No matter how well a person's life is going, it only takes a millisecond to take a 180° turn and revert downhill. Tomorrow is never promised, and a teenage girl in America experienced this notion firsthand. She was living her life, worrying about school, boys, and everything else that teenagers normally worry about when her life took an unexpected turn.
The young girl endured physical and emotional pain that no one deserves—both due to the decline in her health as well as being shut out by society. Her story is heartbreaking and is something that everyone should read to be aware of and gain perspective. Find out what happened to her here.
Meet The Innocent Victim
Many years ago, Katie Smith was merely a 14-year-old girl in the eighth grade. She was doing well in school, had friends, and was enjoying her teenage years like her classmates. Little did she know that the most challenging time of her life was just around the corner.
We all know that these are the years of puberty, which means teenagers experience growth spurts—some more noticeably than the others. Smith was going through the same thing, and given her age, no one thought anything more of it. But they should have!
The Changes Became Alarming
Smith was putting on weight. By putting on, we mean the figures on the scale were multiplying every day. Unexplainable weight gain can't be a good thing, right? At first, she didn't think much of it and tried her best to keep it down.
However, after only five months, Smith's weight had increased by a whopping 50 pounds, which clearly calls for alarm, especially for her parents. The young girl was getting physically uncomfortable, not only because of her rocketing body mass and growing belly but also due to the sharp pains.
The Graphic Sufferings
The pain came to a point where every time she lay down, something inside her stomach equal to the size of a football would protrude. Considering her young age, she must have been terrified of even going to sleep.
Smith could feel that the monstrosity popping out of her abdomen was crushing all of her internal organs, leading her to get up frequently as it made her want to urinate. Moreover, she couldn’t eat properly as she’d vomit everything up. We’re guessing that she had a higher pain threshold to withstand all that.
She Started To Hate School
Don't forget that Smith was still going to school through all of it. When have our parents actually allowed us to skip school due to weight gain or a stomach ache? Never. So, she was still getting her school work done but not in the right headspace.
Kids that age are prone to bullying others, especially for things like physical appearance. Since Smith was ballooning, her friends began to avoid her and even made fun of her. She was devastated and began to hate going to school. But the peer negativity was only beginning, and things were about to get a whole lot worse.
Haunting Pregnancy Rumors
Smith was experiencing things that no child should ever have to go through. Not only were her friends avoiding her, but now the teachers, principal, and even the parents of other kids started to question her character. In short: they thought she was pregnant.
While 14-year-old pregnancies aren't something you hear about every day, they still happen, which is why parents didn't want their children hanging around with Smith. They even insisted on the school board suspending her because they didn't think a pregnant teenager would reflect well on the school's image.
Time To Prove Them Wrong
The 14-year-old wasn't ready to take another word of these accusations, which is why she agreed to take a pregnancy test when the school suggested it. Even though her weight gain and enlarged abdomen had her confused, Smith was 100% certain she wasn't carrying a child.
After taking the test, the minutes that passed were a nail-biting time. However, as she expected, it came out negative, which was a great relief to Smith and her family. Yet, the rest of her haters weren't really satisfied with just a pregnancy test. Seeing as she looked like an older pregnant woman, there was no other explanation.
Growing Pains As The Semester Ended
Through all of her discomfort and moments of bullying, Smith survived the second semester of school. Even though the nightmarish experience of attending school was behind her for a while, she couldn't bear the growing pains in her body as her weight increased even more.
Not only did she have to bear the sharp pains in her stomach, but she had also developed a backache by carrying her massive bump. She described the feeling as if an alien was living in her belly. Ouch! Something had to be done to help the poor girl.
Scans, X-Rays, and Medical Check-Ups
As the pain was getting more severe by the day, her parents had made an appointment to get their daughter checked by a medical professional. They only had to wait a few days after the semester ended, and the time eventually came.
Smith had her fingers crossed to finally find the cause behind her physical changes and pain. As she went in, the doctors first checked her insulin levels to make sure diabetes wasn't the cause. Well, it wasn't. Smith's mother then suggested that the doctors perform scans and X-rays.
The Doctors Finally Figured It Out
Smith's mother may just have been the girl's saving grace, as her suggestions led the doctors to perform further scans and tests, which brought them a step closer to figuring out the problem. After careful experimentation, the doctors managed to make a prognosis.
It didn't look good, as the doctor contacted Smith's mother to deliver the bad news. The big demon that was ruining the girl's life was a cyst that had grown tremendously over the months. The problem was clear, but the solution wasn't. How bad was Smith's situation, and was there a way out?
