TiLiyah Dawson, a 19-year-old TikToker known as Ty, learned she was pregnant in 2023, weeks after graduating from Swainsboro High School. A routine ultrasound revealed a terrifying diagnosis: her unborn daughter carried a rare teratoma tumor.
The tumor, a germ cell mass made of muscle, bone and hair, developed in the baby’s neck. Doctors told Dawson the condition is extremely rare, occurring once in every 20,000 births.
Dawson’s delivery was difficult. When labor began, she was in extreme discomfort and had to be transferred to a hospital in Statesboro. There, doctors discovered the tumor had grown too large for a normal delivery.
“They informed me that my daughter was developing what’s called a teratoma tumor.”
She was then moved to a hospital in Augusta, where her daughter Tyra was delivered via C-section under anesthesia.
Surgery, Tracheotomy And A Long Road Back
Tyra was born in critical condition and placed in the NICU. Dawson did not get to hold her daughter or even see her after birth. The next day, she and Tyra’s father met their baby for the first time.
“We just stood there,” Dawson recalled. “I think he was just as shocked as me, seeing her lying on her side with such a big tumor under her neck.”
Doctors removed the tumor, which was thankfully non-cancerous. But the surgery caused Tyra’s airways to become floppy, leading to a tracheotomy to hold her airway open and a feeding tube to help her eat.
“She’s been through so much,” Dawson said. “Seeing my baby made me keep going. I woke up every day and walked to the NICU while I was in a completely different city, with no car, barely eating, and not even healed from my C-section, just to see my baby.”
Homebound Now, With Hope For The Future
Tyra has since had several surgeries, including procedures to place her trach and feeding tube. Doctors often placed a camera inside her trachea to check her lungs.
Now, Tyra is nearing the end of her treatments. Her tracheostomy and feeding tubes were removed in May 2026. Dawson shared the news on TikTok, where fans wished her well.
“I can’t wait for this… I’m going to cry,” one user said. Another wrote, “This makes me so happy for you.”
Dawson wants to be a NICU nurse in the future. She told Newsweek that her life changed dramatically after the diagnosis.
“I’ve never gone through so many emotions in such a short period of time,” she said. “My life after school has literally been parenting.”
Key Facts
- Dawson was 19 and had just graduated from Swainsboro High School when she found out she was pregnant in 2023
- Tyra’s tumor is a cervical teratoma, mostly benign, occurring once in every 20,000 births
- The tumor was removed surgically; it was found to be non-cancerous
- Tyra’s tracheostomy and feeding tubes were removed in May 2026
- Dawson hopes to work as a NICU nurse
Dawson’s message is simple: not every story ends badly.
“I hope people take from my baby’s story that not everything has a bad ending,” she said.
Source material: “Pregnant Woman Goes For Routine Scan, Then Hears A Terrifying Two-Word Diagnosis,” Bored Panda.
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