California Woman Discovers Full-Term Pregnancy After Mistaking Symptoms for Ovarian Tumor
Imagine going through an entire pregnancy without even knowing about it.
California nurse Suze Lopez discovered she was pregnant during medical testing to examine a 22-pound ovarian tumor. The California nurse sat down with People magazine recently to detail her journey.
Before getting pregnant for the first time, doctors found cysts on Lopez’s ovaries. While she had the right ovary and cyst removed, she kept the left in hopes of becoming pregnant. She did manage to become pregnant with her now-teenage daughter. However, according to Lopez, the cyst on the remaining ovary grew about one pound per year until it finally reached 22 pounds.
That was the point when she decided it was time to have it removed. When she went for routine bloodwork and CT scans, though, the bloodwork revealed that she was pregnant.
“I know it sounds insane. It is insane,” Lopez told People.
Lopez Said the Tumor Masked Symptoms of Her Pregnancy
Lopez said she did not experience common pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness, vomiting, or cravings. As she explained to People, “I’d always blame it on the cyst. I would never think of anything beyond.”
There might have been other symptoms, though, that were masked by the cyst. Because this tumor grew by about a pound every year, it caused changes to her body. Her stomach would grow larger, or her feet might swell. She said she attributed those changes to the growing cyst.
Doctors Found Lopez Was Carrying a Full-Term Baby
Doctors discovered Lopez was carrying a full-term baby through a rare abdominal ectopic pregnancy. This kind of pregnancy has a “high morbidity and mortality” rate, according to the National Library of Medicine. Dr. John Ozimek, the medical director of Labor and Delivery at Cedars-Sinai, where the baby was to be delivered, gave Lopez a 50/50 chance of surviving.
A team of 30 experts helped with the complex delivery. Lopez experienced significant blood loss during the procedure, losing nearly 4.5 liters of blood. According to Ozimek, “If this would’ve happened somewhere that doesn’t have these resources, there is no way that she would’ve survived, and very unlikely that the baby would’ve survived either.”
Not only did Lopez survive, but she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. His parents named him Ryu Jesse. As Lopez explained to People, the baby’s name was inspired by the Street Fighter character Ryu because “he’s definitely a fighter.” She added that Jesse means “gift from God.”
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