Rare Pregnancy Delivers Christmas Baby

VIDEO SCRIPT

By Laura Coverson, (laura.coverson@cshs.org, 2025-12)
He wasn’t supposed to be here. Doctors say babies like Ryu don’t usually make it this far. But this holiday season, the Lopez family is deeply grateful for beating incredible odds in what Cedars-Sinai doctors are calling a medical miracle.
Suze Lopez was scheduled to finally remove a 20-pound ovarian cyst that had been growing for years. Results of a routine pregnancy test before the procedure shocked her.
Suze Lopez, Patient: “Sure enough, after 17 years of not being pregnant, not having regular periods, it was a positive pregnancy test.”
Suze shared the remarkable news with her husband, Andrew, at a Dodger game. But during the game she had bad pains in her abdomen, and they headed to Cedars-Sinai.
Andrew Lopez, Suze’s Husband. “As soon as we got in, they checked her in and the rest is history.”
Doctors ordered an MRI, and were stunned by what they saw.
John Ozimek, DO, Labor and Delivery. “It was the baby growing in her abdomen behind the mass that was pushing everything out. So that’s the reason she didn’t know she was pregnant.”
Michael Manuel, MD, Providence Cedars-Sinai. “And it was profound to see the full term baby sitting behind a very large ovarian tumor, not in in the uterus. So this was confirmed as an abdominal pregnancy, which is obviously a very extreme event.”
What Suze had is known as an abdominal ectopic pregnancy, extremely rare and life-threatening for both the mom and the fetus.
John Ozimek: “A pregnancy this far, outside of the uterus that is living, is pretty much unprecedented.”
NATS—surgeon: “We can get it completely out of the way and I think we can get the baby.”
A team of 30 medical professionals undertook undertook a complex surgery of removing the giant cyst, and delivering the full-term baby, weighing eight pounds with a full head of hair and in remarkably good health.
Sara Dayanim, MD, Pediatrics-Neonatology. “I was amazed by this little guy. He came out of the anestesia pretty quickly and he was like a feisty little guy. By the time we got into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), kind of fighting us.”
Suze’s time in surgery was longer, and she needed 11 units of blood. She proved as feisty as her new baby, recovering quickly so she could spend time in the NICU with Ryu and the family, including his teenage sister, Kaila.
For doctors who have seen it all, Suze and Ryu were a once in a lifetime case.
John Ozimek: “He’s like my little buddy. Like, I would go up there and just put my hand on his little head and like, because you know, he was just such a cute little baby and kind of a miracle.”
Sara Dayanim: “I hope that he realizes, like, his special place in this world, like before being born, he’s like, defied all odds.”
Ryu’s parents believe he is answered prayer. His middle name, Jesse, means ‘gift from God’”.
Suze: “Every day is a gift, and I’m never going to waste it. God gave me this baby so that he could be an example to the world that God exists, that modern day miracles still happen.

People Interviewed and their Titles:
Names included on-screen

Recording Location:
Los Angeles, United States

Organization featured in this Story:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, www.cedars-sinai.org

Reporter/Producer for the story:
Laura Coverson, laura.coverson@cshs.org

Story Provider/Contact:
Kristin Reynolds, Senior Communications Specialist, marykristin.reynolds@cshs.org

Producing Organization:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center