-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
To: Sharon Starr STARR <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: pat sherman <[log in to unmask]>; Martha J Smith Scott & Janie
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Saturday, October 17, 1998 11:36 PM
Subject: The Sweetest Song I Ever Heard...


>Subject: The Sweetest Song I Ever Heard...
>
>
>
>KEEP ON SINGING
>> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
>>
>>
>
>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 that the new baby was going to 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
>Panther
>Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee.
>
>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. Would a C-section be required?
>
>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, TN.
>
>The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatric
>specialist
>regretfully had to tell the parents, "There is 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 home
>for the new
>baby -
>but now they found themsleves 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
>made up her mind, though.
>
>She would 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. But
>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
>usuallymild-mannered lady
>glared
>steel-eyed right into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm
>line. "He is
>not
>leaving until he sings to his sister!"
>
>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
>purehearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
>
>"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...You make me happy
>when skies are
>grey..."
>
>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'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
>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 on 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! Woman's Day Magazine called it "The Miracle of a
>Brother's Song." The medical staff just called it a
>miracle.  Karen called
>it a miracle of God's love!
>
>NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. LOVE IS SO INCREDIBLY
>POWERFUL.
>
>Please send this to all the people that have touched your
>life in some way.
>
>
>
>
>----------
>