Life-changing brain tumor surgery helps Kristie return to yoga and driving

Kristie S., 79, had been having symptoms for a while, maybe a year, hard to remember. She had muscle weakness, finally to the point that getting out of the bathtub was a struggle. She struggled, too, to walk, eventually using a cane. She even started having vision problems. She passed her vision test but didn’t feel OK to drive anymore. She was dizzy, she was forgetful, and she couldn’t use her left hand, which, unfortunately, is Kristie’s writing hand.

She suspected she had a mini-stroke Mother’s Day weekend in early May 2026 but didn’t get it checked out. Then, on Friday, May 22, the start of Memorial Day weekend, she was in her yard pulling weeds. She lost her muscle control and rolled all the way down to the bottom of her yard’s steep hill. 

And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get up.

Fortunately, her son was there to help her up. Her sister insisted she go to the emergency room. If it were a stroke, her sister told her, things would only get worse.

Kristie went to the closest one, HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge in Thornton, less than three miles from her house. 

After a thorough investigation and two CT scans, Dr. Allan “Tripp” Nanney, a fellowship-trained and board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes in complex brain and spine surgery, determined that Kristie hadn’t had a stroke at all. Instead, she had a tumor on her brain.

“When a patient is presenting with stroke-like symptoms, there is a 1 in 100 to a 1 in 1,000 chance that they will have a brain tumor,” Dr. Nanney said. He always worries that the tumor will be “the bad kind,” but after a thorough workup, “we saw rays of hope,” he said.

“It was a Grade 1 meningioma,” Kristie said. “It was on my frontal lobe and fortunately, it was benign.”

A meningioma is a tumor that forms in the protective layers of the brain and spinal cord and is usually slow growing. Symptoms can include headaches, vision changes, weakness in the arms or legs, memory loss, and even seizures. Kristie had suffered from many symptoms.

Meningiomas are common, but most people never know they have one, Nanney said. Most never interfere with a person’s function and never need treatment. Nanney estimated that Kristie may have had her tumor for 10 or 20 years. 

“The brain will tolerate a slow-growing thing for a long time,” he said.

Dr. Nanney placed Kristie’s surgery at the top of his schedule, on the following Tuesday, and Kristie stayed in HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge for about 10 days.

The surgery was a success.

“Miraculous,” Kristie said. 

And, just as miraculously, almost every single one of her symptoms vanished overnight.

Kristie said Dr. Nanney was terrific at explaining her disease and his plan of treatment. He reassured her that she was in otherwise great physical health, so complications were likely minimal. 

“Kristie is at an age where we worry about a patient’s ability to go through surgery,” Dr. Nanney said. “But with her, I knew it was going well. She was a great patient, and she was a testament to the importance of the patient as a member of the team. The patient, and their willingness to follow their treatment, is a huge driver in their own good outcome.”

HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge began its brain surgery program in September 2025 and has had a “success story after success story,” Dr. Nanney said. 

“This hospital identified a need for the community and decided to do something about it,” Dr. Nanney said. “It upped its game so patients like Kristie don’t have to drive 40 or 50 miles for care. This hospital is all about taking care of its community. We have a great team at Mountain Ridge. It’s taken a lot of willingness from a lot of people to make this program happen. A lot of leadership.”

In fact, the entire experience was good, Kristie said. “I loved it. Everybody, even the food preparers, was great. Even the food was terrific.”

Kristie was home before her birthday in June and is waiting for her stitches to fully dissolve. She’d been nervous about tackling a down dog – the yoga position that has her head hanging upside down. At this point, she’s in no pain at all. Dr. Nanney’s two incisions were thin enough that Kristie can’t see them through her hair. 

Kristie’s ready now for the all-clear from Dr. Nanney who expects to give it soon so that she can head back to driving and yoga.

Healthcare, close to home.

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