Chapter 9
Life Is More than the Game
Away from the Court, My Priorities Change
In the spring of 1998, I became pregnant again. I was excited, because John and I wanted another child. My first pregnancy with Maddie had been so easy that I thought that would be the case again. I had recorded my first hole in one on the golf course and was doing flip turns while swimming laps in the pool in the months before I had Maddie. I was a very active pregnant lady.
This time, however, I found myself at the doctor’s office after only a few months when he gave me the news that I had suffered a miscarriage.
As the doctor explained to me what had happened, I was depleted of all energy. It was a devastating and brutal experience. One of the most difficult parts for me, other than the physical pain of going through the medical procedure, was that it happened on the same day that Cindy Blodgett was drafted by the WNBA. The timing was surreal. We had scheduled a news conference, and I had to be there.
I went straight from the doctor’s office, where I had thought I was going for a normal checkup. I had to fight to hold myself together at the press conference, and could not say anything about what had happened to me. It was Cindy’s big day; I wanted to be there for her, and was certainly happy for her. I had to hide the pain and grief that I was truly feeling. It was the best day of her life and the worst day of mine.
I was trying to dry my tears and compose myself as I drove to the news conference. ...
