I Got Sick. Almost 10 yrs of a perfect bill of health, with no family doctor contact. The only known issue I had to deal with during that time was a case of anemia that came and went depending on my diet choices. Since the birth of my son 10 yrs ago, I have been struggling to regain control over fluctuating weight. So, it was only natural to think that my growing belly, was a result of weight gain and a poor diet. I began exercising and watching portion control trying to get back a shape. One day I had plans to travel a couple of hours away to meet one of my cousins for the first time, on my Native mothers side. I was quite excited by feeling very bloated at the same time. I figured that I ate something disagreeable the night before, or perhaps it was the result of nerves and the uncertainty of this family meeting. It turns out, my cousin and her daughter were fantastic! We bonded very well and by the end of the day, I was happy and exhausted and had forgotten about the bloating. I came home and took a brief nap to sleep off the days excitement. Then it happened... I woke up in excruciating abdominal pain. My stomach bloated larger than it ever had and I could see my ribs stick out on the other side. It looked as if I was 6 mths pregnant. The pain was too unbearable. I alerted my husband and we made for the emergency room promptly. My blood was tested, as well as my vitals and all appeared to be normal. I was in tears from the pain, but nobody took me seriously. I told the on call doctor that I felt pregnant and he just looked at me as if I was crazy. I remember just sitting in the waiting chair, looking at him dumbfounded. I do not, as a rule, make trips to the hospital unless I feel like I am dying, and this was that time. I felt so angry and humiliated with the way I was treated and even felt defeated. Luckily, the doctor took the initiative to schedule an Ultra Sound to check over my Uterus. I came in the next day for my Ultra Sound and I could barely keep the pee in me. The pain was so intense that I ran to a nurse and begged her to release some or I would make a huge mess on the waiting room floor. Well, at least that would have made the story a little more interesting ;) After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (under an hr), I was finally called into the little room to have my Ultra Sound done. The nurse was very nice, made some small talk and all seemed normal until she scrunched up her face and flipped me on my side as she rolled the wand from the front of my belly, to nearly the middle of my back. I remember from pregnancy, that regular Ultra Sounds are using done on the belly only. I disregarded my suspicion and continued with the small chat. The nurse had told me that she wanted to get a second opinion from the floor doctor, she said it was normal. She was so genuine that I just took her word for it. The doctor entered the room and gave the same scrunched up look on his face....something began to feel very wrong. I was sent downstairs to emerge to wait for my results. Again, I waited for what seemed an eternity, this time ONLY 2hrs had passed. I was called into a makeshift room with a blue curtain that was drawn for "privacy"". The emerge doctor was very friendly but had a distinct look of confusion on her face, not quite like the scrunchy face, but close. Her first words to me were "I don't know how to say this to you". I told her to give me the news straight up, I have been waiting far too long for the results... She told me that I had a 2 inch Cyst on my ovary. At the time, I swore I heard 2 feet! Nonetheless, the whole weight of the thing was nearly 13 pnds when removed. I had a Vertical Laparotomy, a rather invasive surgery, to remove the gargantuan monster I dubbed "Alien Baby". It has been over 6 mnths since my surgery. I don't really feel "normal", but I ma feeling better than I was. If I could give you some advice, it would be to always follow your instincts. I felt like I was pregnant, because I had a heavy weight on Uterus that should not have been there. I was always tired and pale because my body was feeding this "Alien Baby". If something does not feel right, don't allow others to talk you out of your own health. Most importantly, don't talk your own self out of your health. Only you know your body. Go with your instincts. Sig.