Baby Emlee being called 'mom's little lifesaver'

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- Celebrating Mother's Day will mean something extra special for a Pomona mom who has her newborn to thank for saving her life.

Getting pregnant with a third child was a pleasant surprise for Karalayne and Dennis Maglinte -- a little sister for their two sons. Baby Emlee was a blessing in many ways.

"I believe that had I not gotten pregnant with Emlee that I would not have been through this situation," said Karalayne.

It's a situation doctors say saved Karalayne's life. Early in her pregnancy, Emlee gave her mom an unusual warning.

"Around 15 weeks, I started having really itchy hands and feet," said Karalayne.

Itchiness during pregnancy is quite common. It's called cholestasis, a slowing of the bile of the digestive system. It can cause itchiness of the hands and feet. That is when Karalayne sought medical help. An endoscopic ultrasound revealed the unthinkable: Pancreatic cancer.

"I've heard of how aggressive it can be, so it was terrifying," said Dennis. "First of all wondering what's going to happen with the baby, what's going to happen with my wife and thinking about how we have two small children at home."

Dennis and his wife felt heartbreaking uncertainty about their family's future. Dr. Aram Demirjian and his colleagues at the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange carefully weighed all of Karalayne's options. Timing was crucial. They had to decide whether to remove the pancreatic tumor or wait until the baby is born.

"If we had waited, we certainly would have put Karalayne at risk for having progression of the cancer and potentially not being a candidate for the operation," said Demirjian.

The operation is called the Whipple procedure. Surgeons remove the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, the duodenum, a portion of the bile duct, the gallbladder and sometimes part of the stomach. It's only effective in patients with cancer that hasn't spread.

The "early warning" Karalayne got because of her pregnancy played a key part in this early detection.

"Many patients are diagnosed at a point where the Whipple procedure is no longer possible," said Demirjian.

But what about baby Emlee? The timing had to be just right too.

"Very early in the pregnancy, there's a much higher risk of fetal loss. Later in the pregnancy, there are risks of premature delivery," said Demirjian.

Surgery of this kind has to be done between the 20th and 22nd week of pregnancy. So once again, Emlee had warned her mom just in time.

But this type of pancreatic cancer surgery in a pregnant woman has only been done twice before. After seven grueling hours, surgeons successfully removed the tumor and the surrounding organs.

As for Karalyane's recovery, being pregnant made it nearly unbearable. But she prevailed. On March 24, momma's little lifesaver made her debut.

"It's really remarkable that she had. Karalayne and Dennis had the strength and fortitude to really get through all of this," said Demirjian.

When Emlee grows up, she'll hear all about this incredible journey.

"Having been pregnant with her, it's just a miracle," said Karalayne.