A pregnant woman and her unborn baby were saved after a watermelon-sized cyst formed on her ovary. Josephine Hall, 32, was having a normal pregnancy until medics revealed a worrying growth during her 12-week hospital scan.
The mum-of-two was initially advised that the cyst was likely to be benign and so decided to wait to operate. But at 19 weeks pregnant, Josephine found herself in agony and struggling to walk.
She was rushed into hospital for emergency abdominal surgery. Medics found she had an ovarian torsion, a potentially fatal condition where her ovary and fallopian tube had twisted on the tissues that support them, cutting off blood supply.
The cyst had grown so large it pushed her surrounding organs out of place and they became dangerously twisted. During a two-hour emergency surgery last June doctors took out a 20cm cyst ''the size of the watermelon'' and were also forced to remove her right ovary and right fallopian tube.
Medics advised that whilst the cyst wasn't found to be cancerous, the size and speed that it had grown was potentially life-threatening for both mother and baby. Josephine spent two days recovering in hospital before returning home to her partner, James Watson, 35, an IT manager, and their daughter, Freya, nine, in Corby, Northamptonshire.
The expectant mum continued her pregnancy with regular scans until giving birth to Solomon Ashley Watson, now five months old, on November 5, 2022. Little Solomon was born in his embryotic sack weighing a healthy 8lbs 4oz.
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
Josephine, a finance assistant, said: "If I hadn't had being pregnant with Solomon I don't think the cyst would've been detected. I'd had a slight stomach pain, but nothing of note.
''I did panic a little when it was diagnosed, but the sonographer was really reassuring. But the pain gradually got worse, to a point when I could barely stand and that's when I was told the cyst had grown and was twisting my ovaries dangerously.
"When I was being wheeled down to surgery, I was just thinking about my baby. I'd never imagined I'd be having major surgery while pregnant, it was terrifying.
"When I saw a picture of the cyst after it was removed, I was speechless. I couldn't believe that something the size of a watermelon was growing inside of me, but it did explain the excruciating pain I was experiencing.
''It was it was the biggest relief when I held Solomon in my arms. We brought him back on fireworks night and it was like the neighbourhood was welcoming him home too. He's beautiful and so cheeky- I'm thankful for him for alerting us to the cyst and completing our family."
In February 2022 Josephine found she was pregnant and things were ''going smoothly'' until the cyst was detected at her first hospital scan in April 2022. Medics decided to remove it after the baby was delivered and she was referred for an MRI two months later to determine what the cyst was made up of.
The MRI found cyst was made of mostly skin, fat and tissues. However, the pain on her right side got progressively worse and on June 8, 2022, Josephine woke up at around 6am with agonising pains.
The mum-of-two said: "I'd noticed that the pain got worse, but I put that down to being pregnant. But in the June I woke up one morning with the worst pain in my right side - it felt like a hot iron being plunged into my side.
"James and I went straight to A&E and they did an emergency MRI. We were sent home the same day and awaited the results."
When the pain got worse, the expectant mother dialled 111 and was told to go straight back to hospital.
"James was taking Freya to school, so I just grabbed my bag and hopped into a taxi,'' she explained. "I thought I'd only be in there for a check-up and be back for lunch but the pain got worse during that 20-minute journey. When I arrived, I fell into A&E and was admitted straight to the women's ward."
After 30-minutes, medics found that Josephine had developed a potentially fatal ovarian torsion and explained she'd need emergency abdominal surgery.
Josephine said: "Before I knew it, I was being told I'd have to have surgery - I was so scared. I had to sign paperwork that if the baby became distressed, they'd prioritise my life.
"I had tears streaming down my face as told James what was happening, just before I went into surgery. I was scared about losing my unborn child and I was thinking about my daughter, who I didn't say goodbye to before I left. It was so surreal and I thought I might not wake up after surgery."
During the two-hour open procedure, during which Josephine was under general anaesthetic, medics discovered that the cyst had grown to 20cm across and removed it along with her right ovary and fallopian tube as the cyst had cut off the blood supply and killed the organs.
"Medics said the baby's heartbeat was fine and the cyst was bigger than the baby!" Josephine continued. "I didn't want to stay in hospital long as I was determined to get home to James and my little girl as I hadn't had time to say goodbye to them before I left for A&E.''
Throughout the rest of her pregnancy, Josephine had extra check-ups at the hospital and scans to monitor the baby's growth until giving birth naturally at 40 weeks.
Josephine said: "It was only an eight-hour labour and I had no complications or pain relief. He was still born in his sac - it was like he was too comfy in there!
"We had him in the morning and were back home by 4pm. He's just the best. He's such a happy baby considering everything he's been through.
"He loves books and Freya loves to read him his favourite, which is Hairy Maclary. It's surreal to think about everything we've been through but when you have a baby, you don't dwell on things.
"I'm so thankful to the NHS team and James has been my rock throughout it all. Solomon has been a dream from the beginning- it's like he doesn't know anything has happened."
