The Balancing Act Lifetime Television Host Beth Troutman:  We all remember watching Picabo Street in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.  She took home a Gold Medal in 1994 and silver in 1998.  Today, Picabo is married and is the mother of three boys. Most recently she underwent a procedure that she wants women to know about.  Also here with us is Dr. Lisa Roberts who practices minimal-invasive gynecology in North Carolina.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Picabo, you are such an idol to so many people. Now, with the Olympics finally here, has it gotten easier to watch from the sideline or do you kind of wish you were still competing.

Picabo- I don’t know. I guess it just depends on what day it is, honestly.  I think being a mom now, you easily step back away from it and watch it with a different set of glasses on.  But I think it’s always going to be difficult for me when the games roll around to not be re-living those feelings from start to finish.  I’ll always miss that but I truly enjoy my role as mom these days.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Being in the Olympics and winning a medal, it’s got to be a rush like nothing else?

Picabo- Yes, it really is. It’s the kind of rush that is hard to explain because it goes above and beyond anything that you experience in your everyday life. It’s in a league of its own just like the whole Olympic Games as a whole are.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: I understand that after the birth of your third child you now have three beautiful boys.  You underwent a fairly new medical procedure. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Picabo- After Dax was born we felt that our family felt complete.  We knew that we were finished having babies, so we knew we were in a permanent-birth-control category so I got out there and started researching our options, hoping that there was something better available than a tubal for myself and a vasectomy for my husband.  That’s when I found Essure and it all seemed too good to be true. Honestly, when I first read it.  I went in and talked to my gynecologist about it and she explained that it is that easy and really is that noninvasive, nonsurgical and they don’t mess with your hormones. There was no recovery time.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Dr. Roberts, can you explain how this works and tell us if there are any side effects or risks with this procedure.

Dr. Roberts- The procedure is very simple. Patients will come into my office and go into one of our regular exam rooms.  I will then place a soft, flexible insert through the vaginal opening and into each fallopian tube. It takes about 5-10 minutes to perform the procedure.  Patients will leave soon after the procedure and get back to whatever they had planned for the day.  The side effects are very minimal and few. Some patients feel some mild to moderate cramping either during or immediately after the procedure.  Beyond that, it is a very, very safe procedure. Much safer than a tubal ligation.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Picabo, why are you actually speaking publically about your decision to get this procedure?

Picabo- Because of what the procedure offers us. It’s 99.8% guaranteed for the rest of my life and I don’t need an unplanned pregnancy so I am super excited about that.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: I wish I would have known about this procedure.  I had a tubal ligation years ago.  What are the differences between that and the new procedure we are talking about?

Dr. Roberts- The big differences are that you don’t have the risk associated with surgery or general anesthesia and then the recovery that follows.  With laparoscopic surgery, even though it is considered a minimally invasive procedure, recovery is one to two weeks and you’re going to have limitations in terms of lifting for another six weeks. With this Essure procedure there is really no recovery. Everybody like Picabo can get back to whatever it was they had planned to do, almost immediately.

The Balancing Act Lifetime Television: Going back to the Olympics, Picabo, who do you think we should be keeping an eye on during these Olympics?

Picabo- Obviously, all of Team U.S. A.  Anyone who has made it to Vancouver as a member of the U.S Olympic Team deserves our cheers. But I will be keeping a close eye on my girl Lindsey Vonn.  She is having a tremendous season and has got some pretty lofty goals set for herself in Vancouver.  She’s the type of role model we need out there for our next generation, so I am really hopeful that she’ll prevail and give us all something to smile about and some great visuals and memories forever.  And then there is Apolo Ohno. I am a big speed-skating fan and love watching Apolo.  He makes my palms sweaty.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Thank you both for education us on this new procedure and Picabo, for sharing your personal story.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television is the only morning show in America produced by women specifically for women. Every morning, The Balancing Act on Lifetime hosts Danielle Knox and Kristy Villa tackle the issues that face today’s woman. Popular show segments include Live weather updates with Mark Mancuso, surprise celebrity visitors, and news about the latest trends affecting your life, home, career and family. The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television airs daily on Lifetime at 7 a.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television’s website at www.thebalancingact.com.

A longtime car enthusiast, Gregory Leb has been collecting Ferraris for more than ten years. He is a member of the Ferrari Owners Club (FOC). The first Ferrari Owners Club in the country to be recognized by the factory, FOC has local groups across the nation, allowing Ferrari owners to unite in their love of Ferraris. Gregory Leb is the ultimate Ferrari lover, collecting both vintage and new Ferraris.

Gregory Leb lists his favorite Ferrari as the 456. The Ferrari 456 has a front engine and a back seat, which is a rare commodity in a Ferrari. Only 3,289 Ferrari 456s were made. Gregory Leb owns a Ferrari 348 Spyder.

But when Gregory Leb participates in HRS racing, he races his vintage Porsche. Also a member of the Porsche Owners Club, Gregory Leb travels around the country in his Porsche to race his vintage Porsche 944 and 911.