A Little Bit About Cysts
Before going on, you should know what cysts are. Medical News Today says that they are capsule or sac-like structures that are closed. A semisolid, liquid, or gaseous substance usually fills them, similar to a blister. They could come in different sizes, from the tiniest barely-visible ones to humongous ones.
Furthermore, they have the power to affect internal organs. While most of them tend to be harmless, some can turn into serious cases and even lead to cancer. In Smith's case, it was certainly a serious variety as her entire lifestyle had already been affected.
Diagnosed Right On Time
The scans painted a clear picture of what was going on inside Smith's body. According to her doctors, the diagnosis was made right on time because her cyst could've solidified, making the situation terminal had it continued at that pace.
In fact, she probably wouldn't have even been able to live to graduate high school. The doctors didn't sugarcoat anything, as time was of the essence under the circumstances. It was still too soon to call Smith a lucky girl because she was yet to undergo some serious treatments and surgeries.
The Next Step Of Her Treatment
In Smith's case, the cyst grew in her ovary. Since it was growing rapidly like a tumor, there was no time to waste. In fact, it was already weighing around 100 pounds, which is supposedly equal to the average weight of a 13-year-old child.
We can't even begin to imagine the nightmare this young girl lived because she was basically carrying the weight of two people. It was time for her to fight for her life as the doctors ordered immediate surgery to make sure she had a fighting chance. A date was finally set.
The Life-Changing Surgery
As the sun came up on July 3, 2007, Smith woke up and conjured up the courage she needed to face the surgery. She had mixed feelings. Happy because her pain could finally be a thing of the past and scared, as the surgery could define the rest of her life.
In other words, she feared that it could be the last day of her life if anything went wrong. Hopeful for a new life, Smith and her family took off to the Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, for the big surgery.
The Best Brains Come Together For A Rare Surgery
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Smith was shown to a room where she was prepped for the surgery by nurses. She was obviously restless. Plus, seeing the many doctors who had flown in from across the country to perform this surgery didn't help calm her nerves either.
It wasn't just any operation surgeons perform every day. How many times have you heard of a 100-pound cyst? They needed the best minds and hands for this surgery of a lifetime that would take seven hours. The Smith family was also full of emotions and probably were teary-eyed that day.
Operation In Progress
After the doctors had their discussion, they briefed the Smith family about the procedure. The fact that it was a risky surgery was made clear to them before the doctors went ahead and started removing the cyst. It was now in progress and a stressful few hours for the family.
As the surgeons cut her belly open, they were shocked to see the largest cyst they'd seen in their careers. They exercised precaution as they drained the fluid from it, trying to save as many of her organs as possible. After seven long hours, the surgery was finally done.
Restless Hours Post-Surgery
Even though the doctors' task was over, Smith was still unconscious, and it was too soon for the doctors to comment on the surgery's success. It was a nail-biting few hours for the family, not knowing if their girl would survive.
Luckily, she did! Smith regained consciousness but couldn't communicate or eat and was still in pain caused by the surgery. The doctors may have given her some painkillers, but she couldn't keep anything down and vomiting. Being unable to eat means the body gets weaker, which can't be good for a patient like her.
She Couldn’t Eat Real Food
The lengthy and complicated surgery that Smith went through did a number on her. We're pretty sure that she was fed up with being in pain at this point, but hopefully, she only had to tolerate it for a few more days.
Since she couldn't eat any solid food just yet, the nurses gave her cherry popsicles because that was her favorite flavor. However, most of the time, she would fall asleep holding the popsicle, waking up to just the stick. Smith was also fed pudding whenever she opened her eyes.
Beginning To Recover
Even though the process was quite slow, Smith started to recover. She was able to keep down proper food without vomiting and even felt her stamina emerging gradually. After everything Smith had been through, she deserved it more than anyone.
The teenager lifted the sheets covering her body and felt ecstatic as she could feel her ribs without any pain getting in the way. Perhaps there still was a bit of discomfort, but at least her nightmare was over. She didn't have to live in the shadow of death anymore.
Struggles During Recovery
On the days following the surgery, Smith had to use a wheelchair and even had to figure out how to walk properly again. However, she didn't let this get to her. During her recovery, she made a couple of new friends who were much better than the ones from school who abandoned her during a time of need.
Furthermore, Smith took up origami to help with the boredom until she made a full recovery. We're truly impressed at how well a teenager handled every problem that life threw at her.
Starting To Dream Again
Even though Smith had plenty of goals, dreams, and ambitions like children normally do, her deteriorating health added strain. She wasn't sure if she'd survive the surgery, and because she did, Smith could go back to being a normal teenager and start to dream about the future she didn't think she'd have.
