Could love really heal? The Story of Two brothers – By Annie

By Annie on October 30, 2017

Sammie and John are two brothers. Pat, their mum is a manager with a top city firm. Mike, Pat’s husband, has been off work for a while, due to a chronic condition. Sammie is their first child and later came John.

Their Story

Pat barely had time to look after Sammie the way she always wanted to. She couldn’t get much help from Mike either. Mike was battling a chronic condition. He couldn’t really do much to assist the family. Pat constantly entrusted Sammie’s care to the childminder, as many mothers have to do, because she worked to support the family. She needed to.

Sammie was barely two years of age when on a visit to the family doctor, Pat received the news of another baby – John was on the way.

Mixed feelings! In one breath, the gift of another life is always a blessing, Pat thought – but what about childcare??? Every mother’s nightmare …

…

“I am already struggling …”, she muttered under her breath.

Pat wasn’t the one that would let this become a source of another big worry. “G-d will bring us help” .. she said loudly to herself, as if to drown the other negative voice. After all, from experience, she has learnt that she can always bring herself to the point of total confidence in G-d’s providence.

Nine months went speedily by without any events. John was born and it was all joy and celebrations. Soon after the traditional maternity leave, Pat returned to work. It was a real struggle, but as long as the family was stable (she thought), she could always juggle things around.

Three years on, Sammie was about 6 years and John was almost 4. Sammie and John are two beautiful children everyone was fond of. They were together a lot of the time; they played together, and there was never a dull moment wherever these two were. Everyone simply adored them, children and adults alike. They were simply full of life.

Pat returned from work one late summer afternoon and Sammie wasn’t feeling too well. “Mummy … my head hurts… I want to lie down” Sammie said.

Pat’s heart literarily missed a beat! She remembered what the doctors had told them when Mike had first taken ill a few years before. It was time to visit the doctors – no delay. She hurriedly dressed the two boys up and headed straight to their family doctor.

There was another visit, and another one… Nothing seemed to be helping Sammie. Sammie was refusing to eat more and more, and gradually beginning to look malnourished and underweight. What on earth is going on?

Mike was beginning to get worried too. How will Pat cope with her job and the emerging demands of a stressful family life situation …

… John took ill too not too long after, Sammy became unwell. Pat was fast becoming a carer.

News travelled round .. first the nursery, and then the circle of friends, and then the entire neighbourhood had heard about the mysterious illnesses. Sammie and John got worse as the news seemed to gather more momentum. Doctors too couldn’t reach a diagnosis. Pat had been told it was a viral infection which needed no medication but would have to run its full course. Everyone wanted to help in their own little way. Neighbours in different ways offered support, as far as practicable; but that wasn’t enough to alleviate the family stress.

With the on-going situation, the one reasonable thing Pat thought to do was to reduce her hours of work, and get Grandma to move in with them temporarily. These Pat did, to manage their stressful family situation. Thank goodness Grandma was cooperative and willing, as they always are.

Hold on! This is strange, but true!

Grandma arrived .. a taxi had picked her up from the local airport. As Grandma walked in, Sammie, obviously still very ill and looking emaciated, laid on the couch, hardly with any energy to open his mouth to talk. He gazed at Grandma, as she walked in. John ran towards Grandma’s direction, reaching out his hands expecting a hug; but Grandma, without paying too much attention to John, brushed past him, after all, Sammie looked more ill.

Quickly realising what she just did, Grandma turned round and said to John … “Hold on John dear” .. (but still heading towards Sammie on the couch) .. She said to Sammie: “Sammie love, tell Nana – Whatever happened to my darling Sammie? You look so poorly.. Come, let Nana give you a cuddle .. “

Sammie’s response shocked everyone – “No… No Grandma! John is only a little boy.. he’s more sick than me. Go … hold him, cuddle him.. tell him you love him Nana .. Make him better.. “

Pat, Mike and Grandma were astonished at John’s thinking. Obviously a wisdom above his age. What pure selfless love!

Quietly, Grandma in obedience; turned around .. back towards John, and did accordingly as Sammy had suggested. She picked John, cuddled and kissed him.

And voila … A miracle seemed to have occurred!

As Grandma cuddled John, Sammie’s strength seemed to return. Sammie got up, walked over to Grandma and John. Both Sammie and John were now in Nana’s warm embrace. For the first time in a long while, Sammy asked Mummy for dinner. The whole family soon sat to a lovely meal hurriedly put together by Pat.

Each day thereafter saw Sammy improve, and getting better. John recovered too. Both boys were fully recovered in a short while thereafter; back to their old healthy, outgoing selves.

The family was soon to receive the biggest news of all from the doctors. Mike’s last blood test revealed that his condition was in remission. Pat was over the moon.

As soon as Pat found a little “me-time”, she couldn’t help thinking that pure love

packaged in innocence, seemed to have opened the door for a turn around in her family situation. She ponders: Can love really heal in the literal sense (??)