10/12/2026
Carol Romej summitted Mount Kilimanjaro less than 9 months after she underwent herniated disk surgery with Dr. Kevin Taliaferro, our chief of orthopedic spine surgery at Henry Ford Health.
A retired attorney, Carol had initially been planning this trek as a 70th birthday celebration. But 8 days before she was expected to leave, she fell while training. She had been sprinting up a sand dune along Lake Michigan while carrying nearly 40 pounds on her back. Her left leg went immediately numb and she couldn’t stand up straight.
Dr. Taliaferro diagnosed Carol with a herniated disk and performed minimally invasive outpatient surgery to remove it. Less than an hour afterward, Carol was able to walk around without pain. Six weeks later, she was cleared to train again. And then Carol finally did it: she summitted Mount Kilimanjaro at 71 years old.
The climb is no small feat. Rising to nearly 20,000 feet, it typically takes 7–9 days and presents challenges including altitude sickness, extreme cold and high winds. “When you’re on top…there’s no range of mountain,” Carol says. “You are alone. You can do a 360. You’re above the clouds. It’s almost like you’re in heaven.”
Carol is an inspiration to people of any age, says Dr. Taliaferro, but especially to those who want to remain active in their retirement. “No one wants to have spine surgery, but with modern techniques, we can get people back to what they love to do faster and safer,” he says.
Carol – who has also hiked in the Amazon rainforest in Yasuni National Park, swam in Pañacocha Lake with piranhas, and explored the Cairngorms National Park and the Quiraing Cliffs in Scotland – values the encouragement she’s received along the way.
“I’ve been to other providers where there was some judgment about my age and activity level,” says Carol, who is now fondly called ‘the mountain woman’ by her care team. “That hasn’t been the case at Henry Ford Health. They may be surprised by what I’m planning next, but they always support my goals and give me the tools I need to achieve them.”
