For years, Lillian learned to live with her back pain. It was always there. She was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in 2000, so she knew that if she went on a hike, sat through a long flight, washed her dog, or even lifted a full laundry basket one too many times, she’d pay for it later with a very sore back. She tried injections and nerve ablations, which helped for a while, but the pain always returned.
Lillian was thrilled when she, her husband, and daughter moved to Colorado in 2024. She had been looking forward to exploring the mountains and enjoying everything Colorado had to offer. Unfortunately, her back pain often had other plans.
As a certified medical assistant for Dr. Jatana's team and a former surgical technologist, Lillian spends her days helping patients navigate their own spine conditions and recoveries. Having experienced chronic back pain herself, she understands firsthand what many of them were going through. But one day, the roles reversed.
After walking up three flights of stairs, Lillian felt a huge “slam” in her back—like she had been hit by a sledgehammer. Oddly enough, the back pain she had lived with for years was suddenly gone. But something was very wrong: her left leg was numb and difficult to move, and she couldn’t lift her foot.
Her family helped her into bed, and the next morning she came into the office—where she was met with a wheelchair to get to the X-ray machine. Other diagnostic tests followed; Lillian needed surgery, and because of her degenerative disc disease, she wasn’t a candidate for an artificial disc replacement. She needed spinal fusion surgery. So Lillian underwent an L5-S1 ALIF (anterior lumbar interbody fusion) surgery with Dr. Jatana at Porter Adventist Hospital. She was up walking the hospital hallways that same day. And the post-surgery pain? “A lot easier than my C-section,” Lillian recalls.
Today, Lillian brings a unique perspective to patients considering and recovering from spine surgery. When someone tells her that constant pain has made them irritable and their lack of sleep has altered their life, she understands because she's lived it herself.
Now eight months after surgery, Lillian is doing what she had hoped to do when she moved to Colorado: enjoying the mountains. Over Labor Day weekend, she hiked the 4+ mile Silver Dollar Trail with a 1,700ft elevation gain carrying a large pack. She’s been camping and fishing with her family and enjoying Colorado to its fullest. And she’s slowly working her way back toward climbing 14ers.
Lillian feels lucky she worked at Dr. Jatana’s office when this happened—but most of all, she is grateful for his expertise, kindness, and compassion, which helped put her back on the path to enjoying the Colorado life she loves.
