On a rainy day, sometime in early November, I slipped on the steps going into the trailer and landed HARD on the baby belly. I called my Mom and she came as fast as she could. (Sorrento is about a 1-1/2 hour drive). Mom drove me to the hospital in Baton Rouge and the doctor examined me. He explained that the fetus is so well protected in the amniotic sac that it would take a lot to harm the baby, and that the baby was fine. However, he was concerned about me being so far out in the country and so far way from the hospital this late in the pregnancy. He strongly advised that I consider staying with my parents closer to the hospital the remainder of the pregnancy. Mom drove me back to Sorrento and we were there gathering up a few things for me to return home with her when Mike came home. He was so excited because he had just been hired as a Deputy for the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office. He looked so cute standing there beside his truck with the hat on his head and the gun belt looped around his shoulder, holding the uniforms in his arms. I felt horrible, having to tell him what the doctor had suggested, and that I was going to go home with Mom until the Baby was born. Mike helped me gather up my things and carried them to the car for me. He was good about coming to see me, my parents and his parents on his days off. At this point, there was just a few weeks left in the pregnancy.
Moving back home with Mom and Dad after having been out on my own was so familiar and so much like a dream! Mom absolutely loved having me there and being able to see my belly grow on a daily basis. She loved feeling the baby kick and watch the baby's movements under my skin. She once commented that when she had the big baby belly, that she often used it as a table to place her plate on while she was eating. Mom decided that it was unsafe for me to drive (my belly was really HUGE) and that she should drive me everywhere that I needed to go for the duration of the pregnancy. Who can say no to Mom? She drove me to the remaining doctors appointments (these were weekly and then twice-weekly) until Kris was born. On one of the visits to the Obstetrician, he was concerned about Toxemia and told me to try and avoid all salt. So Mom (being the awesome Mom that she was) started purchasing only fresh fruits and vegetables. She seemed to have so much fun cooking for me and the growing baby. Slowly, the large amounts of fluid lessened (making my belly seem even larger). During one of Mike's visits, he and I went to the mall... I remember him joking that if he went over the speed bumps that it might make the labor start sooner...
On one of the outings with Mom and Dad, we ended up at the Jack In the Box out near where the Mall of Louisiana is now. They had a ‘50s’ event going on and whoever would ‘do the twist’ received a free order of French Fries. Mom and Daddy both ‘did the twist’. They all then looked at me and told me it was my turn. Try to visualize a pregnant lady… thin everywhere except the belly... and that belly is ginormous. Now visualize that pregnant lady… attempting to do the twist. I went to twist one way and my belly twisted the other… I didn’t realize I had an audience until the entire restaurant applauded me. Mom and Dad laughed so hard and not long before Mom died… she brought it up again... how funny it was to see me trying to do the twist with that huge belly.
During the afternoon on Christmas Eve 1989, Mom and Ricky took me to Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge for Christmas Eve Shopping. Just after Mom parked the car and we had all gotten out, there was a very loud "BOOM". I could feel the ground shake underneath my feet, and had to lean against the car so that I wouldn't fall. We later learned that there had been an explosion at the Chemical plant.
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