A former marketing director for Lamborghini, Gregory Leb knows luxury cars. During his time as marketing director for Lamborghini, Gregory Leb made a deal with Universal for the Diablo Roadster to be a part of eight TV shows. He even accepted cars delivered by Nicolas Cage during that time—as Cage’s fans know, the actor is a big fan of Lamborghinis.

When Gregory Leb isn’t racing vintage cars or driving around town in his Ferrari, he works hard as national account manager for Sissine’s. He has been in the position for five years.

About Gregory Leb

Gregory Leb, Sissine’s Office Systems’ national account representative, is committed to a simple motto, “Live well, and serve well.” An avid car collector and longtime cross fitness enthusiast, Gregory Leb has lived his life with a focus toward appreciating common things and embracing his good fortune.

Every man needs a man. For Gregory Leb that man was his stepfather who was a boxer in the Navy.  Gregory Leb was naturally drawn to athletics as most young men are. For Gregory Leb athletics included the study of boxing. Encouraged by his parents, he started his boxing career with the Jacksonville, Florida police athletic league, working his way up to Super Middle Weight by his mid-teens. Gregory Leb continues a health oriented lifestyle that includes boxing which he says could add up to more than twenty-nine years physical fitness that has included boxing. Among his sports heroes he includes boxing greats such as Manny Pacquiao, Mohammed Ali, and Roy Jones, Jr. Gregory Leb continues to be active in a local Jacksonville gym specializing in martial arts, and self-defense; disciplines that benefit from Greg’s early passion for boxing.

Fitness, passion and charity have combined to shape a life that does embrace his simple motto; live well, serve well.

The athleticism required is obvious, points out Catherine Case Szarwark.  The sport features rapid movement and almost instantaneous decision-making.  It requires quick reflexes and the stamina required to remain at peak efficiency throughout a series of matches that typically run throughout the day. According to Catherine Case Szarwark, pinpoint accuracy with the epee itself is a characteristic obvious to even the most casual observer.  But there is much more to epee fencing than meets the eye, as Catherine Case Szarwark, a three time All American form fencer for Penn State University, notes.

To begin, Catherine Case Szarwark explains that fencers constantly shift their balance, change angles, move their blade point and reposition themselves.  The successful epee fencer, adds Szarwark, must adjust to the opponent’s changes while positioning themselves for a successful attack.  This process is mentally much like a game of chess.  But as in chess, notes Catherine Case Szarwark, the mere act of responding to a threat can create new openings and new opportunities for attack.  As patterns develop, each fencer uses the other’s response to set the other up for a new angle of attack.  Then, says Catherine Case Szarwark, because of the speed of the attack and the close proximity of the fencers to each other, it is virtually impossible to respond to an attack.  One either anticipates and repels the attack, or one loses.

However, points out Szarwark, talent and physical ability are not irrelevant.  But each advantage carries its own baggage. Catherine Case Szarwark recalls that at 5’ 5” she was one of the taller fencers in Women’s Division I NCAA fencing.  Her reach and strength gave Catherine Case Szarwark an advantage that she could use.  However, Szarwark acknowledges that she presented a larger target than her smaller opponents, and explains that, regardless of height, no fencer can come within striking range of an opponent without coming within the opponent’s striking range.

Ultimately, Catherine Case Szarwark states that training is as much about mental discipline as it is about physical performance.  The most successful epee fencers, according to Catherine Case Szarwark, are those who possess the focus and concentration to effectively use the physical tools and training to maximum effect. In short, Catherine Case Szarwark concludes, fencing at the highest levels is much like playing basketball with Michael Jordan, while simultaneously playing chess with Bobby Fisher.

About Catherine Case Szarwark

For Catherine Case Szarwark, accomplishments came early in life. While friends were hoping to adapt to middle school, Catherine Case Szarwark found her passion. Szarwark started fencing in the sixth grade when a mini-fencing class was offered for physical education. She discovered that she loved it and possessed a rare talent.  Catherine Case Szarwark’s parents were supportive and her path to success began.

Catherine Case Szarwark spent six years at the Nashville Fencing Academy where she developed into one of the finest fencers in the country.  While attending Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, Catherine Case Szarwark rose to the highest-ranking American epee fencer in the under-17 age category.  Her fencing for the American team took Catherine Case Szarwark to Italy and Germany, and Szarwark spent time at the United States Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she trained alongside Olympic hopefuls from all over the United States.

Upon graduation from high school, Catherine Case Szarwark elected to attend Penn State University where she fenced under the legendary Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov.  There, Szarwark compiled a record of 149 wins against only 35 losses, for an 81.0% winning percentage.  This remains the sixth-best in the storied history of fencing at Penn State University.  Catherine Case Szarwark earned all America honors three times, and was the captain of the Women’s Epee team in 2006-2007 when Penn State University won the NCAA National Championship. In speaking of this team, Coach Kaidanov singled out Catherine Case Szarwark for her leadership and dedication.

Catherine Case Szarwark also earned All Academic Big Ten honors, and finished with a 3.4 grade point average at Penn State University.  Szarwark now lives in New York City and has taught fencing at the New York Athletic Club. She works at NYU School of Medicine and is involved in Junior League of New York.