Living Life
Back in 2014, Favell was living with her long-time boyfriend. At the time, she was like any other 24-year-old woman. She started to see her belly growing, noticing growth on a day to day basis. The only thought she had was pregnancy.
Living Life
Noticeable Changes
Keely was living in Swansea, Wales, where she was born and raised. In an interview, she said that she never considered herself skinny. However, her sudden weight gain was not normal, and she could tell that something was different about her body.
Noticeable Changes
Seeking Answers
Thinking that this was all a routine pregnancy, Keely took multiple pregnancy tests. To her surprise, they all came back negative. She decided to go to the doctor anyway just to be sure. This was not a normal amount of weight gain for her.
Seeking Answers
Nowhere To Go
After having multiple negative pregnancy tests and a growing belly, Keely went to a doctor for a professional opinion. Thinking she would get definitive answers, all she received was feedback saying she was normal- and not pregnant. What was the cause of this weight gain?
Nowhere To Go
Total Confusion
The doctors declared that she was not pregnant, and her body was fine. However, Keely remained concerned about her growing belly. She was very health-conscious, so she was doubtful she was gaining weight due to her diet and exercise habits.
Total Confusion
Living Without Answers
When it came time for her company’s annual holiday party, she noticed that she could not even fit into the dress she planned on wearing. It was too small. Since her doctors told her not to worry, she went on living thinking that she had simply gained weight.
Living Without Answers
No Solution
Keely continued her life in the mindset that she had gained weight. She started to really focus on what she ate and went to the gym regularly. Despite all her efforts, her belly continued to grow.
No Solution
Not As It Seems
Keely felt that all she could do at that moment was keep up her healthy diet and exercise routine. With her midsection still getting bigger, so did the number of questions she had.
Not As It Seems
Stopping the Routine and Seeking Help
Keely got to a point where she needed more answers. She could not keep living her life without knowing why her belly was growing. She noticed that there was no weight gain in any other part of her body- it was all in her stomach.
Stopping The Routine And Seeking Help
Worsening Symptoms
Her belly continued to grow larger. It was rock hard and painful to touch. Any regular weight gain would not have these qualities. Therefore, Keely sought more answers from doctors.
Worsening Symptoms
Back to the Doctor
She returned to the doctor to make sure that everything was normal. To her surprise, Keely’s doctors declared that she was normal. Nothing was wrong with her growing belly. She was just gaining weight. Still, Keely did not buy it.
Back To The Doctor
Doubtful for Answers
Keely continued living her life as usual, but still had the overhanging thought that something was not right with her body. She did not want to go back to the doctor, since she had already gone multiple times.
Doubtful For Answers
What to Do
Keely’s father was a doctor, so she understood the intensity of their profession. This was another reason she did not want to go back for medical advice. She thought she would keep getting the same answers. However, they were unsatisfying answers.
What To Do
Pregnancy Still in the Picture
With all the sudden weight gain only being in her belly, Keely still believed that she was pregnant. All the doctors and the pregnancy tests told her otherwise. However, there was no other explanation as to what was happening.
Pregnancy Still In The Picture
Pregnancy is Completely Possible
Keely’s mind started to wander with the thought of being pregnant. How else could she explain what was happening? It made sense, too, since she was living with her long-time boyfriend, Jamie. Therefore, pregnancy was not out of the picture.
Pregnancy Is Completely Possible
Unplanned
Thinking that she was pregnant, Keely and her boyfriend started to talk about the possibility of having a child. They were not planning on having children, so they needed to know for sure that Keely was pregnant.
Unplanned
Confirming the Pregnancy
Keely and Jamie had been together for about 10 years in 2014. They talked about having kids at some point, but not any time soon. With the thought of Keely being pregnant, they needed to know for sure and if everything was healthy.
Confirming The Pregnancy
Nothing But No
Keely and Jamie decided to first take pregnancy tests before seeking a doctor. The first test was negative, as was the second, and the third. It seemed to be a never-ending cycle of unanswered questions for the couple.
Nothing But No
Endless Possibilities
All the tests said that Keely was not pregnant. Since she had taken tests in the past, she and her boyfriend Jamie started to get really concerned. There was the possibility of sickness or miscarriage, among many other things.
Endless Possibilities
Fearing the Unknown
Keely and Jamie decided she should go to the doctor again. It’s better than living with constant fear and concern. Hoping to alleviate some of their anxiety, all the doctor told them was that Keely was simply overweight. There was nothing else.
Fearing The Unknown
Back to Normal?
