Skip to main content
MCHS_Logo_2024_BLACK
  • Patient Portal
  • Pay Bill Online
  • Request an Appointment
    • Services

      Featured Services

      • Cardiology (Heart)
      • Gastroenterology & Hepatology (Digestive Care)
      • Neurosurgery
      • Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB-GYN)
      • Oncology (Cancer)
      • Orthopedics & Orthopedic Surgery (Bones)
      • Primary Care
      • Spine Care
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Urology

      View all services
    • Providers
    • Locations

      Minnesota

      • Albert Lea
      • Austin
      • Belle Plaine
      • Blooming Prairie
      • Butterfield
      • Caledonia
      • Cannon Falls
      • Fairmont
      • Faribault
      • Lake City
      • Lake Crystal
      • Mankato
      • Montgomery
      • New Prague
      • Northfield
      • Owatonna
      • Plainview
      • Red Wing
      • Rochester
      • Sherburn
      • St. James
      • St. Peter
      • Waseca
      • Waterville
      • Wells
      • Zumbrota

      Wisconsin

      • Arcadia
      • Barron
      • Bloomer
      • Chetek
      • Chippewa Falls
      • Eau Claire
      • Ellsworth
      • Glenwood City
      • Holmen
      • La Crosse
      • Menomonie
      • Mondovi
      • Onalaska
      • Osseo
      • Prairie du Chien
      • Rice Lake
      • Sparta
      • Tomah

      View map
    • Classes/Events
    • Blog
    • Wellness
    • Referrals

    Recent Posts

    • Two people working
      Speaking of Health
      Maintaining healthy relationships with age
      May 15, 2025
    • Charlie Pierce
      Patient Stories
      The sound of success: How improved hearing aids career change
      May 01, 2025
    • Cutting yellow pepper on board
      Speaking of Health
      Eating healthy on a budget
      April 24, 2025
    Featured Topics
    • Behavioral Health
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Heart Health
    • Men's Health
    • Neurosurgery
    • Obstetrics and Gynecology
    • Orthopedic Health
    • Weight-loss (Bariatric) Surgery
    • Women's Health
    Join our email newsletter
    Patient Stories
    Tuesday, November 25, 2014

    From common cold to brain surgery

    Topics in this Post
    • Neurosurgery
    renee_wininger_with_dog

    Thanks to the quick action and coordinated care of her medical team, one Eau Claire, Wisconsin, woman has a few more blessings to count this Thanksgiving holiday.

    Renee Wininger thought she’d simply contracted the common cold late last month.

    “I was sniffling and coughing, but when I sneezed it felt like a knife going through my head right here,” Wininger says, gesturing to her right temple. “I’m like ‘You know, that can’t quite be right,’ so that night I talked myself into calling Urgent Care in the morning and getting it checked out.”

    The next morning, Wininger had an appointment with Catharine Decker, M.D., an Urgent Care physician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. 

    “That’s when everything started,” Wininger says. 

    To Dr. Decker, it was evident early in the examination that more was bothering Wininger than just a bad cold.

    “A lot of times, I see patients with colds and sneezes and coughs and their heads hurt, but this was a different kind of pain, and the location and character of it just raised some red flags that there was something more going on,” Dr. Decker says.

    Dr. Decker performed a basic neurologic exam and peripheral vision screening. Wininger appeared to have a defect, or blind spot, in part of her right eye visual field. Erring on the side of caution, Dr. Decker contacted Joseph Dolan, M.D., an ophthalmologist at the adjacent Eye Care Center, and arranged for a more thorough exam the same day. Following his assessment, both Drs. Decker and Dolan were concerned that Wininger, who has a clotting factor disorder, might have developed a blood clot in the brain and quickly made arrangements for her to be seen in the Emergency Department.
    There, an MRI revealed a brain tumor the size of a kiwi fruit. Wininger needed surgery — and soon. 

    But learning that the surgery to remove her tumor could affect her personality and lead to stroke-like effects shocked and scared Wininger.

    “It was a little scary, but you know what? At the same time I’m thinking ‘Dr. Decker, you are my angel. You saved me today,'” Wininger recounts. “To put together those unique set of symptoms and to look deeper…I still can’t believe it.”

    On Oct. 30, neurosurgeon Farroukh Ajir, M.D., removed Wininger’s brain tumor — a tumor that biopsy results proved to be noncancerous — in a three-hour surgery.

    “From my standpoint, I think she’s cured,” says Dr. Ajir. “I really doubt that this tumor is going to come back in her life.” 

    “And here I am,” an upbeat Wininger said while snuggling her dog, Chucky, in her living room on a recent evening. “A miracle happened that day in the hospital. There’s no doubt about it.”

    She applauds her quick-thinking, fast-acting medical team for taking the steps that they did and giving her the ultimate outcome — all just days before Thanksgiving. 

    “Dr. Decker made this happen — just because she chose to dig a little deeper to find the answer,” Wininger says. “Dr. Ajir said this tumor’s probably been there five to 10 years by the size of it, so if she wouldn’t have caught that, this thing would’ve killed me eventually.”

    Instead, Wininger says she’s living proof that miracles happen.

    “I had the best, best, best, best care in that hospital. I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Wininger says. “I’m so thankful.”

    View Renee's story in her own words below:

    Topics in this Post
    • Neurosurgery

    Related Posts

    surgeons-in-operating-room Waseca man walking tall after spinal surgery
    Florist arranging hydrangea blossoms Pain in the back: Spinal arthritis
    Young adult playing guitar Treating, repairing the body's electrical system

    Stay Connected

    • Contact Us
    • Notice of Nondiscrimination
    • Notice of Privacy Practices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • For Patients & Visitors
    • Financial Assistance
    • Price Transparency
    • Community Resources
    • Mayo Clinic Connect
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Press Room
    • Mayo Clinic
    • Manage Cookie
    © 2018 - 2025 Mayo Clinic Health System