Sowing strength her whole life

Cecilia Urtiz has always been active. For years, her job cleaning construction sites kept her moving all day long. Off the clock, she is just as active, dedicating her time to gardening, cooking, and her family. She’s especially close with her daughters and grandchildren, who often join her in the kitchen or out among the plants.

Her garden is full of life, roses, chiles, tomatoes, guava, avocado, and prickly pear. She loves cooking with what she grows, especially spicy salsas and pork simmered in green sauce, served with rice for whoever’s gathered at her table that day.

“I really enjoy nature, spending time in nature,” Cecilia says. “I really like to walk outside. I don’t really enjoy spending time inside.”

But as a Hispanic woman raised in a culture where pain is often endured quietly, Cecilia wasn’t in the habit of asking for help, even when she needed it to keep doing the things she loved.

Living with pain in silence

For years, Cecilia experienced ongoing pain that limited her ability to stay as active as she liked to be. Like many in her community, she was used to pushing through it rather than seeking care right away.

“We are really used to handling this, and to bearing a lot of pain,” Cecilia says.

Eventually, her discomfort became too much to manage on her own, and she was referred to UC Davis Health for specialized care. She soon learned she had lumbar radiculopathy, a painful condition caused by compressed nerves in her lower spine that radiated into her legs.

Before her first appointment, Cecilia had one concern that outweighed all others.

The team that finally listened

“Since I was referred to that hospital, I was really happy, because I knew there would be really professional people there,” Cecilia says. “My main concern was communication. I believed it would be a barrier.”

That worry didn’t last long. From her very first visit with pain medicine specialist Dr. Chinar Sanghvi and physician assistant Kristin Siu, Cecilia found a team that made language a non-issue and helped her feel like a whole person, not just a patient.

Meet Cecilia’s physician, Dr. Chinar Sanghvi

“The personnel there are really attentive, really kind, and really reliable. I have a clear diagnosis, I understand it, and I have the trust that they will explain things to me.”—Cecilia, patient

What stood out most, Cecilia says, was simply how much time her care team gave her, something she hadn’t always experienced elsewhere.

“In other places, they only give you 10 to 15 minutes to explain, and then they take you out,” she says. “But there, they give you enough time. We are like doctors, nurses, and patients, like we were friends.”

A plan built around her

To manage her pain, Cecilia’s care team started her on medial branch block injections, a targeted treatment designed to interrupt pain signals from the affected nerves in her spine. The injections have helped bring her some relief, and her team is now preparing her for the next step: spine surgery with Dr. Safdar Khan.

It’s a significant procedure, and Cecilia admits the idea makes her nervous. But that nervousness is softened by something else; real confidence in the people who will be caring for her.

Facing what’s ahead, together

As Cecilia prepares for surgery, she says what’s carried her through every step so far isn’t just the treatment itself, it’s the way her care team has made her feel throughout the process.

“I think the most important thing is that they listen to you, that they give you the confidence to speak and explain,” Cecilia says. “There’s no time limit. They listen to me, and they understand me.”

That sense of being heard has changed more than her approach to this diagnosis. It’s changed her willingness to speak up for herself at all, a shift her family has noticed and celebrated right alongside her.

Gratitude and confidence

Today, Cecilia continues tending her garden, cooking for her family, and spending afternoons with her daughters and grandchildren, the same life she’s always loved, made brighter by a care team she trusts completely.

She’s grateful, she says, both for the referral that brought her to UC Davis Health and for the team that gave her something she didn’t know she was missing: the confidence to advocate for herself.

“To be heard, to have a voice,” Cecilia says, when asked what matters most. “Mainly, to have a voice.”