Heartbreak as ‘football-sized’ tumour found in miracle twin baby Astro Sweeney

A Gold Coast couple have been left heartbroken after their miracle IVF daughter was found with a “football-sized” tumour in her tiny belly.

Chie Tanaka, Tarrin Sweeney, Cosmo and little Astro.

A Gold Coast couple have been heartbroken after a “football-sized” tumour was found in their miracle baby's belly.

First-time parents Tarrin Sweeney and Chie Tanaka welcomed their twin girls after multiple IVF attempts over five years, but they were shocked as a tumour started hurting their eldest child Astro just weeks later.

Mr Sweeney said they noticed her belly “becoming a bit hard” when she turned two months old.

“I was intrigued why her stomach is slightly bloated and not eating as fast as her sister, not eating as much as her sister, a little bit in pain,” he said.

“I wasn’t forced feeding her food or anything. She just slowly wasn’t eating as much but still had a bloated stomach more than her sister.”

Another month later, Astro started experiencing frequent fevers as her immune system weakened, which prompted her parents to take her to the hospital.

Astro Sweeney has a tumour in her abdomen. Picture: supplied

The infant underwent numerous assessments from the basic blood and urine test to ultrasound at John Flynn Private Hospital and Tweed Valley Hospital.

Medical professionals discovered a mass tumour in her tiny body and transferred her to the pediatric intensive care unit in Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Mr Sweeney was told that it was a cancerous tumour but it was so rare that even the doctors could not find a match from it.

“She’s so tiny, and it’d grown pretty rapidly in that short amount of time,” he said.

“It’s been bleeding into another little balloon, which is another cyst.

“It’s taking up real estate around the lung, so her little flat chest is slowing disappearing.

“She’s been discoloured. She’s a porcelain coloured girl, compared to (her sister) Cosmo, who got a the dark, surfy skin.”

Astro Sweeney (L) and her sister Cosmo (R) celebrate Christmas. Picture: supplied

Mr Sweeney and Ms Tanaka moved from Tugun to a temporary residence in Brisbane to take care of the sick Astro.

On the New Year’s Eve, the family-of-four tested positive for Covid after the two girls were found coughing.

Ms Tanaka started feeling unwell with high fever, while Mr Sweeney also experienced a runny nose.

They recovered after a couple of days but Mr Sweeney was worried that Astro might have the virus in her system for a longer time.

Chie Tanaka and Tarrin Sweeney with one of their twin daughters Cosmo in South Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

The now six-month-old remained in PICU when the professionals were finding a solution to shrink the 3kg tumour for an operation.

Her parents, who worked in hotel and retail industry, were unable to return to employment and have been undergoing financial challenges.

They set up a fundraiser for donations to help them pass through the “little hiccup on the road”.

Originally published as Heartbreak as ‘football-sized’ tumour found in miracle twin baby Astro Sweeney