An 11-year-old Oklahoma girl had a tumor in her belly, but it was her dentist that helped her family get the help she needed.
Journee Woodard was having a routine teeth cleaning when the dental hygienist noticed something odd about Journee’s eyes. The hygienist and dentist agreed that the young girl’s eyes appeared to be yellow, according to a report from our sister station KFOR.
That was on a Monday. By Friday of the same week, Journee had undergone blood tests and an MRI, which led to surgery to remove a grapefruit-sized tumor. The surgery involved removing “part of her pancreas, stomach, gall bladder and part of the intestine,” according to a website dedicated to Journee’s recovery.
Journee was expected to be in intensive care for seven to 10 days.
“I didn’t feel like there was anything I could do to help, which is one of the harder things,” said Dr. Chandler, the dentist who initially noticed something wasn’t right for Journee. “It’s hard for me to feel like I’m a hero.”
