USA Health Magazine: ‘He gave me my life back’

By Casandra Andrews
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This story was originally featured in the Fall 2025 edition of the USA Health magazine.

Two years ago, Lynn Slaton was rushing to leave her house one morning when her running shoe stuck to the wood floor. As she yanked her leg, her foot came out of the shoe and the motion sent her plunging forward — head down — into a door jamb.  

The force of the impact was so intense she fell to the floor, stunned. A few moments later, she picked herself up and headed out to keep the appointment she was hurrying to before the accident. Her husband took one look at her and decided she was in no shape to travel alone.  

In less than an hour, Slaton’s condition was growing worse. Her husband took her to a doctor to get checked out. She was told nothing was wrong. When the pain persisted, she went back two days later for more X-rays. Those images revealed the true extent of the damage that happened when her head hit the wood.  

“She, unfortunately, had a significant high cervical spine fracture that created excruciating neck pain,” said neurosurgeon Richard Menger, M.D., MPH, chief of complex spine surgery at the USA Health Spine Institute. “It can be a technically challenging problem, and it really hurts.”  

Translation: Slaton broke her neck. And while that diagnosis was bad enough, the position of the jagged fracture was dangerously close to her spinal cord.  

“My whole life changed,” she said. “I got very depressed.”

Friends and family rallied around her. Their support, along with her faith in God, helped her regain peace.  

Slaton first saw an orthopaedic specialist outside the USA Health system who reviewed her case and decided the best course of action was for her to wear a neck brace for a few months. The hope was that the fracture should be able to heal on its own without surgery, which is the case with some cervical fractures.

So, the woman who typically walked 5 miles a day, who loved to tend to her flowers and plants outdoors, was told she could no longer do those things — at least for four months. With a strong desire to heal quickly, Slaton accepted the news and followed the doctor’s orders. No driving, no exercise, no fun.  

When the four months were finally up, Slaton eagerly returned to the physician’s office. She prayed her neck would be healed and she could resume her active life, which included hopping in the car to travel to Birmingham or Charlotte, North Carolina, to see her grandchildren, or taking a brisk walk the moment she felt like it.  

Unfortunately, new images revealed that her fracture had not healed. In fact, the break was worse than before, which sent the otherwise calm grandmother into a panic. “I had no control over my emotions,” she said. “As I was coming out of his office, I was screaming. I was having an out-of-body experience. That was my worst day.”  

As the news washed over her, Slaton considered seeking treatment in a bigger city outside of the Gulf Coast. That’s when her doctor told her about Menger, a neurosurgeon focusing on complex spine surgery practicing in Mobile.

Slaton remembers arriving before 8 a.m. on the day of her first appointment with Menger, her oldest daughter by her side. After examining her and studying the images, Menger talked with her about her options.

“When the bone is fractured and it’s not in line, there’s a risk that every time she moved, it could move or slide into the spinal cord,” Menger said. While he and his surgical team successfully perform these complex surgeries often, they aren’t without serious risks, including paralysis and, due to the position of the blood vessels near the fracture anatomy, a stroke in the back part of the brain.

Because of the extent of her injuries, Menger didn’t think Slaton would get better without aggressive surgical intervention. So, the operation was scheduled, and the team was able to meticulously mend what was broken.

Three days later, Slaton said she was back to feeling the way she did before the accident. And after a week of taking it easy, Slaton returned to USA Health to check in. This time, the news was excellent. She was well on the road to recovery.  

“He’s a great doctor,” she said. “He gave me my life back.” 

Patient-turned-volunteer

Slaton said she was so grateful for Menger and the neurosurgery team, that she was inspired to do something in return. She decided to become a volunteer at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, something she had always wanted to do but never really had time for. After contacting Rebekah Blanchard, who leads volunteer services, she worked through the process and then settled on spending one morning a week in the hospital’s pediatric playroom known as the Treehouse. While Slaton’s shift is officially from 8 a.m. to noon, Blanchard said she’s always there bright and early at 7 a.m., sanitizing toys, ready to cheerfully greet the patients and caregivers who visit.  

“Children are resilient,” Slaton said. “You see kids come in here with IV poles. They just want to get out of their rooms and just be a kid again. The parents want to talk to you about what they are going through. I absolutely love it. I feel like it’s my calling to give back.”

In the months after her surgery, she arrived at a follow-up appointment with Menger wearing her blue USA Health volunteer uniform. His face lit up when she told him what she was doing.

“It’s always fulfilling when we see that we are able to help a patient get better,” Menger said. “And it’s truly inspiring to see that she became a volunteer here. It speaks volumes about her as a person and the entire USA Health community.”