Bessie and Ernestine are sisters who share a remarkable bond.
“If you see me, you’re going to see her too. I can’t be away from her no longer than she can be away from me,” Ernestine said.
But Bessie and Ernestine’s relationship is different from that of most sisters— in fact, they’ve yet to have a true conversation.
Throughout Bessie’s thirteen years of life, she has never spoken a word.
At first, her family thought she was developing slowly, but four years ago, they finally got a diagnosis after a life-threatening seizure. Dr. Daniel Arndt, from Beaumont Hospital, told WXYZ-TV:
“Bessie has a condition that we would refer to as a variant of Landau Kleffner syndrome.”
Landau Kleffner syndrome is a rare childhood disorder marked by loss language comprehension and verbal expression.
“The child has an excessive amount of abnormal brainwave activity while she is sleeping,” Dr. Arndt said. These brain waves cause Bessie to have silent seizures in her sleep, with each one affecting and impeding her language progression.
“I was told that she would never speak. I was told that she would never be able to talk or anything,” the girl’s mother recalled.
Although Bessie cannot talk, Ernestine has learned to read her sister’s cues. “It was kind of hard to understand her,” Ernestine said, “but because I was around her so much, it was easier for me.” Recently, however, Bessie shocked everyone when she started doing something unexpected.
Last year, even though Bessie had never spoken, she suddenly began singing a song.
“The first time, not only was it shocking,” Ernestine said, “[it was] amazing. I couldn’t believe it.
When the family saw what was happening, they uploaded a video to Facebook where it quickly went viral. Later, when WXYZ-TV caught wind of their story, they were also featured on the news. “I believe it’s sister love,” Bessie’s mother told the reporter. “I believe it’s the music that she likes.”
The girl’s mother is correct. It’s the music that truly makes a difference— something that Bessie makes obvious by her choice of songs.
Bessie will only sing songs that were written and recorded by her sister Ernestine.
“I’ve been singing since I was 5 and writing since I was 11,” Ernestine said.
“Sometimes when I’m singing a song, she’ll just jump in.”
Bessie’s family (and many online viewers) call her improvement a miracle from God.
Since Bessie started singing, she’s also started speaking words.
Although Dr. Arndt credits a large portion of the girl’s improvement to her treatment at the hospital, he does say her family has played a big role too.
“Fortunately, Bessie has a very caring family,” he said. “She’s blessed with that.”
“The day in, day out efforts that the family does has been priceless for Bessie.”
Since being uploaded, Bessie and Ernestine’s story has been viewed over 3.5 MILLION times. People are touched by the sisters’ friendship and stunned by Bessie’s progress.
“She’s so cute and god created a little gift”
“What a mighty God we serve! Thank God!!!”
“May God continue to bless her and her family”
See it for yourself below!
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