In 1974 I was determined to prove that even though I was older than most women when they become pregnant, nothing was going to keep me from continuing my very active life. This included tennis, social events with my husband, and the care of two lively preteen daughters.
As a Christian Scientist, I believed that I was immune to the medical pronouncements made about having a child at this point in my life. With a lot of self-will and pride but little real prayer or spiritual study, I marched forth. Things seemed to go along all right for a while. But then, tennis became absolutely impossible. However, instead of stopping or slowing down my pace, I took up riding my speed bike!
One morning, well into my fifth month of pregnancy, I started out on my bike. Just in front of our next-door neighbor's house, the bike slipped on a sandy patch. I lost my balance. My foot caught in the front wheel and I came crashing to the road, landing on my face and stomach. With my foot twisted in the wheel, I was unable to move. I called out in pain and panic, but there was no one to hear me.
