“My little sister was extremely sick with pneumonia in the ICU one Christmas when she was six. This happened often around this time of year for her because of her asthma. But this time it was worse. She was so sick and tired she lost track of the days in the hospital even though Christmas was approaching fast. People dressed as elves would come in and bring gifts and my sister would say, am I going to make it back in time for Christmas? She was so worried and already so upset after being poked and prodded by doctors, draining fluid from her lungs, and trying to get her better. Christmas came, and we decided not to tell her she missed it. We promised her. We weren’t going to ruin her Christmas!
On the 27th, while my dad worked and mom was at the hospital, I got a list from my mom and went to the store to get her gifts. I spent all night wrapping them. The next day they released my sister from the hospital and we told her it was Christmas Eve! I even promised her she could sleep in my bed that night, under all the Christmas lights I hung up, so she could wake me up as soon as it was Christmas morning.
I can’t even tell you how happy she was to wake up the next day and she couldn’t stop saying how much of a Christmas miracle it was! She’s 13 and still remarks how amazing it was she made it back before Christmas, after being so horribly sick and stuck in ICU. Maybe someday we’ll tell her.”
