This touched my
heart, as I'm sure it will yours.
Like any
good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the
way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael,
prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was
going to be a
girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his
sister in Mommy's tummy. He was building a bond of love with his
little sister before he even met her.
The pregnancy
progressed normally for Karen. In time, the labor pains came.
Soon it was every five minutes, every three ...every minute.
But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found
herself in hours of labor. Would a C-section be required? Finally,
after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was born. But she
was in very serious
condition.
With a
siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to
the neonatal intensive care unit at St.
Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days inched by. The
little girl got worse. The pediatrician had
to tell the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared
for the worst."
Karen and
her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They
had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby
but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral.
Michael,
however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister.
"I want to sing to her," he kept saying.
Week two
in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the
week was over. Michael kept begging about singing to his sister,
but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen made up her
mind though. She would take Michael whether they liked it or not!
If he didn't see his sister right then, he may never see her alive.
She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into
ICU. He
looked like a walking laundry basket. But the head nurse recognized
him as a child and bellowed, "Get that kid out of here now!
No children are allowed."
The mother
rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared
steel-eyed right into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line.
"He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen
towed Michael to his sister's bedside.
He gazed
at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment,
he began to sing. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3 year old, Michael
sang: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me
happy when skies are gray---" instantly the baby girl seemed
to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady.
"Keep on singing, Michael," encouraged Karen with tears
in her eyes. "You never know, dear, how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away-"
As Michael
sang to his sister, the baby's ragged, strained breathing became
as smooth as a kitten's purr. "Keep on singing, sweetheart!!!"
"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held
you in my arms..."
Michael's
little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to
sweep over her. "Keep on singing, Michael." Tears had
now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed.
"You are my sunshine, my only Sunshine. Please don't, take
my sunshine away..."
The next,
day...the very next day...the little girl was well enough to go
home! Woman's Day Magazine called it "The Miracle of a Brother's
Song." The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen
called it a miracle of God's love!
NEVER GIVE
UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. LOVE IS SO INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.
Life is
good. Have a wonderful Day!
PRAYER:
May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you
are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the
infinite
possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts
that
you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to
you. May
you be content knowing that you are a child of God. Let His presence
settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing,
dance,
and to bask in the sun. It is there for each and every one of
you.