After getting the opinion of another doctor, Keely tried to go back to her normal everyday routine. However, she became more self-conscious than ever about her body and all the unanswered questions.
Back To Normal?
Seeking The Answer
With all her questions still unanswered, Keely kept living her life uncomfortable with her growing belly and not knowing how to make things better. Still, she wanted to keep looking for answers. It was impossible for her to ignore the problem.
Seeking The Answer
Ignoring the Issue
Keely had a hard time ignoring her growing belly and the accompanying pain she was feeling. She constantly convinced herself to trust the doctors and not worry. They are the professionals, after all. However, there was always the idea she was pregnant.
Ignoring The Issue
A Solution?
Since there was always the thought that she was pregnant, Keely considered that this would all go away after nine months. After which, she would give birth and be done with her growing midsection. Despite her expectations, this was not the case.
A Solution?
Unconventional Timeline
Thinking this was all an abnormal pregnancy, Keely carried on, waiting for the nine months to be up. However, her stomach continued growing for two years! Her symptoms kept getting worse as time went on.
Unconventional Timeline
A Turn for the Worse
One day while working, Keely felt nauseous and lightheaded. Thinking nothing of it, she kept working until she found herself on the floor. Her coworkers tell her that she had fainted and fell to the ground.
A Turn For The Worse
A Warning Sign
Due to the severity of the event that happened at work, Keely visited a doctor, yet again. Since her health was being majorly impacted, she needed answers. All the doctors told her that her unconsciousness was caused by stress.
A Warning Sign
Who to Turn To?
Keely was very doubtful that stress was the cause of her episode at work. She did not feel any other effects of stress in her daily life. However, there was no one else to turn to for advice. She had to keep on living without a diagnosis.
Who To Turn To?
Everyday Inquiries
Even as Keely tried to ignore her growing stomach and harmful symptoms, people often asked her about her stomach, assuming she was pregnant. She was uncomfortable explaining that she was, in fact, just overweight in her midsection.
Everyday Inquiries
Will There Be an End?
People’s constant efforts to understand her situation made Keely even more overwhelmed. Everyone else wanted to know what was wrong, yet Keely could not answer that question for herself. After many attempts to seek the truth, Keely just started believing she was overweight.
Will There Be An End?
New Normal
With no answers and no more theories as to what is happening, Keely did what she always did: keep on living. She explained how she had to buy clothes from the maternity section due to her body’s changes.
New Normal
Abnormal Figure
Keely never really considered herself to be skinny, even before her stomach started to grow. After her weight gain, she thought it odd that she only carried weight in her belly. She was thin on top and bottom with a rounded lump in her middle.
Abnormal Figure
Uncomfortable Adjustment
Though she had to carry on as normal, Keely’s health started to worsen as her stomach grew. She experienced multiple blackouts, trouble breathing, and lots of pain. She needed another doctor.
Uncomfortable Adjustment
Seeking Help, Yet Again
Due to her regular blackouts and worsening symptoms, Keely’s coworkers told her to see a doctor. They even wondered why she wasn’t taking care of herself and seeking professional advice. Little did they know that she had been trying to get help for a long time.
Seeking Help, Yet Again
A Possible Answer
After losing consciousness a fourth time at work, Keely went to get help. The doctor told her that her symptoms could be coming from her acne medication. Keely still had doubts. She stopped taking her medication for several months. It was unlikely to be the cause.
A Possible Answer
A New Answer
Keely explained the doubtfulness of her acne medication being the cause. To which the doctor proposed she may be pregnant. They conducted blood tests, all of which came back negative. After this, the doctor ordered an ultrasound.
A New Answer
The Ultrasound
Keely was relieved to finally have an ultrasound to get real answers. That’s when the doctor left the room during the ultrasound for a second opinion. They were shocked at what they had found and needed reassurance.
The Ultrasound
Getting to the Bottom of It All
The doctors told Keely that she needed to have a CT scan because they make have found something harmful. After the scan, they discovered Keely had an ovarian mass growing over the course of two years.
Getting To The Bottom Of It All
Finally Getting Some Answers
With more research and tests, doctors found that Keely had an ovarian cyst, which a fluid-filled sac that rested on her ovary. Usually, there are not harmful unless they burst or grow. In Keely’s case, it started growing.
Finally Getting Some Answers
The Solution
The doctors helping with Keely told her that she needed surgery to remove the cyst. She would have to lose her ovaries and it was unknown how long she would be hospitalized. She did, though, find the answer. Luckily, she finally found a doctor that was able to identify what was going on, which was a huge relief.
The Solution
