Meya Fowler was overjoyed when she finally became pregnant after years of dreaming about a family and a traumatic miscarriage – but her worst fears came true when her baby was diagnosed with a tumor during the 20-week scan.
The tumor soon grew to 1.5 kg and gave the girl a survival rate of less than 20 percent due to its enormous size, but Meya refused to terminate the pregnancy and give up her daughter.
Meya, 36, met her husband, Callan, online and the pair immediately hit it off and fell in love.
They got married 18 months after their first date and started having a baby as soon as possible.
“I have a big family and I was close to all my cousins growing up,” Meya told FEMAIL. ‘I wanted the same for my children. Unfortunately I lost my first child, but the second time it felt different.’
Meya Fowler’s baby was diagnosed with a teratoma tumor during her 20-week scan
As Meya’s baby grew, so did the tumor, and it could have overloaded her organs and caused heart failure
‘I was talking to my daughter in my stomach and telling her how much we loved her. We started planning the nursery and making baby name lists, imagining how much our lives would change for the better in just a few months.”
While all of Meya’s initial scans and blood tests came back without any problems, a heavy weight fell on her after five months.
“Our whole life collapsed during the twenty-week ultrasound scan,” Meya remembers. ‘I was so worried because of what happened the last time I was pregnant, I couldn’t imagine anything going wrong again.
‘My first sign that something was wrong was when the doctor doing the ultrasound went quiet. The blood drained from his face and a sad look appeared in his eyes.’
Meya revealed that the doctor discovered a teratoma tumor on her child’s tailbone.
Teratomas consist of tissues such as hair, muscle and bone and often form in the ovaries in women.
As Meya’s baby grew, so did the tumor, and it could have overloaded her organs and caused heart failure.
‘The midwife told us that her survival rate had dropped to 20 percent, and that our baby would most likely die.
‘It was too much to bear mentally and emotionally. We were given the choice to stop or continue, with the risk that our daughter might not make it.’
Despite the odds being against them, Meya and Callan never considered terminating the pregnancy
Despite the odds being against them, Meya and Callan never considered terminating the pregnancy.
“We both really wanted this baby, and we wanted to give her a chance to live,” she said. “We wanted her to fight for it.”
At that time, medical professionals concluded that the tumor was 4 cm in size and growing slowly, which had not yet affected the baby’s development.
Dealing with their baby’s cancer was the first time they encountered the disease.
‘Everyone always says this, but cancer is something that happens to other people. Not you.’
Meya said the news made her feel “burned out” and “weak,” and knowing she could still do everything might not have been enough, but it was exhausting.
The expectant mother was overwhelmingly emotional and often cried about the unfair situation her family had found themselves in.
Dealing with their baby’s cancer was the first time they encountered the disease
At 32 weeks the tumor suddenly increased in size and Meya and Callan were warned of the high risk faced by both mother and baby.
The couple moved from Bendigo to the Ronald McDonald House in Melbourne to be closer to the Royal Women’s Hospital.
At 36 weeks, the tumor had grown to 18 cm and weighed 1.5 kg.
Meya was scheduled to undergo an elective caesarean section at 38 weeks, but two weeks earlier she went into premature labor due to the tumor.
After delivery, the baby was immediately taken to an operating room for a gruesome six-hour operation to cut out the teratoma.
‘I hadn’t even held her yet. The tumor was connected to many blood vessels, so it was possible that one ruptured and caused her to bleed,” Meya said. ‘I was terrified. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
‘I kept asking myself: Is she going to make it? Will the operation go well? What if something happens? What if she can’t make it through recovery? What if I never get to hold her or talk to her?’
After delivery, the baby was immediately taken to an operating room for a gruesome, six-hour operation to cut out the teratoma.
But surgeons were able to successfully remove the tumor and Oliviae was soon connected to machines to help her breathe and heal.
Callan and Meya didn’t stop holding their breath until she was given the all-clear – and the couple couldn’t believe the ‘miracle’ they had been gifted.
The baby’s tests came back negative for cancer, but this isn’t the end of her health journey.
Oliviae still has to go back to hospital every three months for scans to make sure the cancer has not returned.
It is expected that she will have some delays in growth and development due to the anesthesia used on her during the surgery, but Meya and Callan will be there to guide her through the challenges.
“I see her crawling around our house now and it makes me so happy,” Meya said. ‘She lives! She’s okay! It’s all perfect.’
Oliviae celebrated her first birthday at the end of January 2024 and continues to go strong.