952-841-2345
 

Call Us Today: 952-841-2345

Call Us Today: 952-841-2345

Donna Lorenz – A Family Matter

Call Us Today: 952-841-2345

Imagine your life
with less pain

Visit the
pain management
experts at Twin Cities
Pain Clinic and let us
help you get back the
life you deserve.

Call Us Today: 952-841-2345

January 21, 2025 Jeff Blanchard

Donna Lorenz – A Family Matter

Family can mean something a little different to everyone. For many, family is a source of love, compassion, and courage; the first, last, and strongest line of defense when life starts throwing punches. Few people understand this better than Donna Lorenz.

Holiday portrait of Donna Lorenz

For years, Donna was trapped in a vicious cycle of debilitating chronic pain. Various treatments failed to offer lasting results. She was prescribed a heavy regimen of opioids to manage the unrelenting discomfort, though they caused more problems than they solved. The toll on Donna’s physical and emotional well-being was immense, and the constant struggle cast a long shadow over her life.

However, through it all Donna had the unwavering support of her truly remarkable family. With the kindness and expertise of a few friendly faces and a revolutionary pain treatment mixed in along the way, Donna embarked on a journey of healing that transformed her life.

One big family

The opening chapter of this family affair is complex and filled with challenges. When she was young, Donna got married for the first time, and she and her husband had six kids together. Donna loved her children dearly, but over time her relationship with her husband grew rocky and after 14 years, they divorced.

After the divorce, Donna suddenly found herself a 33-year-old single mother raising six children, without any parents or close family nearby to lend a hand. Needless to say, this new way of life was extremely stressful. But then, Donna met the love of her life, Bill.

Bill was also a single parent and had four kids of his own. So, when Donna and Bill got married in 1971, it brought the grand total of children in their home to 10, all between the ages of two and 14. Picture fitting 10 kids into a single station wagon! Donna and Bill cherished each other and their children, and they all enjoyed their time together as a big, loving family. But 10 kids are still 10 kids, and managing such a large group was a constant challenge.

Donna Lorenz with her husband and 10 children

Luckily, Donna and Bill were a great team, and they successfully raised all 10 children to adulthood. A significant family milestone by any standard! But this impressive achievement soon gave way to calamity. It turns out, all those years of stress and anxiety had taken their toll on Donna.

The price of pain

One day, well after her children had all grown up, Donna began experiencing pain all over her body. At first, she didn’t think much of it. Donna had experienced pain on and off throughout her life ever since an injury in high school. She never bothered with a doctor. She just dealt with it until the pain subsided, which it always did. But this time was different. This time, the pain did not go away. In fact, it got worse.

This time, Donna sought help. Unfortunately, her care team could not make a diagnosis, so they prescribed medication and physical therapy to treat her symptoms. The meds provided some relief but also caused unpleasant side effects.

Since this was not a good long-term solution, Donna got a psychological evaluation, where the cause of her problems was finally identified. The stress of her younger years had caused Donna to developed PTSD. Furthermore, the PTSD had triggered a case of fibromyalgia, the source of Donna’s chronic pain. Her pain medications were increased and she was prescribed anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds. This mix of medications also caused Donna to develop ulcerative colitis, which resulted in even more pain and medication.

But even with all those pills, Donna still suffered persistent discomfort. She couldn’t go out and do anything she enjoyed. She could barely even do simple chores around the house.

To make matters worse, Bill passed away, which deeply affected her emotionally.

Donna’s life had derailed.

Luckily, Donna would not face these challenges alone, thanks to her endlessly loving and supportive family. Soon after Bill’s death, Donna moved in with her daughter Cindy and Cindy’s husband Greg. This was a very helpful arrangement for Donna, but unfortunately her quality of life still continued to diminish. Cindy watched her mother fade away before her eyes and quickly realized they had to get Donna off those medications if she was going to make it.

A family affair

Don’t worry, Donna’s story has a happy ending. However, that happy ending resulted from further challenges within her family.

Donna Lorenz and granddaughter Jenna wearing bunny earsCindy’s daughter (and Donna’s granddaughter), Jenna, had been born early and suffered from several health conditions, including cerebral palsy and dystonia. She used a wheelchair and required round-the-clock assistance, which her heroic family provided without question.

Cindy and Greg had a large home with a separate apartment on the lower level for Jenna. They even built an elevator so Jenna could get around the house. So, when Donna moved in as Jenna’s roommate, there were three generations living together and supporting one another.

When Jenna was younger, she required numerous medications to manage her dystonia symptoms. Unfortunately, they caused dangerous side effects. At the time, Cindy’s brother Dan worked for Medtronic and had worked on their new intrathecal pump, a device that can treat dystonia symptoms without oral medications. Dan helped Jenna get an appointment to have a pump implanted. Soon after, she stopped taking her medications, which lessened the side effects. As technology advanced, Jenna had a few pumps replaced. Her most recent pump was implanted by the founder of Twin Cities Pain Clinic, Dr. Andrew Will. It was a very positive experience and the family became big fans of Dr. Will and his team.

