New Mom Gets CT Scan After Giving Birth—Then Comes Life-Changing Diagnosis

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A Nebraska mom's postpartum health scare led to the discovery of a chronic genetic condition she never knew she had.

Bethany Worthey-Williams, 24, shared images from the CT scan that ultimately revealed she had autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), an inherited condition that causes fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidneys over time.

The diagnosis came just weeks after she gave birth .

Worthey-Williams, who is a mom of two with husband 29-year-old Vincent Williams, told Newsweek that she first became concerned shortly after delivery when she experienced elevated blood pressure while still in hospital.

Although doctors kept her for an extra night of monitoring, she felt well enough to return home the following day.

"Everything was good for a couple of days, and then I got a migraine that came out of nowhere, along with abdominal pain and shortness of breath," Worthey-Williams said.

She tried managing the symptoms at home with painkillers, caffeine, heating pads and ice packs, but nothing brought relief.

"The migraine lasted for about a week , and I still had high blood pressure, so I went into my local ER," Worthey-Williams said.

She said staff at the facility attributed her symptoms to the normal challenges of recovering from childbirth.

"I was raised to just push through the pain, so this sort of emphasized that belief," Worthey-Williams said.

Concerned, the mom of two contacted her obstetrician who urged her to seek further medical care if the migraine remained unmanageable.

A few days later, her husband drove her to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska.

"When we got to this hospital, the difference in care was as clear as day and night," Worthey-Williams said. "I felt seen and heard."

Doctors diagnosed her with severe postpartum preeclampsia—a serious complication that can develop after childbirth, causing dangerously high blood pressure and signs of organ damage.

She was then admitted her for treatment, but it was an unexpected finding during her hospital stay that would change the course of her life.

After noting unusual abdominal tenderness, an emergency physician ordered a CT scan with contrast.

The images revealed numerous cysts on both kidneys, kidney stones and lesions on her liver.

Worthey-Williams shared the image from her CT scan in a post on TikTok (@bethanyworthey), writing that she was "forever thankful" for the referral on the text overlay.

At first, she had little idea what the diagnosis meant.

"I was stunned because I had never even heard of polycystic kidney disease," Worthey-Williams said. "No one in my family is known to have the condition, even though it’s genetic."

Subsequent blood testing confirmed she carried the ADPKD1 gene mutation. The news left her spiraling.

"How could this be happening to me? Why am I the only one who has this disease in a family of 8? What does this mean for my daughters?" Worthey-Williams recalled wondering.

Looking back, she said she now questions whether years of unexplained health issues may have been connected.

Before her most recent pregnancy, she experienced recurrent ruptured ovarian cysts and wonders whether they may have been related, although she acknowledged there is limited research linking the two.

Seven months after her diagnosis, Worthey-Williams has experienced recurring kidney stones, blood in her urine and chronic pain.

Her nephrologist also told her that each of her daughters has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the disease.

For now, Worthey-Williams is focused on modeling healthy habits and encouraging an active lifestyle for her children while navigating the challenges of a diagnosis she never saw coming.

"I can only hope and pray that my girls don’t have this disease," she said. "And if they do, I pray there is a cure by the time they’re diagnosed. They don’t deserve to live with this disease. No one does."

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sirena Bergman and Emma Lee-Sang

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