Miracle Boy

An extremely special baby boy was born on November 5, 1987: Robert William Murvine. In saying special, by no means do I mean handicapped or mentally challenged. On the contrary, I imply brilliant, unique, and matchless. Growing up he was interested in quite the same things that interested most young boys: power rangers, bikes, skateboards, playing outside and video games. Sports like baseball, basketball and soccer consumed his time. As well as learning whatever it is that cub scouts learned. All in all, Rob had a normal childhood. No one knew that Rob would wrestle with a brain tumor and overcome it.
Moving onto Rob’s teenage years he moved out of the “girl’s have cooties stage” and into the “I like girl’s” stage. Middle school was extremely awkward for him but he managed to get his first girlfriend during this time. He then joined the choir and enjoyed it immensely. Another talent that Rob discovered was his knack for writing. But above all else this is where his love affair with wrestling began. This sport began consuming all of Rob’s thoughts and time. Throughout high school this was all that he could concentrate on. Wrestling was life. The reason that he liked it so much was because it gave him a chance to set goals for himself. He loved to compete, so this was right up his alley. All of his hard work paid off and he won two awards: Coaches’ award and Mr. Muscle’s award. During his senior year he wanted to be state champion so badly, but unfortunately he didn’t make it. He beat up on himself after this happened but eventually let it go.
Now, at almost 23 years of age, Robert is 170 pounds of pure muscle. He has gotten into the hard habit of eating healthy and, unlike most people, doesn’t give into temptation. He works out on a daily basis. Rob’s sarcasm is what makes him one of the funniest people. He has such a humor about life and he barely ever let’s anything get him down. Such a caring and gentle spirit is refreshing to the world. Rob lives by a firm set of morals: Don’t do drugs, don’t drink to get drunk on purpose and trust in God to be the best person he can be.
Robert has evolved into the man most men strive to be. He is a man after God’s own heart and has been through many trials and tribulations in his life. Although he was only two years old, his dad died. He is always reminded that he acts just like his father. Around the age of ten his mother remarried, though, and he has a great relationship with his stepfather.
The unexpected happened when, on September 11, 2007, Rob learned that he had a brain tumor. It wasn’t a normal brain tumor; (although a normal brain tumor isn’t good either) it was an extremely rare tumor that only one in ten million people get. If that isn’t shocking, nothing is. Because it was so rare, doctors and surgeons from all over the world came to watch his surgery take place. When wheeled into the operating room Rob saw that all eyes were on him and got extremely nervous, but it had to be done so he took it like a man. (As well as any man could have taken it) It was a fourteen hour surgery. The tumor was in an awkward spot so they had to go up thru the roof of his mouth and excise the tumor that way. They only got 90% of the tumor out during surgery.
After Rob’s operation he was supposed to stay in intensive care for three to five days, but ended up getting out in thirty hours. Also, the estimated time in the hospital after his surgery was ten days to two weeks, but he was able to leave after five days. Needless to say it was a fast recovery process for our miracle boy. Since they were only able to extract 90% of the tumor, Rob had to go to radiation therapy for thirty-eight sessions. To do this he had to drive one hour every morning, get his radiation and then drive back to go to college every weekday. The radiation didn’t put him through any side effects like hair loss, vomiting or hearing loss; however, it did breakdown some of the tumor. Now he is to the point of going back every six months for a scan to see how things are progressing. The outlook the doctor gave him for surviving this brain tumor was not good at all, but he looked on the bright side of things and kept looking to God for healing and assurance. He has been in remission for three years now and proved the doctors wrong. That is something that can only be explained by God.
One reason why many believe this was a miracle was because of God’s mighty power. Nothing is too big for God to handle and He showed everyone that by healing Rob. The funny thing is, Rob didn’t go to church for a very long time. About a week before his surgery, a family friend, Pastor John from Eastgate Community Church invited Rob to attend church. Hesitantly, Rob went and they prayed over him while he was there. They didn’t just stop praying when church was over that day. They prayed, and they prayed, and they prayed until the surgery was over. And most believe, including me, that Rob was healed because of the almighty power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who knows if Rob would have been alive today if he wouldn’t have taken that uncomfortable step and gone to church.
Rob still attends Eastgate Community Church today. He learned that you can’t take life for granted, and to live life to the fullest. Ever since his surgery his faith has been growing tremendously. He became a youth leader at church and loves helping youth with their problems. He has been through so much that he feels that God has put him in younger men and women’s lives as an example. God has given him a lot of experiences to help him relate to youth. Learning more about God is a passion that Rob holds dear to his heart.
Another passion of Rob’s is teaching history. He has been in school for five years now to become a history teacher. What made him want to teach was wrestling. He used to teach little kids wrestling moves and he loved it. It was something he was good at. Also he decided to become a history teacher because it was a subject he enjoyed. Putting two things he loved together, his goal is to teach history while being a wrestling coach on the side.
From power rangers, to sports, to wrestling, to God, to teaching, Rob has always had something he has been passionate about. His life has always been centered on something that he loves, whether it is a hobby or a lifestyle. Even through his most life-threatening experience while he was dealing with cancer, he never lost sight of what really mattered. Robert Murvine is an exceptional man of God and with His help he overcame the biggest challenge of his life. He is a role model to many, whether he knows it or not, and he is loved by the King. Rob Murvine is a miracle if I’ve ever seen one.