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In a revealing new interview Sherri Shepherd, co-host of The View, opens up about her struggle to become pregnant, the miscarriage that claimed the life of her 2 ½-year-old son Jeffrey Charles‘ twin sister, and Jeffrey’s harrowing premature birth. Sherri, 40, tells Entertainment Tonight that she was plagued by self doubt as she struggled to understand the reasons why she and estranged husband Jeff Tarpley were unable to conceive. Says Sherri,

It was hard because you go through guilt that something is wrong with you, or maybe you waited too long. It was a lot of shots, a lot of false pregnancies, and a lot of tears.

Fertility treatments were ultimately successful, and the couple soon learned that they were expecting boy/girl twins. Then the unthinkable happened when the baby girl died in utero. Says Sherri,

I lost my son’s little sister. I was on bed rest and praying a lot.

At 5 ½-months pregnant, Sherri found that her nightmare was far from over, as Jeffrey needed to be delivered. He was born weighing 1 pound, 10 ounces and suffered from severe bleeding on both sides of his brain, a hole in an artery near his heart and a hole in his intestine. Doctors predicted that Jeffrey would go on to have severe cerebral palsy and Sherri admits that she and Jeff Sr. "thought we were going to lose him." Then, when they least expected it, their luck began to turn.

Right before they pulled the ventilator plug to let him go, a miracle happened.  He decided to fight and we decided to fight.  He was in the intensive care unit for three months and it was up and down, but everyday he got a little better.  He finally came home on oxygen and a heart monitor.

Click ‘continue reading’ for the rest of the interview.

Although Jeffrey is "slower in learning" he never developed cerebral palsy and Sherri calls her son "our little miracle." But even miracle babies have their moments, Sherri has learned.

He’s in the terrible two’s. I keep saying to God, ‘I want to give him back, I think this boy is broken!’ I don’t know what happens when they turn two, but they just lose their minds. They don’t like you anymore, theywant to hit you, and they scream in public…He’s our little miracle, except when he’s having a tantrum, then the miracle flies out the window!

For parents who may find themselves in a similar situation, Sherri offers words of hope and encouragement. She says that although there was a point in time where she thought she’d "never get on stage and make people laugh again," Sherri’s life did go on — with "patience and a lot of humor." She also says that she keeps her perspective when it comes to Jeffrey’s development.

I’m just grateful when he does small things.

For the full interview tune in to tonight’s episode of Entertainment Tonight.

Source: Entertainment Tonight

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