A Journey Through Cancer, with Faith and Hope

By Chuck Rudolph, Evelyn Rudolph and Meloni Rudolph Crawford

Book Synopsis:  One family's journey through the darkest hours of a time of trouble. Cancer struck, much like any malady can, and there is help and encouragement to be had during the bleakest

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Reading Glass Books
• Release date: Feb 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9781962497527

Chuck Rudolph

Chuck and Evelyn Rudolph Chuck Rudolph grew up in rural southern Minnesota. He spent many years working with Youth for Christ. In 2008 he was diagnosed with Melanoma cancer. He was classified stage 4 for 3 1/2 years. In 2012, his family was told he would not leave the hospital alive; but by God’s grace, he was healed and enjoys telling his story of what God has done in his life. Evelyn Rudolph also grew up in rural southern Minnesota. She and Chuck went to school together. She also has worked with Youth for Christ in many capacities and continues working with YFC in Martin County, Minnesota where they reside. They have been married for 46+ years. Meloni Rudolph Meloni Rudolph is the daughter of Chuck and Evelyn. She is currently the Dean of Student Life at the Community College of Denver. During her career she has worked at several colleges and universities; and has twice sailed as part of the staff of Semester at Sea. Meloni and her fiancé (Tony Crawford) are planning a wedding for June of 2015.

Book preview

ebook_cover.jpg

Prologue to the Revised Edition

Christmas 2023,

As I reflect on the events 11-15 years ago that precipitated the stories in this book, I am deeply grateful that I can look back on stories that center on healing. It is amazing to me, and to all of us who were around for these dark chapters that Dad is living a vibrant life with Mom in a wide community of extended family and lifelong friends in their hometown.

So many things have happened since I remember Dr. Markovic telling my parents that the cancer was not there. When I was trying to absorb that news, I was skeptical, bracing for the other shoe to drop. The good news felt tenuous, and it felt fragile. Then it began to slowly feel true that the cancer was gone; his body was healing. The miracle was real. The longer we went without any further cancer developments, the safer it was to process what had actually happened and to face the feelings that were too big and scary to face at the time.

At some point in the healing process Dad said to me, Something I have learned in all this is that God honors the faithful. I pondered what that meant in this story and for my Dad’s life and this is how I would encapsulate it:

In May 2012 I was at work in Denver when I got that call from the hospital. The one that said that it was time to come back to Minnesota because it did not look like Dad would leave the Mayo Clinic, that it was time to come and say good-bye. I got to Minnesota about the same time as my brother and we drove to Rochester from the Twin Cities airport. When we got there, my brother took Mom out for some food and I sat with Dad next to his bed. Mom had told us that he had been mumbling in his unconscious state and no one could figure out what he was trying to say. As I sat there with him, I too was trying to figure out what he was saying. After at least an hour, I deciphered that he was singing hymns... I mean, it took work to recognize the song because, bless his heart, he wasn’t able to carry a tune. But he was singing hymns…

To me, it revealed who my dad is at his core because when he was in so much physical pain that his body would not stay conscious, and he was functioning at a depleted cognitive level, hallucinating on pain medications, he was still singing hymns. His faith was so foundational that when he could not do anything else, hymns were coming out of his heart. There is a quote widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt that I was reminded of recently which says; People are like tea bags, you never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water. In the shadow of death my Dad’s most basic instincts were to sing hymns. I’ll never forget that moment.

In the years since that day, many amazing and joy-filled things have happened that have been enhanced with Dad’s continued presence in our lives: the birth of his fourth grandchild (Ellie), the continued growth of all of the grandkids, my wedding to Tony, where Dad was an officiant, my PhD, Mom and Dad’s 45th, 50th and 55th wedding anniversaries, multiple family trips, happy Christmases, beautiful seasons, and many celebrations with extended family as life unfolds for all of us.

I continue to be thankful that my Dad is still with us and is an important part of our lives. We all know that life is precious and miraculous and are reminded through these experiences to practice gratitude and love each other.

Meloni Crawford, PhD

A Journey Through Cancer, with Faith and Hope

Chuck Rudolph

Evelyn Rudolph

Meloni Rudolph Crawford, Ph.D

A Journey Through Cancer, with Faith and Hope

Copyright © 2024 by

Chuck Rudolph, Evelyn Rudolph and Meloni Rudolph Crawford, Ph.D

ISBN: 978-1962497527(e)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher and/or the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

The views expressed in this book are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The Reading Glass Books

[phone]

www.readingglassbooks.com

[e-mail]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue to the Revised Edition

Forward

About the Authors

Endorsements

An Introduction

Our Journey – An overview

Meloni’s Updates

Evelyn’s remembering the 5 ½ weeks in Rochester at the climax of our journey

Why me?

Not Alone

Loneliness

Giants

How will I provide for my family?

The Eastern Gate

Fully and Completely Healed

One Day at a Time

Great Faith

Some of the updates to our prayer list written by Evelyn and Myself

Family and Close Friends

Forward

It is my distinct pleasure and privilege to write the forward to this book by my patient Mr. Chuck Rudolph. The manuscript is a firsthand accounting of a patient’s and his family’s physical, emotional and spiritual journey through the diagnosis and multiple therapies for malignant melanoma. The story of the Rudolph’s life with cancer is a story of empowerment, humanity, family and faith. In my profession, we tend to so focus on the active medical issues at hand that we frequently only catch a glimpse of the life stories of our patients whom we struggle to save. I remember when I first read this book, I was overwhelmed by the emotional and spiritual depth of