by Joe Snyder
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Like any good mother, when Karen found out a baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a baby sister. So day after day Michael sang to his sister in mommy’s tummy. He was building a bond of love with his new sister even before he even met her. The pregnancy seemed normal for Karen and in due time labor pains came.
But 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 a very serious condition. Soon with a siren howling in the night, an ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tenn. The baby got worse. The parents were told there was little hope.
Karen and her husband began planning for a funeral. They contacted a cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby but now they found themselves planning a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to see his sister. "I want to sing to my sister," he kept begging but children are never allowed in the Intensive Care unit. Karen finally decided to take Michael in whether they liked it or not since if he didn’t see her right then, he might not ever see her alive.
She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like an oversized laundry basket. The nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed: "Get that kid outa’ here." The mother instinct rose up in Karen and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the nurse’s face. "He’s not leaving until he sings to his sister," she said. Then she towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant battling hard to live. He began singing.
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. Her pulse rate calmed down and became steady. "Keep on singing Michael, Karen encouraged 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 strained breathing became like a kitten’s purr. "Keep on singing Sweetheart." "The other night 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 flow over her. "Keep on singing, Michael."
Tears had now conquered the fact of the bossy nurse. Karen glowed. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t take away my sunshine away…" The next day – the very next day – the little girl was well enough to take home. Woman’s Day magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother’s Song. The medical staff called it a miracle as well. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.
Never give up on the people you love because there is nothing more powerful than love. Life is good! Plan now to make this Christmas season the best you’ve ever had.