ONE of the most touching and reassuring sights I’ve seen while my children were growing up, was one day looking back from my car after I’d dropped my daughters at school and seeing my elder one with an arm round her little sister as they entered school.
Maybe it’s the fact my elder one is arriving today from New York, that makes me recollect this incident and also gives an opportunity to narrate a story about another such incident of love and a miracle that happened:
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 it was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in mommy’s tummy. 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. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.
Michael, their son 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 over-sized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. 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.
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! Karen simply called it a miracle of love! You could have heard this story before, and my question to you today: “Is there a brother or sister in your life who needs you to make a miracle happen?”
