- Tayla went into labour at just 32 weeks pregnant
- Baby Koa arrived 20 hours later, premature but seemingly healthy
- When a nurse spotted a bump on his tailbone – nothing could have prepared Tayla and her partner Cougar for the shocking diagnosis
Here Tayla Daley, 24, tells her story in her own words.
Stroking my baby’s finger through the incubator, tears streaked down my face.
‘You’ve got this little man. Keep fighting,’ I told my son, Koa.
It was August 2023 and, at just two weeks old, Koa was recovering from major surgery, after being born with a tumour.
My partner, Cougar, then 22, and I had been overjoyed when I discovered I was pregnant in February 2023.
My pregnancy was perfect.
But at 32 weeks I had painful contractions.
With Cougar working away as an earth-moving labourer, I called my mum, Danielle, who drove me to Dalby Hospital, Qld.
‘Your cervix is four centimetres dilated and we can see the baby’s head,’ a nurse cautioned.
‘He’s too early!’ I fretted.
I was transported to Toowoomba Hospital by ambulance where they were better equipped to deal with premature births.
Mum followed, while Cougar drove to meet us.
There, doctors gave me medication to suppress the contractions.
But five hours later, I was in active labour.
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‘There is nothing we can do now. You have to deliver the baby,’ a midwife said.
Twenty hours later, our gorgeous Koa was placed into my trembling arms for the first time.
‘You are so beautiful,’ I whispered.
Cougar followed our boy into the NICU while Mum stayed with me.
The next morning, I went to visit my precious son, who weighed just 2.2 kilos.
My heart broke watching him take short and shallow breaths due to his underdeveloped lungs.
Thankfully, I was able to breastfeed every few hours, and cherished the skin-to-skin contact.
But when he was five days old, a nurse noticed a small bump on Koa’s tailbone.
After they raised it with doctors, scans were taken.
Still, nothing could’ve prepared us for the result.
‘Your son has an extremely rare form of tumour, a sacrococcygeal teratoma,’ a doctor said, explaining it was a germ cell tumour – which may contain different types of tissue such as muscle, bone and hair – growing on his tailbone.
‘He’s going to be okay,’ Mum and Cougar soothed.
Terrifyingly, the mass was half Koa’s size, wrapping around his entire stomach.
It was also completely restricting blood flow to his left leg, inhibiting its growth.
Doctors suspected Koa may have consumed his twin in the womb, absorbing the tissue into his own body.
‘He’ll need surgery to have it removed,’ the doctor advised.
Only then could they determine if the tumour was cancerous.
Shocked and overwhelmed, I couldn’t believe it had been missed during all his ultrasounds.
‘He’s going to be okay,’ Mum and Cougar soothed.
That day, our little fighter was transported to Brisbane Hospital via ambulance, with me and Cougar following closely behind in our car.
Over the next week, a team of surgeons met to plan for his op.
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They also explained the tumour was likely the reason I’d gone into labour early, as my body, sensing something was wrong, had rejected the pregnancy.
Then, when he was two weeks old, I kissed Koa goodbye as he was wheeled into theatre.
‘Mummy loves you,’ I cried.
But what was meant to be a five-hour procedure turned into a marathon when doctors realised the extent of damage the tumour had caused to Koa’s leg.
His main arteries had been completely crushed, causing clots, preventing any blood from flowing to his little limb.
Cougar and I were faced with an agonising decision – amputate our bub’s leg or try blood thinners, which carried the risk of a serious brain bleed.
‘We need to give his leg a chance to survive,’ Cougar said, and I agreed.
Finally, after a gruelling 17 hours, Koa was out of surgery.
Visiting him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, my heart broke seeing his tiny body snaked in wires.
Doctors started the blood thinners and ran tests on the tumour.
A week later, results confirmed it was noncancerous.
By day three, Koa began to slowly open his eyes.
‘Mama’s here,’ I smiled to him.
A week later Koa needed more surgery after the wound on his back, where doctors had removed the tumour, had opened.
Doctors stitched it up and applied a special dressing to prevent infection.
Four weeks later, we noticed movement in Koa’s left leg as the blood flow slowly returned, thanks to the medication.
At three months old, Koa was finally discharged.
‘His leg is alive!’ Cougar and I cheered, as our little boy wiggled his toes.
For the next 70 days, Koa was closely monitored. In November, at three months old, Koa was finally discharged.
Back home, our courageous boy was much happier and full of life.
In September 2024, when Koa was 15 months old, he began crawling with a big smile on his face.
The following month, he took his first steps.
Cougar and I were over the moon seeing Koa reach his milestones so quickly.
In December 2024, he became a big brother to our youngest boy, Halen.
Now two, there’s no stopping our little man.
While the trauma has impacted his speech, he loves to run and play.
‘We are so proud of you!’ Cougar and I remind him, as he kicks his ball around our backyard.
Having to go for six-monthly check-ups at hospital, we were thankful when Little Wings – a not-for-profit organisation that transports sick kids in regional communities to and from medical appointments – offered to fly us to Brisbane and back.
Without them, the 300km journey from our home in Chinchilla, Qld, would take us seven hours there and back by car.
We are now working with a team of specialists to help develop Koa’s speech, but we’re hopeful.
He’s our little warrior.
