Miracle Of Love

Like any good mother, when Karen learned that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, to prepare for the new arrival. When he learned that the new baby was going to be a girl, Michael would lay with his head on mommy's tummy and sing to his baby sister.  He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her. The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, and in time, labor pains came… Every five minutes… Every three minutes… Then every minute.  But serious complications arose during the delivery, and Karen endured hours of labor. Finally, after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was born… But she was in very serious condition.  With siren howling in the night, an ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville,Tennessee. Anxious days passed, each one an eternity, as the tiny baby's condition deteriorated.  A pediatrician told the parents, "There is very little hope.  Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband had prepared a nursery for their new baby, but now found themselves planning a funeral. Little Michael was asking his parents to let him see his new sister.  "I want to sing to her." he would say. After the second week in intensive care it looked as if the baby would succumb at any moment… And Michael persisted. He begged to see his sister… But children are never allowed in the intensive care unit. Finally, Karen made up her mind.  She would take Michael to see his sister, whether they liked it or not! If he didn't see his sister then, he might never see her alive. Karen dressed Michael in an oversized scrub suit and took him to ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket!  The head nurse stopped them and told them, "I'm sorry, but there are no children allowed in ICU. That child cannot come in here!" The mother instinct rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered woman glared steel-eyed at the head nurse, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sees his sister!" She towed Michael to his sister's bedside.  Michael gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle for life. After a moment, he began to sing in the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…" The baby girl seemed to respond.  Instantly, her pulse rate began to calm and became steady. "Keep singing, Michael," encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You'll 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 smooth as a kitten's purr. "Keep singing, sweetheart!" urged their mother. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms…" Michael's baby sister began to relax, as rest, healing rest, swept through her tiny fragile body. "Keep singing, Michael." said Karen. Tears were now welling from the eyes of the bossy head nurse. "Please don't take my sunshine away…" the little boy sang. 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… … But Karen called it a Miracle of God's Love!