In fact, she could make plans better than other kids as she has been on the brink of death, and therefore, values her life a lot more than an average kid her age would. Life experiences like these generously contribute to shaping children's futures.
The Aftermath Of The Surgery
The blinding pains were no more, but that doesn't mean Smith's surgery came with zero complications. Of course, she wasn't left with any life-threatening side effects. However, the doctors had some bad news that would mostly affect her as an adult.
Even though the surgeons did their best during the process of draining and removing her massive ovarian cyst, Smith still lost two-thirds of her ovary as well as her fallopian tube. You don't need to be a pro in female anatomy to understand how this could be a problem in the future.
The Thought Of Conceiving
Since a woman's ovaries and fallopian tubes play a significant part in conceiving a child, losing them meant that Smith was dealt with another challenging hand in life. However, this was more life-altering rather than life-threatening.
In other words, Smith's chances of ever carrying a child of her own were slim to non-existent. It's not something a female wants to hear, especially if they carry the maternal gene. Life kept giving her lemons, and she kept making sweet lemonade. You wouldn't believe her response to this problem at such a young age.
Keeping Her Options Open
One day, you're carrying what looks like a huge baby bump and being accused of being pregnant at the age of 14, and the next day, you hear that the cyst bump may have been the only bump you'll ever have. How does one deal with that?
We don't know about anyone else, but Smith took it extremely well. Even though she was still young, she responded with maturity. Smith let everyone know that she has her options open and would be willing to adopt. This girl is just beyond her age!
Sharing Her Experience With The World
Not too long after her recovery, Smith thought it would be wise to share her experience with the world. It's a decision she made to educate and raise awareness about ovarian cysts (or cysts in general) and share her knowledge with other victims.
Smith created a YouTube channel under her name and spent some time making a 4.5-minute long video about her diagnosis, surgery, and recovery. It was published in September 2008, and you can tell that many people were interested in the topic because the video has over 68K views.
Sharing Parts Of Her Journey
Surely, it took a lot of guts for a teenager to gather the courage to go public with such an intimate experience. Smith didn't just include text in the video but also shared many photos, starting from when the cyst was still growing inside of her.
Of course, she gave a graphic warning to the viewers at the beginning of the video, advising adults not to watch it around children. It is yet again another instance highlighting her maturity. Smith provided before-and-after surgery photos and even included a snap of the cyst itself.
An Important Lesson
Showing the world just how brave she is, Smith humbly requests anyone going experiencing similar symptoms to see a doctor without delay. In fact, she stresses that one could be the "next innocent victim of something you can't control," referring to her bad experiences, particularly at school.
We hope that her diagnosis and surgery put the bullies at school to shame, knowing that they picked on a classmate who was actually sick. Smith may have been the overweight and bullied one before, but those experiences have now shaped her into a better person.
Katie Smith Today
More than a dozen years have gone by since Smith underwent surgery and posted that video on her YouTube channel. We're unsure about her whereabouts, as her YouTube platform has been dormant for a few years. However, you'd be thrilled to know that she is now happily married to the love of her life.
If you do the math, Smith is now in her late 20s, and we can only hope that she has been able to become a mother—either to a biological child or an adopted one. It was all thanks to the doctors and surgeons.
A Similar Incident In The UK
Even though doctors may not have seen anything like Smith's 100-pound cyst before, there have been close seconds over the years. Take Keely Favell, the 28-year-old woman who had a 57-pound cyst removed in 2018, for example. According to BBC's reports, Favell's doctors were convinced she was pregnant, despite her pregnancy tests coming out negative.
This woman from Swansea, Wales, thought she was just obese until her belly started growing unusually. After several doctors' appointments, she found out it was a cyst that weighed as much as an eight-year-old child.
Another One From Alabama
It looks like more than one abnormally-sized cyst was removed in 2018. The 30-year-old Alabama woman Kayla Rahn was also a victim of a large ovarian cyst. As per CNN, hers weighed 50 pounds and was the size of a large watermelon.
Like the others, Rahn experienced sharp abdomen pains and noticed the skin around her belly harden over time. Her doctors believed she was gaining weight and advised her to shed the extra pounds. Little did they know that it was a monstrous cyst. Rahn's life is much better and literally lighter now.
That’s All For Cysts
Even though Favell and Rahn went through surgery to remove their 50+ pound cysts, Smith is still in the lead with her 100-pound cyst. It's even more interesting knowing that she was only in her early teenage years, unlike Favell and Rahn, who were 28 and 30, respectively.
Seven years ago (around 2013), Smith revealed in a YouTube comment that the doctors found two more cysts in her ovaries. Seeing as she beat a massive one before, we hope the new ones weren't much of a challenge because "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."