I wanted to share this with everyone. Hope it helps you all realize just how precious things in life really are and what it takes to keep them in your lives.
You are My Sunshine, My only Sunshine"
(Be prepared to get watery eyes!)
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 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, 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 nagging about singing to his
sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.
Karen decided to 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. I looked like a walking
laundry basket. 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"
she stated. Then 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.