Skip to content

Never ever give up on the people you love

Thanks to my great friends along the “Hammer Hotline” I get some wonderful material that is quite often used in my articles.

MIKE RAINONE - Hammertime

Thanks to my great friends along the “Hammer Hotline” I get some wonderful material that is quite often used in my articles. There are some of those stories that really tug at your heart strings, even bring a tear, and I really enjoy passing them on to you, and this is one of them:

“Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They soon found out that the new baby was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael would sing to his sister in mommy’s tummy, quickly building a wonderful bond of love before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, who was an active member of a Methodist Church in her small home town. In time, the labour pains came, and soon it was every five minutes, every three, and then a minute apart. But serious complications arose later during the delivery and she found herself in hours of labour. Would a C-section be required? Finally, after a long, hard struggle, Michael’s precious little sister was born, but she was in serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the tiny infant to the nearest neonatal intensive care unit. As the days inched by, the little girl got worse, and the pediatrician had to tell the desperate parents that there was little hope, and to be prepared for the worst.

It was only a few weeks ago that Karen and her husband were excitedly preparing a special room in the house to welcome their new baby, but now they found themselves having to possibly prepare to plan for a funeral.

Their little son Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister, and to sing to her just like he had so faithfully and lovingly done over the past few months. Week 2 in intensive care looked as if the baby’s chances of survival were slim, and while Michael continued to insist on singing to his sister, his parents knew kids are never allowed in intensive care. It was at that sad and critical point his mother decided to take Michael into to see his sister whether they liked it or not!

Her love and faith told her that if he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive. Karen dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU looking quite like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse immediately recognized him as a child and bellowed: ‘Get that kid out of here, no children are allowed!’

Through the sincerest of compassion, love, and desperation this usually mild-mannered lady glared steely eyed right into the nurse’s face, and with her lips in a firm line uttered: ‘He is not leaving here until he sings to his sister!’

Then Karen quickly rushed her son to his sister’s bedside, where he gazed at this tiny infant that was quickly losing her battle to live. After only a moment Michael began to sing in the pure-hearted voice of a three-year old boy, this precious song.

‘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 his mother with tears in her eyes. ‘You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away.’ As he continued to sing to his sister, the baby’s ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr. ‘Keep on singing, sweetheart,’ his mother pleaded.

‘The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms.’ Michael’s little sister soon began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her. ‘Keep on singing, Michael.’ Tears had now conquered the face of the once bossy head nurse, and Karen’s weary face began to glow. ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; please don’t take my sunshine away.’ This proud little boy just kept on singing, again and again, with all his might! The next day, the very next day, the little girl was well enough to go home.”

A national magazine later called the story The Miracle of a Brother’s Song, the medical staff just called it a miracle, and the baby’s mother Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.

There is also a very powerful message for all of us here: Never give up on the people we love, because love is so incredibly powerful. Have a great week together with family, neighbours, and friends, all of you!