Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the
way, she did what she could to help her three-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, 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 in 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 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
three-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 became 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.
Send this to all the people that have touched your life in some way.
