Scary Episode in Orlando...

We just got back from Orlando where I attended the CyberStar Summit and Sheri, Tiffany, Shannon, and I attended the Star Power Annual Conference. It was a great conference with many of the speakers voicing points supporting the Seven Levels of Communication (my book) and my having four great chat sessions with full house crowds for each. Overall, just a fantastic conference with the Stars being as real, genuine, friendly, and forthcoming as ever. At the Star celebration following the conference, everyone was in a jovial, happy mood. About halfway through the cocktail reception, Sheri tapped my shoulder as I was speaking with four Stars. She whispered in my ear, "I think we need to leave... now."

First, she never interrupts when I'm in conversation and second, she rarely ever complains about anything. She was in pain. I asked her if we needed to go to the hospital. She said she thought so. I went to gather our stuff and as I turned left to head down the corridor towards the parking lot where our car was parked, I saw Sheri being consoled by Stephanie Evelo, Tammy Hickey, and a couple of other Stars.

Sheri was crying. She was bent over in pain. I've rarely seen Sheri in pain and it was even more rare to see her crying in public. She was really hurting. Shannon and Tiffany grabbed the bags and I sprinted to where our Trailblazer (rental) was parked. A million thoughts raced through my head as I burst through the kitchen and out a side door at the Ritz.

I jumped into the SUV and tore around the circle drive to pick them up. Sheri got in with Tiffany's help, Shannon jumped in, and I took off. Only problem with that is that Tiffany was still trying to get into the Trailblazer. She yelped and I immediately stopped. Luckily no injury occurred. I said "sorry" quietly and we sped off to the nearest hospital. Sheri was really bent over in her seat. I could only think that she was losing the child. I didn't want to lose the baby. I had already grown to love what I had not seen. I had accepted and planned for Bay-Bee!

We pulled into Orlando Regional Hospital. I dropped them off and went to park. I parked and then jogged over to the hospital. It was going to be a minute. What was more than a minute later, it felt like a day, the nurse called Sheri's name. We went in and to the nurse's credit she worked very quickly. She weighed Sheri, had Sheri do some tests, then admitted her to a bed. As soon as Sheri laid down in the bed, she started to feel better. She could see the worry on my face and she told me that everything was going to be fine and that she already felt better. I relaxed a little bit.

The doctor came in 10 minutes later. She pushed and prodded on Sheri's belly. She asked how Sheri felt. Sheri said, "I feel a lot better now that I've been in bed." After a few more tests, the doctor left for a few minutes. Sheri and I wondered what had caused the pain and spotting. It was very noticeable that Sheri was feeling better. The nurse came in and asked Sheri to lay on her left side. She took some measurements and moved Sheri's belly. She said everything was going to be fine and stepped out of the room.

The doctor came in again. She said that Sheri's ligaments and abdomen muscles were stretching and making way for the baby. She mentioned that Sheri being on her feet for four straight days was a recipe for problems and prescribed bed rest for Sheri. They recommended a night's stay at another hospital for observation. All indications pointed to Sheri being fine.

We considered driving over to the other hospital and I left it up to Sheri. She said that she felt much better and just needed to lie down. We met up with Shannon and Tiffany (true troopers for waiting and helping the whole time... and without eating for 12 hours!). Sheri said, "Let's go back to the condo." We headed back. We began to relax a little bit. Sheri was feeling better.

She rested on her left side for the rest of the evening and then got a nice night's sleep. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and the doctor, Dr. Piquard, said Sheri was looking great and that the pains were most likely caused by standing and walking on concrete for four days and stress. She said Sheri needed to take it easy, which is a lot like telling a child, he or she can't play. To her credit, she has taken the good doctor's advice.

She's been fine ever since, but it was a scary day. Bay-Bee, I was worried about you!

To Your Success,

Bay-Bee's Papa (Michael)

P.S. Bay-Bee now weighs 2 pounds! He's ahead of schedule on weight and size. And most importantly of all, Mama and Bay-Bee are healthy. :)