'They said our baby would die, but we never gave up on her'

This mother received the heartbreaking news during her 20-week scan that her baby might not survive, but she courageously committed to giving her unborn daughter a fighting chance to live.

Joel Erickson

3 min read

February 20, 2024 - 10:38AM

Meya and Callan hold their daughter Oliviae. Picture: Daily Mail

Family Life

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Meya Fowler was naturally nervous when she walked into her 20-week scan during her first pregnancy after a traumatic miscarriage, but what she would hear would flip her life upside down.

The Bendigo mum was told her baby girl had a tumour, and she was soon given less than a 20 per cent chance of survival.

The Daily Mailreports Meya was unwilling to give up on her daughter, and refused to terminate the pregnancy.

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Meya and her husband Callan met online and clicked instantly.

They were married 18 months after their first date, and started trying for a baby straight away.

“I have a big family and I was close with all my cousins growing up,” Meya told The Daily Mail. “I wanted the same for my children.

“I unfortunately lost my first baby, but something felt different about the second time.

“We started planning the nursery and making baby name lists, imagining how much our life would change for the better.”

Meya and Callan during her pregnancy. Picture: Daily Mail

"My whole life came crashing down"

The Daily Mail reports all of Meya’s initial scans came back with no issues, but her “whole life came crashing down” at the 20-week scan.

“I was so anxious because of what had happened the last time I was pregnant - I couldn’t imagine something going wrong again,” Meya said.

“The first sign something was wrong was when the doctor doing the ultrasound went quiet. The blood drained from his face, and a sad look came over his eyes.”

The doctor had found a teratoma tumour on Meya’s daughter’s tailbone, a tumour made up of tissues like hair, muscle, and bone that often form in ovaries.

Meya's baby was diagnosed with the tumour at her twenty-week scan. Picture: Daily Mail

"It was too much to bear"

The tumour was growing with Meya’s baby, and the ultimate risk was it could overload her tiny organs and cause heart failure.

“The OB told us her survival rate had stopped to 20 per cent,” Meya told The Daily Mail.

“It was too much to bear mentally and emotionally. We were given the option to terminate, or continue on knowing the risk that our daughter might not make it.

“Both of us really wanted this baby, and we wanted to give her a chance to live. We wanted her to fight for it.”

She was quickly whisked into surgery where doctors worked to remove the tumour. Picture: Daily Mail

Mum left "burned out" by ordeal

Meya said the news left her feeling “burned out” and “weak”, and she was “overwhelmingly emotional” and would often cry about the unfair situation her budding family was in.

The Daily Mail reports the tumour stayed small until 32 weeks, when it “suddenly ballooned”.

At this point, Meya was once again warned of the potential risks to both her and her baby, so the family decided to move into a Ronald McDonald house in Melbourne to be closer to the Royal Women’s Hospital.

By 36 weeks, the tumour was 18cm and weighed 1.5kg.

Meya described the situation as terrifying and overwhelming. Picture: Daily Mail

"What if I never get to hold her?"

Meya was initially scheduled for a caesarean at 38 weeks, but she went into premature labour two weeks prior because of her baby’s tumour.

After she’d given birth, her daughter was whisked away to an operating room for a gruelling six-hour long surgery to remove the tumour.

“I hadn’t even held her yet,” Meya told The Daily Mail.

“The tumour was connected to a lot of blood vessels, so it was possible for one to rupture and cause her to bleed out.

“I was terrified. I kept asking myself: ‘is she going to make it? What if I never get to hold her or speak to her?’”

Meya and Callan hold their daughter Oliviae. Picture: Daily Mail

"She's alive! It's all perfect"

Thankfully surgeons were able to remove the tumour, and baby Oliviae was on a ward to help her breathe and heal.

Oliviae was eventually cleared of cancer, but she still requires scans every three months to ensure it hasn’t returned.

Meya said Oliviae is expected to have some growth and developmental delays, but said her and Callan would be there to guide her through every challenge.

“I watch her crawling around our house now and it makes me so happy,” she said.

“She’s alive! She’s OK! It’s all perfect.”