b'They made it seem like it was all in my head, Allie recalls. Like if they couldnt diagnose it, it wasnt real.Allie, an active 16-year-old student, wokecontinued looking for answers. Seeing a up one day feeling uncharacteristicallynew endocrinologist, Diane presented lethargic. First extreme fatigue, thenher notebook detailing Allies symptoms, debilitating headaches and pain on herdiagnoses and treatments over the right side. When she started faintingpast six years. This time, the doctor regularly, Allies mom Diane insisted sheimmediately made a call to his trusted see a doctor.colleague. Allie is tall and lean. The doctorIn less than a week, Allie sat in front of concluded she could have an eatingHonorHealths Dr. Amar Thosani, an disorder. It wouldnt be the last time ainterventional gastroenterologist with a doctor missed the signs. special interest in pancreatic diseases. Every time we went to a doctor, I wasHe performed an endoscopy, which written off, Allie recalls. Each oneconfirmed a slow growing, cancerous had a new idea: perhaps mono or anneuroendocrine tumor at the top ofautoimmune disease or even an eatingAllies pancreas.disorder.Im so relieved! Allie exclaimed. Dr. Allie bravely lived her life under thisThosani had to chuckle, as most of his cloud, her new normal, and boldlypatients wouldnt respond to a cancer moved to New York City to attenddiagnosis with such enthusiasm.college. But the cloud followed her. ByAllies condition was very unusual in a age 22, Allie was missing wide swathspatient so young. The standard of care for of her day, confused as to what she hadthis diagnosis was the Whipple Procedure, been doing or how she got where shebut Dr. Thosani had reservations about was. This forced her give up school, workperforming the invasive, risky, life-altering and her independence.surgery on such a young patient. Desperate for answers, Diane found aDr. Thosani rallied his HonorHealth neurologist, who believed Allie had likelyteam to consider a less-invasive, been experiencing seizures and sent herinterventional option. He knew he could to the emergency room immediately.use the endoscope to reach her pancreas. They sat in Mayos emergency waitingHe had prior success performing a room for five hours, as Allie experiencedradiofrequency ablation, essentially seizure after seizure. Diane begged theburning the tumor away. nurses to see her daughter and whenHe shared this new plan with Allie and they did, they discovered her bloodher family, and it sounded like the sugar had plummeted to a dangerouslymiracle they had been seeking. The only low level, inducing shock.problem was, there was no appropriate A team of 15 Mayo doctor and nursesablation device in the region. Using his worked to save her life. But once hervast network, Dr. Thosani had a special blood sugar stabilized and Allie wasscope flown to HonorHealth, while Allie conscious again they sent her home.had a hard time sleeping that night, Through the next months, Dianehoping against six years of hope that this monitored Allies blood sugar andwas her answer. continued on next pageHonorHealth Foundation 7'