Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Miracle of a Brother's Song - 爱的奇迹


The Miracle of a Brother's Song

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 be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his s 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. 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, Tennessee.

The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician 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 house for their new baby they found themselves having to plan for a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him se 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 face, her lips a firm line. He is not leaving until he sings to his sister" she stated. 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 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 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. 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.





爱的奇迹
凯伦发现自己又怀上了一个女孩。像其他妈妈一样,凯伦告诉了刚满三岁的儿子迈克尔,教他如何面对即将诞生的小宝宝此后,小迈克尔只要一有空,就会轻轻趴在妈妈的肚皮上,向即将出生的小妹妹温柔地唱着他喜欢的歌儿。这样,迈克尔和小妹妹虽然还没见过面,但彼此间已经建立起了独特的亲密联系。

这一天产期终于来临,经过痛苦分娩,婴儿终于诞生了。但是,这个新生小女孩却病得厉害。当晚,在救护车的尖叫声中,她被送到了圣玛丽医院的监护病房进行急救。

随后几天,小女孩的情况越来越恶化,医院的儿科医生不得不告诉凯伦夫妇,小女孩生存下来的概率微乎其微。凯伦夫妇非常伤心,原本他们已经安排好了一个温馨的婴儿房,但现在却发现,他们要安排的是女儿的葬礼!可是,小迈克尔并不了解这些情况,他还是天天缠着父母,不断地说:“我的小妹妹呢?我要唱歌给她听!”

小女孩诞生后的第二周,医生通知凯伦夫妇,葬礼可能在圣诞节以前举行。迈克尔依然像过去几天一样,不断缠着父母,要求唱歌给妹妹听。虽然监护病房禁止儿童进入,但凯伦还是决定带迈克尔进去一次,因为她知道,如果现在不去,迈克尔以后就永远看不到他的小妹妹了。

凯伦给迈克尔穿上了一套消毒护理服,偷偷地带他进入了监护病房。穿着过分臃肿衣服的小迈克尔看起来就像一个会走路的古怪洗衣篮,护士长一眼就看到了这个擅闯禁区的小孩,勃然大怒,低声吼道:“孩子出去!”

护士长的无礼反倒激起了凯伦的护犊之情,这位平时温柔有礼的母亲狠狠地瞪着护士长,嘴唇绷紧,咬着牙根一字一字地说:“我的孩子不会走,除非他唱歌给他妹妹听!”不顾护士长惊异的表情,凯伦把迈克尔拉到了他妹妹的小床旁。

小迈克尔温柔地望着那个生命正在一点一滴消失的小婴孩。过了好一会儿,他开始唱歌,用一个三岁孩子纯洁的心灵,他唱道:“你是我的阳光,我唯一的阳光……”小婴儿好像产生了反应,仪器上显示,她的心跳开始稳定下来了。

“继续唱,迈克尔。”凯伦很惊奇,她颤抖地说。小迈克尔继续唱下去:“你从不知道,亲爱的,我是多么地爱你。因此,请不要把我的阳光带走。”

只要迈克尔一唱歌,小婴儿原本杂乱无序的呼吸就会变得和小猫呜咽一样平稳柔和。“那天晚上,亲爱的,当我甜蜜入睡,我梦到我紧紧拥抱着你……”小婴儿开始放松,进入一种治疗的休眠状态,病魔的阴影似乎从她的小脸上开始消退。

泪水也涌入了护士长的眼眶,凯伦多日以来苍白的脸开始泛出了红光。“你是我的阳光,我唯一的阳光,请不要把我的阳光带走……”

一天又一天,一夜又一夜……歌声中,小女孩竟然慢慢康复。一个星期后,她终于逃脱了死神阴影的笼罩,回到了家中,回到了父母的怀抱里,成为她的哥哥迈克尔“不能带走的阳光”。

圣玛丽医院的医生把这件事当做一个“奇迹”。
而凯伦说,这是“爱的奇迹”。




No comments:

Post a Comment