Twisted cyst-arghhh!
An 8lb monster was growing beside my baby
My belly was so big, it looked like I was expecting a football team, not a baby.
The pain was constant, gnawing.
Also, we’d never actually seen my baby on a scan picture.
Me and my fiance David, 28, had gone to the 7-week scan hoping to see 10 tiny fingers and toes. But all we’d been shown was a blank screen.
‘Your baby’s in there,’ the sonographer explained. ‘I’ve got the heartbeat. Only, there’s a large cyst on your right ovary, blocking the view.’
A doctor explained benign cysts like mine weren’t uncommon during pregnancy. Except, 18cm long, mine was on the large side.
With regular checkups, we were assured we’d nothing to worry about. Easier said than done. It was October 2012. David and I had met online two years before.
He’d served in Iraq and Afghanistan…then he’d been shot. It was a miracle he’d survived.
Tall and handsome, I’d expected an all action hero – but, it turned out David was as goofy as me!
On our first date, he tripped up on the way to the bar, knocked over his drink, and accidentally head-butted me.
Now, living together, we were expecting our first child.
Following my 7-week scan, it seemed like my tummy was constantly growing. And I couldn’t shake the pain.
Back and forth to the hospital, I received painkillers and reassurances everything would be ‘fine’. ‘It doesn’t feel fine,’ I worried. By 14 weeks, the pain was so bad, I could hardly stand or breathe.
And there was a tight feeling, pressure on my chest.
‘I can’t go on like this,’ I told David.
Suddenly, I was in floods of tears. I was so scared.
Was something wrong with the baby?
‘I’m taking you to the hospital, and we’re not leaving until we’ve got answers,’ David said. But it was too late, and I collapsed in agony. David called an ambulance, begged them to take us to a different hospital. Luckily, they agreed.
When we arrived, David explained about the cyst.
Straight after tests, we’d a diagnosis…
‘Your cyst’s twisted,’ the doctor said. ‘Probably twice.’
Thankfully, a scan showed the baby was OK.
But we had to act fast. The cyst had grown and was leaking. My insides were filling with pus.
The cyst was so big, it was pushing my bowels out of place, squashing my lungs and diaphragm, and crushing the baby.
‘We’re taking you in to surgery as soon as possible,’ the doctor said.
She couldn’t believe no-one had noticed how big the cyst
The cyst was a massive 30cm long, and weighed 8lb 9oz!
was, or how dangerous.
The following morning, I was taken for an operation to remove it.
I came round pain-free and able to breathe more freely.
The surgeon explained the cyst was a massive 30cm long. It’d grown 12cm in a fortnight, and weighed 8lb 9oz. More than most newborn babies!
‘I’m just so glad it’s out of me,’ I said.
But it wasn’t all good news, as the cyst had wrapped itself around my right ovary and Fallopian tube, crushing them.
‘We had to remove the ovary and tube,’ the doctor said.
It meant conceiving again could be hard.
‘We’ll cross that bridge if and when,’ David said. ‘What matters now is you and the baby.’
The following day, we were taken for an ultrasound scan. With the cyst removed, we would get to see our baby for the first time…
‘There she is,’ the midwife said, pointing at the screen.
Suddenly, all the fear and worry disappeared.
We were having a girl. And, finally, we could see her – those 10 tiny fingers and toes. I cried tears of joy. A couple of days later, I was allowed home. I’d be lying if I said the rest of the pregnancy was plain sailing. I had liver problems, low blood pressure.
But I kept focusing on our baby girl, thinking of that little person inside me.
Then, at 36 weeks, my waters broke, and our girl Gracie-jane was born 28 hours later on 9 May 2013. She was 5lb 13oz, and had to be kept in an incubator for eight days, with mild jaundice. But she was otherwise healthy.
‘Now I’ve got two beautiful girls,’ David said, kissing Gracie-jane, then me.
A year later, he didn’t just have two beautiful girls – he had three!
Despite losing an ovary and tube, I’d no trouble conceiving – and Amelia-rose was born on 21 September 2014.
We had our perfect family!
The only reminder I have of my cyst is a small scar over my bellybutton.
But, during a recent checkup, the doctor saw another cyst growing on my left ovary, which means I might have to have another operation eventually.
Still, the only things that really matter to me are my war hero David and our two very special, very gorgeous girls.
My only reminder is a small scar over my bellybutton