Faith of a Child

Dean Poling

February 06, 2006 12:26 pm

— Three and a half years ago, doctors gave Wendy Rumley six months to a year to live. A few days before the recent New Year, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, weighing six pounds, seven ounces.
Since being diagnosed with an inoperable Stage 4 brain stem glioma tumor in August 2002, life hasn’t been easy for Wendy, husband Will Rumley, or their 8-year-old son, Seth Rumley. Wendy faced losing her life; Will, his wife; and Seth, his mother.
Wendy has made tremendous progress in the past few years, defying the initial estimate of six months to a year to live. But nothing prepared the family for a second pregnancy, which doctors had warned against, and the arrival of a second son, Ian Jeffrey Rumley.
To friends and family, for Wendy having gone from a prognosis that took her to the brink of death to bringing life in the form of a new child into the world, Ian’s birth is nothing short of a miracle.
To the Rumleys, Wendy’s recovery and Ian’s birth are a miracle of committed persistence and courageous faith, for which they thank the Lord.
Life for the Rumleys has taken on a feeling of normalcy again. They live near the Lowndes-Brooks county line. He works at Cass Burch. She’s on maternity leave from her job at Southern OB/GYN. Seth attends second grade at Crossroads Baptist School. They attend Westside Baptist Church.
There are reminders of what they have endured. This weekend, Wendy is having an annual test to ensure her cancer remains in remission. The days leading up to these medical visits are nerve-wracking for the Rumleys. They know from experience how quickly things can change.

In the summer of 2002, Wendy wasn’t feeling well. She had bouts of nausea and dizziness. She would lose her balance. She suffered severe headaches. Wendy thought these symptoms may have been linked to a spot found on her liver. Tests at Emory proved her liver was fine, but doctors there and here did not know what was causing her other symptoms.
Then, the left side of Wendy’s face suddenly drooped. Her face had the appearance that she had suffered a stroke. When that happened, the Rumleys knew something was wrong. With contacts already made at Emory, an appointment was scheduled. There, several tests were conducted.
Then, the Rumleys received the bad news.
Wendy had Stage 4 brain stem glioma, an inoperable, cancerous tumor along her brain stem. This form of tumor hadn’t formed one lump, but had dotted itself along the brain stem. Will says doctors compared the tumor’s consistency as similar to fatty marbling in steak. Impossible to remove.
The doctors were candid, blunt. Wendy had six months to a year to live. She should get her affairs in order. They asked if she had a will.
Wendy and Will were stunned. They were devastated.
The medical team offered treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, but little hope. Treatments would begin almost immediately but wouldn’t likely change the outcome of the prognosis.

The Rumleys settled into a life of traveling to Emory in Atlanta and South Georgia Medical Center’s Pearlman Cancer Center in Valdosta. They worried about what to tell Seth, who was 4 years old. They slowly explained to him what was happening. Through prayer, they showed Seth a way to have faith in a positive outcome. But they prepared him for the worst by explaining the often fatal consequences of cancer.
“We took it slow. We didn’t want him to be exposed to too much because he was so young,” Will says.
Meanwhile, family and friends offered non-stop support and encouragement to the Rumleys. Westside Baptist Church and other churches offered prayers for Wendy’s recovery.
“There was such a wonderful response to Wendy,” Will says. “She was on the prayer requests of many churches, the cards and gifts and support we received. We can’t thank everyone enough.”
Community support and prayers buoyed them through the long months of radiation and chemotherapy. Still, there were moments of doubt. People would tell them stories of illnesses being miraculously healed with one trip to a church altar. These stories left the Rumleys wondering why such a thing had not happened for Wendy. Had their faith been wanting?
Yet, through these tests and so many others endured, the Rumleys’ faith developed into a faith of persistence, a faith made strong by a slow process of recovery rather than an instant miracle.
“I think maybe if it had happened all at once, if I’d been cured just like that, I may not have appreciated it,” Wendy says. “I may have taken it for granted.”
Instead, she counts it as a blessing. Reaching the year anniversary following the initial prognosis was a celebration. Gradually, the cancer went into remission. Doctors believe the tumor is still there but it has shown no signs of growth.

Doctors warned the Rumleys that they should not have any more children. Pregnancy often accelerates the growth of cancer cells, they told the Rumleys. Wendy and Will planned to follow doctor’s orders. Wendy’s pregnancy in 2005 was unplanned.
It also scared her. Throughout her battle with cancer, she worried about leaving Seth without a mother at an early age. Now, she worried she might leave two children behind.
Not having the baby, though, the Rumleys say, was not an option.
“If the Lord wanted us to have this baby, we were going to have this baby,” Will says.
On Dec. 27, Ian Jeffrey Rumley was born, with both mother and baby well and fine. They call their second son Ian, which Will says means, “God is gracious.”
Ian yawns in his mother‚s arms. Will watches this and says, “People pray for miracles and they might not get their miracles. Some do. Some don’t. We don’t know why. So, we’re very humble. We can’t always know God’s plan.”
Ian makes a small noise. Will keeps looking at the baby, and smiles. “Apparently, God had a big plan for us.”