When Kailyn Lowry noticed an unusual lump above her son’s belly button last year, she took him to see a doctor. The doctor suggested that the lump didn’t seem concerning and would likely go away on its own. She trusted that advice at the time. But now, the Teen Mom alum feels guilty for not seeking out a second opinion, as the lump could actually be more serious than anyone initially realized. She hopes that the health scare can function as a “PSA” for other parents.
Kailyn noticed the lump last year.
Kailyn, who is a mom of seven, noticed a “little lump that looked like a hernia” above her 2-year-old son Rio’s belly button in 2024. On her Coffee Convos podcast, she explained that she thought it could’ve developed due to his swim lessons. “He developed what I thought was like a little hernia above his belly button,” she explained. “And I thought it was from the ISR swim lessons because he has to roll over and float on his back. So, I thought the stress of that created this little lump that looked like a hernia.”
Still, she took her son to see a doctor to be sure the lump wasn’t anything more serious. According to her, the doctor assured her that the lump didn’t seem concerning and that it should go away on its own over time.
But it didn’t get better.
As time passed, however, Kailyn noticed that it wasn’t getting better — and even started looking worse. Recently, Kailyn noticed that in addition to not clearing up at all, the lump was actually “protruding out of his abdomen” and looking a bit “discolored.”
These concerning changes prompted her to text Rio’s father, Elijah Scott. “I texted Elijah and I’m like, ‘Hey, I’ve got to call the pediatrician and get him in for this because at this point, it’s worse than it was last year,'” she said.
When she took him to see a doctor again, her ‘stomach sank.’
Although the doctor Rio saw a year earlier made Kailyn feel as though she had nothing to worry about, a more recent doctor’s office visit made it clear that Rio had been misdiagnosed at the time. The pediatrician recommended an ultrasound. Hearing medical staff tell her that her son’s lump was “definitely not a hernia” made her feel terrible.
“Obviously as a mom, my stomach sank,” she said. At the time the podcast was recorded, Kailyn still didn’t know exactly what the lump was. She hadn’t received a call from the doctor yet, but she checked her son’s ultrasound results online.
“It says, ‘Reniform nodule in the area of interest consistent with lymph node. The differential includes granuloma or complex cyst. Neoplasia cannot be excluded,'” Kailyn read on her podcast. She said that according to the results, she has two options: a clinical follow-up or a biopsy. Given that “neoplasia is a tumor,” which can be benign or cancerous, she plans to schedule a biopsy for her son.
She now feels guilty for not getting a second opinion.
Although she did take her son to see a doctor shortly after she noticed the lump, she still feels guilty. Kailyn decided to open up about the scary experience on her podcast as a “PSA” for other parents.
“I say all this to say, when it comes to your health check everything out,” she stated. “I really thought it was a hernia this whole time. They told me it was going to resolve itself. I didn’t ask anyone for a second opinion.”
Now, she’s experiencing “mom guilt” and the uncertainty surrounding her son’s condition “freaks [her] out.”
