Kristin and Jacob Tyler were overjoyed when they found out they were pregnant in September 2023. A couple from Alexandria, Louisiana welcomed a one-year-old son and were looking forward to expanding their family.
But at Kristina’s 20-week prenatal checkup in February, the Tylers were told their baby might have spina bifida. “I didn’t even know what it was,” recalls Kristin, 23. “So I freaked out.”
The next day, a specialist diagnosed their daughter not with spina bifida, but with a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare fetal tumor that arises from the baby’s coccyx. It occurs in one out of every 20,000 births. The couple was referred to Texas Children’s Women’s Pavilion in Houston to be monitored by a specialized care team.
They traveled 245 miles from their home and met Dr. Ahmed Nassr, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and fetal surgeon at the Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. Nassr explained that the tumor is “very rare.” The Tylers learned more about the condition—that it occurs more often in girls than boys and is usually benign. But in most cases, doctors don’t know why it happens.
“It’s just bad luck,” says Nassr,
A picture of a benign tumor when Adalida Tyler was in the womb.
Texas Children’s Hospital
A three-month-old baby had half his brain removed after suffering 200 seizures a day from a rare disorder
Tumors can grow very large, and as they grow they can develop large blood vessels. “They basically steal the blood supply from the baby,” explains Nassr. “The baby’s heart has to work really hard,” which, he says, can lead to heart failure. In March, Kristin temporarily moved to Houston with her son William and her mother so doctors could continue monitoring the baby. Jacob, a mechanic, had to stay in Louisiana and work.
“I was very scared,” says Kristin. “After so many doctor visits and ultrasounds, it was scary.”
What made it worse was that she had no friends or family members who had ever heard of the diagnosis. “I couldn’t contact anyone to talk about it,” she says, “I felt like we were in the dark.”
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Adalida Tyler at birth.
Texas Children’s Hospital
Baby survives despite large tumor growing inside and outside her body
Then on April 21, at 34 weeks, Kristin gave birth by caesarean section.
Adalida Tyler was born at 16 centimeters and 4 pounds. tumor, almost two thirds of her body weight. Together, the baby and the tumor weighed more than 10 pounds.
Nassr recalls that the size of the tumor was “a little smaller than a watermelon” but larger than a cantaloupe. “It was a big tumor, that’s why we were so worried,” he says.
“We had to be very careful during the delivery,” says Nassr, explaining why they chose a C-section. “We had to avoid any trauma or bursting of the tumor. Because sometimes with a tumor that big, it can burst and it can start bleeding, and the baby can become very sick after birth.”
Kristin only saw Adalida on the TV camera in the delivery room before she was taken to the NICU. “I need to see her for a split second,” she says.
Doctors have already discussed the surgery the baby needs. “I just got it and I was crying and upset,” says Kristin. Her husband sat with her on the hospital bed and they prayed, “‘God, please. Let her get through this’.”
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Adalida Tyler at home.
Kristin Tyler
Two days later, the pediatric surgery team was able to successfully remove the tumor. Adalida went home from the hospital for her due date on June 29.
Today the girl is making progress. “She’s a good, happy baby,” says Kristin. “She is healthy. Everything is good. She is cured.”
Namely, Adalida met all developmental milestones.
“We call her our miracle baby,” says Kristin. “We call her angel baby. There were so many people who loved her. I am so grateful.”
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Kristin Tyler
When Adalida is between two and three years old, the family will return to Texas Children’s for cosmetic surgery.
Since the tumor was removed from the base of her spine, only a flat surface remained. “So it was pretty much her whole butt — so it’s flat right there, from her back to her legs,” says Kristin. “They’re actually going to make it look more like everyone else. They told me that all the medical issues were taken care of, that they were only cosmetic.”
Faith is what got the family through the difficult road, he says, as well as the support of friends and family.
“You’re not alone,” she says. “Because we felt that way, that we were doing everything on our own. “I’m so grateful that we had the support that we did. There were fundraisers held by people we didn’t even know.”
She adds, “It opened my eyes to how much love and gratitude people give and how much support people give when you’re going through something difficult.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education