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 little
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, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in
Morristown, Tennessee. 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 pediatric specialist
regretfully 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
home for the 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
nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in the
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. Her 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 hands..." 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!
"Women'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.
To
the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the
world!