Care Coordinator Jenell Lazarony. Lazarony helps patients with complex needs like Winn make all their necessary appointments in the proper sequence as well as handle any ancillary needs, such as transportation.

“Jenell has been amazing,” Winn said. “We had to take one of our sons to Children’s Hospital in Denver for a week, and she helped us set up all those appointments. She also helps set up my infusion appointments because my medications are time-sensitive.”

Winn thinks many Craig-area residents don’t know that care coordination is a service that’s available at MRH. “Jenell is very, very friendly and personable,” Winn said. “You can hand her anything and she says, ‘Let’s figure this out.’ I love her attitude.”

A Community Asset

Winn believes MRH is an underappreciated community asset.

One of Winn’s sons has suffered from post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection, commonly called long COVID. “He went from being a healthy kid to not being able to function,” Winn said. His long COVID also created conditions for an underlying autoimmune condition—psoriatic arthritis with plaque psoriasis—to emerge.

Her son, now on medications and doing prescribed physical therapy, is doing much better. She credits MRH with turning his health around. “Dr. Couillard and Dr. Good have been a blessing,” Winn said.

And Winn’s youngest son was recently diagnosed with scoliosis they weren’t aware he had. “So now we can start treating that to prevent long-term issues,” she said.

Winn also says the MRH pharmacy is exceptional. “Every single person who works in that pharmacy is incredible,” Winn said. “I’m on some crazy medications. And the delivery service is such a help. I’ve never had an issue even once, over all of these years.

“I wish everyone would see what amazing care we can get right here in Craig. I’ve never had a bad experience, and I’ve been to MRH an astronomical number of times.” Winn counts up the recent visits for kids’ check-ups, therapy, infusions, etcetera. “Just in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been there 15 times.

“I’ve always tried to keep a positive attitude, but there have been times when my medical condition has been very hard. But MRH helps me because their doctors and staff are knowledgeable and compassionate. My family and I receive excellent care right here in Craig.”