[00:01.08]Price of a Miracle
[00:05.37]Tess was a precocious eight-year-old girl
[00:09.86]when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother,
[00:13.48]Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick
[00:16.09]and they were completely out of money.
[00:18.74]They were moving to an apartment complex next month
[00:22.09]because Daddy didn't have the money
[00:24.64]for the doctor's bills and our house.
[00:26.77]Only a very costly surgery could save him now
[00:30.28]and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money.
[00:33.84]She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother
[00:36.61]with whispered desperation:
[00:38.15]“Only a miracle can save him now.”
[00:40.48]Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar
[00:44.24]from its hiding place in the closet.
[00:46.50]She poured all the change out on the floor
[00:49.57]and counted it carefully. Three times, even.
[00:52.20]The total had to be exactly perfect.
[00:54.89]No chance here for mistakes.
[00:57.14]Carefully placing the coins back in the jar
[01:00.31]and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door
[01:03.54]and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store
[01:06.78]with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
[01:10.25]She waited patiently for the pharmacist
[01:13.34]to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment.
[01:16.84]Tess twisted her feet to make a noise. Nothing.
[01:20.39]She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound
[01:23.59]she could muster. No good.
[01:25.54]Finally she took a quarter from her jar
[01:28.18]and banged it on the glass counter.
[01:30.23]That did it! “And what do you want?”
[01:32.81]the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
[01:35.80]“I'm talking to my brother from Chicago
[01:38.37] whom I haven't seen in ages.”
[01:40.50]he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
[01:44.02]“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother.”
[01:47.60] Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone.
[01:50.27]“He's really, really sick...and I want to buy a miracle.”
[01:54.00]“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
[01:56.79]“His name is Andrew and he has something bad
[01:59.78]growing inside his head and my Daddy says
[02:02.47]only a miracle can save him now.
[02:04.56]So how much does a miracle cost?”
[02:07.03]“We don't sell miracles here, little girl.
[02:09.89]I'm sorry but I can't help you.” the pharmacist said,
[02:13.51] softening a little.
[02:15.03]“Listen, I have the money to pay for it.
[02:17.38]If it isn't enough, I will get the rest.
[02:19.93] Just tell me how much it costs.”
[02:22.05]The pharmacist's brother was a well-dressed man.
[02:25.15]He stooped down and asked the little girl,
[02:27.79]“What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
[02:30.40]“I don't know.” Tess replied with her eyes welling up.
[02:34.20]“I just know he's really sick
[02:36.56]and Mommy says he needs an operation.
[02:38.78]But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
[02:42.67]“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.
[02:46.15]“One dollar and eleven cents.”
[02:48.82]Tess answered barely audibly.
[02:50.70]“And it's all the money I have,
[02:53.05]but I can get some more if I need to.”
[02:55.05]“Well, what a coincidence.” smiled the man.
[02:58.27]“A dollar and eleven cents—
[03:00.49]the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. ”
[03:03.40]He took her money in one hand and with the other hand
[03:06.79] he grasped her mitten and said:
[03:08.80]“Take me to where you live.
[03:10.59]I want to see your brother and meet your parents.
[03:13.90] Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
[03:16.79]That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong,
[03:20.64]a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery.
[03:24.19]The operation was completed without charge
[03:26.61]and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
[03:30.88]Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events
[03:34.56]that had led them to this place.
[03:36.32]“That surgery,” her Mom whispered,
[03:38.64]“was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”Tess smiled.
[03:44.44]She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...
[03:46.75]one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.
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