The Coast Guard called the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation and they came to Roxanne's rescue.
The Riverhead Foundation learned that she was severely dehydrated and also suffering from gastric bleeding.
The first thing you need to know about Roxanne is that she loves to eat. And if you don't feed her fast enough, she'll tell you.
"75 pounds of squid a day, it's a lot of squid!" said Kim Durham, of the Riverhead Foundation.
Marine biologist Kim Durham says Roxanne is getting restless.
"She was at death's door when we got her, she was not looking good and it wasn't until we got right up on her, and you hear that she just took a breath. I don't think that she would have survived that day, definitely," Durham said.
Kim and her staff at the Riverhead Foundation have spent the summer nursing Roxanne back to health at the Long Island Aquarium, and she's now well over 700 pounds.
But releasing her will require a special ship, a crane and a 100-mile, offshore trip. The cost is $35,000. Its money the foundation simply doesn't have, at least not yet.
In recent days, Roxanne has been acting more and more frustrated. Scientists know she needs to return to the sea and they're determined to make it happen.
"You don't get a lot of happy stories in dolphin rehab, so when you get one, it's amazing!" Durham said.
Durham says they'll find the money, she's just not sure where or when.
"It's got to happen, failure is not an option at this point. She did what she had to do, so now we need to do what we need to do," Durham said.
To help #FreeRoxanne please visit: http://www.razoo.com/story/Roxanne-The-Risso-S-Dolphin
You can also watch a live webcam of Roxanne swimming at the aquarium at: http://cetacam.rfmrp.org/
