Cushing's Bios

La Cañada resident Taylor Winter was just 12 when she was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease, a condition caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland that affects everything from organ function and sleep to hormone levels and body growth.

Although she’d likely lived with the ailment for years, once it was discovered by an endocrinologist, Taylor’s family had to act fast to remove the tumor. That’s when they were referred to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles’ neurosurgery division, according to mom Gaia Winter.

“We met with neurosurgeons to see what her options were, and eight days later she was in surgery,” Winter said, recalling the two surgeries it took to remove Taylor’s tumor.

Today, Taylor is an 18-year-old freshman studying theater arts at North Carolina’s High Point University. Her life may not be perfect (she still endures complications from her condition and surgeries) but she knows it’s better than it would have been had the tumor gone unchecked.

“I was not in a happy place before I got treatment, and I think it would still be that way today if I had gone undiagnosed,” she said in an email interview.

This Saturday at 11:30 a.m., Gaia and husband Wade Winter are hosting a charity bike ride at the indoor cycling studio SoulCycle in Pasadena to raise money for Children’s Hospital’s Neurosurgery Ambassadors group. The group comprises former brain surgery patients and their families who wish to “pay it forward” by raising funds for the neurosurgery division.

For a $75 donation, participants can reserve a bike and take a 45-minute stationary bike group ride, although cycling is not mandatory, Gaia Winter said. The money raised will help sponsor neurosurgery fellow Dr. Judith Wong, who will take her training to a town where skilled neurosurgeons are few.

Michael Sampiano, director of the hospital’s Ambassador groups, worked with the Winters and another family to create the program in 2012. So far, the neurosurgery division has received $14,000 from the efforts of that group. Both Taylor and twin sister Alissa are junior ambassadors in the program.

“The money this group raises covers the training and living expenses of our pediatric neurosurgery fellow (and) it gives our neurosurgery division the financial backing to continue its work,” Sampiano said, encouraging locals to join in Saturday’s ride. “It is indeed an investment in the community and for kids in the future who might be in need of this life-saving work.”

Taylor says she was lucky to have such a skilled facility so close to home and recalls her time spent at Children’s Hospital positively.

“Even though I was in pain or discomfort for the majority of my stays, the hospital staff and various volunteer groups… helped create such a fun and caring environment that I didn’t want to leave,” Taylor said.

The Winters, along with other patient families, hope to raise $100,000 this year for the neurosurgery division through the Ambassadors group. It’s the least they can do to give back, after being given so much, Gaia Winter says.

“They gave her the ability to be a normal kid,” she said. “We just feel passionate about giving back to them. The amount of work they do and the lives they touch is tremendous.”