Managing Pancreas Condition & Gaining Weight, Alex Excited for College
Teen Success Story Made Possible by Pancreas Care Center
When she first arrived at Cincinnati Children’s, Alexandra Rapp was languishing in the bottom second percentile for weight.
Alex, who was 12 at the time, had struggled for years to put on the necessary pounds to maintain a healthy body.
The cause was unknown. Her parents, Jacqueline and Keith, felt helpless as they watched their middle school daughter dwindle to 61 pounds. They worried Alex might be slipping away.
“She was so malnourished,” said Jacqui, thinking back to the early days with near disbelief. “She was losing a lot of weight. And she was sleeping a lot. She was exhausted all the time, going to sleep at 5 o’clock.”
Several tests were performed by the family’s gastroenterologist near their home in Louisville, Ky. Preliminary results showed that her pancreas had suddenly stopped working and was no longer producing the enzymes needed to properly digest food and fat.
“That’s when we realized that things were not good. She had 86 percent fat in her stool and we were told it’s supposed to be 3 or less,” said Jacqui.
Thanks to a family friend’s recommendation, as well as extensive online research, the Rapp family discovered the team of experts at Cincinnati Children’s Pancreas Care Center.
“I had become connected with the National Pancreas Foundation online,” said Jacqui. “I asked where we should go. The answer was clear: ‘You want to see Dr. Haija.’ ”
A pancreatic stimulation test was done in March 2015 and soon afterward Alex began seeing Maisam A. Abu-El-Haija, MD, medical director of the Pancreas Care Center.
“It all happened very quickly after that,” said Jacqui.
Alex was diagnosed with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and efforts to reverse her malnutrition and increase her weight began in earnest.