Meanwhile, Donna continued to suffer. On top of everything else, she had developed arthritis pain in both her shoulders and had to get two surgeries to replace them. After her post-op pain meds were gone, she began to have severe pain flareups in her back. It turns out, Donna had also developed a case of spinal stenosis that caused constant, debilitating pain.

By now, Donna was a shadow of her former self. She was often foggy, detached, and unaware because of all the medications. And she still had significant pain throughout her body. It got so bad that she had to start using a walker and sometimes even a wheelchair to get around. The hits just kept coming and there did not seem to be an end in sight.

But, once more, it was family to the rescue.

Coming together

One day, Jenna and her father Greg were at Twin Cities Pain Clinic having Jenna’s pump filled. Since they were at a pain clinic, Greg told the pump nurse about Donna’s challenges with chronic pain. In a stroke of luck, the pump nurse was also trained to assist with spinal cord stimulation (SCS), an advanced therapy that can treat a wide variety of chronic pain conditions. Greg excitedly brought this news to Donna, who immediately scheduled an appointment at Twin Cities Pain Clinic. After learning all about SCS at her initial consultation, Donna was ecstatic and chose to move forward with the new InceptivTM spinal cord stimulator device by Medtronic.

SCS treats pain by applying mild pulses of electricity to nerves, “stimulating” them. The surgeon implants a small device in the body, where it generates the electric pulses and delivers them directly to the affected nerves. The stimulation masks sensory signals from the nerves, relieving pain.

On the day of the implant procedure, the whole family was at the surgery center, hopeful that Donna might finally get her life back. The attending physician was none other than Dr. Will himself, who had become something of a hero among the family.

The minimally invasive procedure was completed successfully, and after Donna recovered, her new SCS device was switched on. She felt relief almost immediately. Three days later, Donna suddenly realized that she had no pain. It was gone.

The new Donna

As you can imagine, the joy that Donna and her family felt was overwhelming. After decades of pills, misery, and missed opportunity, Donna finally had a chance to start living a fulfilling life again.

Shortly after the procedure, Donna began weening off her pain medications. Soon, she was down from several hundred milligrams per day to just 50. Without all those meds coursing through her system, Donna emerged from the fog. Her family recollects how quickly she became more lucid, alert, and engaging. Her colitis also cleared up, which allowed her to get off those meds as well.

But don’t take our word for it. Donna is more than happy to recount how spinal cord stimulation changed her life.

“The treatment worked better than I could ever have imagined,” Donna exclaimed.” I feel like I am back to my old self! I’m spending more time ding thigns with my children. I can help and do chores around the house again. I take the stairs now, instead of the elevator. And I don’t even remember where my walker and wheelchair are right now; I put them away after my procedure and they are buried in the basement somewhere.”

Donna’s experience with chronic pain truly was a family affair that came full circle. A difficult first marriage started her on her path with pain. Her second husband and life partner, Bill, teamed up with her to raise 10 kids and was one of her biggest supporters during her pain journey.

CLose up portrait of Donna and Bill Lorenz

She was welcomed into the home of her daughter and son-in-law, who cared for Donna when she was at her lowest. Her son, Dan, helped her granddaughter get a new treatment for her health conditions, which led to her son-in-law and granddaughter discovering the treatment that would change Donna’s life. Each member of this extraordinary family played an important role in Donna’s story. Now they get to celebrate her miraculous recovery together.

On January 2, 2025, Donna proudly stopped taking the last of her pain meds. The family has since declared that January 2 shall be celebrated as New Donna Day!

Family of Donna Lorenz all posing for a group photo wearing matching blue t-shirts

Jeff Blanchard

Jeffrey Blanchard is a marketing and communications professional with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He specializes in crafting engaging, compelling, web-optimized content that is supported by thorough research and expert medical testimonial. Jeff has written two white papers and had his work published in two industry journals. He currently serves as the Marketing Manager at Twin Cities Pain Clinic, where he curates the company's website content and is the primary writer and editor of the pain management blog.

Author Bio

img
Jeff Blanchard
Twin Cities Pain Clinic
Jeffrey Blanchard is a marketing and communications professional with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He specializes in crafting engaging, compelling, web-optimized content that is supported by thorough research and expert medical testimonial. Jeff has written two white papers and had his work published in two industry journals. He currently serves as the Marketing Manager at Twin Cities Pain Clinic, where he curates the company's website content and is the primary writer and editor of the pain management blog.
COVID-19 UPDATE >>
Telemedicine and in-clinic appointments available. Schedule today: 952-841-2345