Pancreas Surgery Gives Roxy Relief from Stomach Pain
Roxeann “Roxy” Howard complained about abdominal pain since she was 3 years old. After four years of struggle, she and her family came to Cincinnati Children’s, where they received the answers and treatment Roxy needed for pancreatitis. Today she’s a happy, active 10-year-old who enjoys drawing, painting, making slime and gymnastics.
Roxy Howard was in kindergarten when she looked at her mom, Rosa, and told her the stomach pain was too much to endure. She was tired of feeling worn out from being sick all the time. She made the heartbreaking plea that she just wanted to “go to heaven.”
Rosa persisted in her efforts to find out the cause of Roxy’s pain. She pushed. She prodded. She wouldn’t give up on her daughter.
Emergency room visits elsewhere had resulted in multiple incorrect diagnoses for Roxy, ranging from constipation to the flu, all of which Rosa felt just didn’t add up.
“I had her at the ER a few times, and it was always passed over as a virus or something. I knew it had to be more,” said Rosa.
Her doctor in their hometown of Mascot, Tennessee, said Roxy’s case was beyond his expertise and referred the family to Cincinnati Children’s.
“I cannot brag enough about the team of doctors and staff at Cincinnati Children's,” said Rosa. “From the first time I called and talked with the person who set up the appointments, to the first visits we had there, the care and concern for us was genuine and thorough.”