A Chicago woman is just weeks away from giving birth, persistent cough Leading to shocking medical discoveries.

MaKenna Lauterbach, then 26, began experiencing severe coughing symptoms over the past three months. she is pregnant.

“The symptoms were so severe, I would be breathless and nauseous to the point of vomiting,” she told Fox News Digital.

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Lauterbach lived on a farm washburn illinoisalso began noticing shortness of breath while caring for her horses and goats.

“I was feeding my horses hay every morning and then I noticed I was getting winded and had a dry cough,” she said. “My body feels like I just ran two miles, when in fact, I just walked to the barn and back.”

MaKenna Lauterbach, pictured with husband Parker and newborn Colter, was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma. (Northwestern Medicine)

She said some doctors ignored Lauterbach’s symptoms and repeatedly told her, “It’s because you’re pregnant.”

But eventually, when the coughing led to vomiting, doctors ran a scan and discovered a huge grapefruit-sized tumor in her mid-chest cavity and right lung that completely blocked an artery to her right lung.

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“It is extremely rare for this type of tumor to invade the heart’s major blood vessels,” said Chris Mehta, MD. heart surgeon in collaboration with Northwestern Medicine’s Broome Cardiovascular Institute, which specializes in complex cardiac reconstruction – in a press release.

“It is extremely rare for this type of tumor to invade the heart’s major blood vessels.”

“We see something like this maybe once every few years.”

The tumor left Lauterbach and her children struggling to breathe.

“There’s real trouble”

Lauterbach was flown to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where a large medical team was waiting for her.

“MaKenna is in real trouble and we have to act quickly – this can’t wait until Monday morning,” said Lynn Yee, MD, maternal-fetal medicine Northwestern Medicine Specialists, in release.

Although little Colt was born three weeks premature, he is now a thriving, happy baby boy. “For myself, I’m still recovering emotionally and physically,” Lauterbach said. (Makenna Lauterbach)

“When you’re carrying a baby near term, your lungs are no longer able to function fully, and when you add a huge tumor to the lungs, you’re at risk for respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.”

Babies don’t tolerate contractions well, Lauterbach’s blood pressure It’s plummeting.

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The team performed an emergency caesarean section and a healthy baby boy, Colten, was born on Easter Sunday.

“Dazzling News”

After delivery, it’s time to address the tumor.

“The tumor was located on top of Makenna’s heart and extended into the right lung, affecting all three lobes and the entire main pulmonary artery,” said Kalvin Lung, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine’s Canning Thoracic Institute. .”release.

Doctors performed a biopsy and diagnosed Lauterbach with Stage 3 melanoma.

The Lauterbach family lived on a farm in Washburn, Illinois. MaKenna Lauterbach first developed a severe cough and shortness of breath while caring for horses and goats. (Makenna Lauterbach)

Doctors believe that melanoma may have developed on her skin at some point and “one or two cells escaped” and started growing inside her body.

“This was really surprising news,” Lauterbach told Fox Digital News. “When I first got diagnosed, I went through roller coaster of emotions“.

“I was grieving the birth plan I had spent months preparing for while also coping with the news of my unexpected diagnosis.”

After feeling relief for the first time after getting answers, she said she felt a little angry that her symptoms had been dismissed earlier. Then there is fear cancer itself.

“Because of the tumor, labor happened so quickly. I was grieving the birth plan I had spent months preparing for while also coping with the news of my unexpected diagnosis,” she said.

“My condition is serious, although I clinical team I was making plans to treat my cancer, and it was comforting to know that the nurses in the (Northwestern University) NICU were taking great care of our son. “

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The Northwestern team recommended that Lauterbach accept Three cycles of immunotherapy This helped her tumor shrink by 30% before surgery.

The pulmonologist and Dr. Mehta removed Lauterbach’s entire right lung, part of the main pulmonary artery, and lymph nodes.

The picture shows the Lauterbach family, from left to right, Dr. Kalvin Lung, registered nurse Mary Schuessler and Dr. Lynn Yee. (Northwestern Medicine)

“Because it requires cardiopulmonary bypass and the need to repair the aorta to both lungs, the surgery is risky relative to other cancer surgeries, but it is performed under very safe conditions and uses well-tested Proven technology,” Dr. Long told us. Fox News Numbers.

“We are worried that even if Scope of surgerywe won’t be able to completely remove the tumor,” he continued.

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If the tumor has grown slightly into the aorta leading to the lungs, or if it has involving the heartthat would be a different result.

But the surgery was successful, and Lauterbach’s latest scans showed no evidence of metastatic melanoma.

Kurt Lauterbach poses with Santa before his first Christmas. (Makenna Lauterbach)

“Her results were excellent,” Dr. Long told Fox News Digital. “She has almost fully recovered from the surgery and her main problem is shortness of breath, which is a result of having only one lung.”

“In terms of cancer prognosis, we expect it to be pretty good because the entire tumor is immunotherapy treatment She received it. ”

“New Normal”

Today, little Kolt Lauterbach is a thriving, happy baby boy, even though he was born three weeks premature.

“For myself, I’m still recovering emotionally and physically,” Makenna Lauterbach said. “My lung capacity is close to the ‘new normal,’ and I’m finally starting to get back to some sort of normal routine.”

“Sometimes, bad memories and unknown things linger in my mind.”

Going forward, Lauterbach will continue immunotherapy treatment for another year, and doctors will continue Monitoring CT scans to ensure that the cancer does not come back.

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Doctors said her cancer is now considered a “stable disease,” meaning no new tumors have appeared.

The new mother, who turns 27 in October, said she is looking forward to the arrival of her son first christmas On the farm.

MaKenna and Parker Lauterbach pose with their son Colter, who was born via emergency C-section. (Makenna Lauterbach)

“Emotionally, I try not to let reality overwhelm me, but sometimes, bad memories and unknown things bother me,” she said.

“Colter and my wonderful husband, Parker, have given me the strength to overcome everything.”

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For other women, Lauterbach emphasized that “know your body“.

She advises, “If you know something is wrong, don’t take ‘I don’t know’ as an answer. Find someone who will take your concerns seriously and would rather do extra testing just in case than miss the opportunity.” Something life-threatening. “