An
Inspirational Story
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.
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 Creek United
Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee, USA. 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.
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 was 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 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. He 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 eyes, her lips a firm line, “He is not
leaving until he sings to his sister.” 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 tossing. 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 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
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.
Never
give up on the people you love. Love is so incredibly powerful.
This
is a true story happened in 1992 in Tennessee, USA. The baby girl’s name is
Marlee. As of 2012, Marlee is 20 years old and she thinks she is normal like
any other girl.
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