The Power of My Village

I’ve written before about the small town I come from. My Village. I want to share another story about my village and the power of a whole community praying for each other and praying for the specific needs of a small child.

This article is written with permission from her parents, Jordan and Tanner Norman. Jordan and Tanner are from my village. We went to the same high school, we have worshipped at the same churches and we have shopped at the same stores. I have never met Jordan or Tanner but I pray for them every day. I pray for the healing power over this small child.

You see, they have a daughter, Tenley, who is suffering from a rare form of cancer. Every day we get up and search Facebook for updates and every day a whole community collectively prays for this little girl, some who know her personally, some who have never met her, but she is one of ours! She is a part of us. We love seeing pictures of this sweet darling everyday. We are Tenley's Prayer Warriors.

Here are some short words from Tenley's father about her journey:

"It hurts me to say that our daughter has just been diagnosed with Malignant Extrarenal Rhabdoid Tumor. Unfortunately this is a very aggressive and very rare type of cancer, and even worse, its one of the hardest cancers to treat in a pediatric patient. Things all turned for the worst when my daughter had blood in her urine just a mere two weeks ago and we immediately made her an appointment with her pediatrician. The pediatrician took a sample of her urine in order to test for an infection. The test came back negative and that's when we were scheduled for an ultrasound the next day. We were hoping that it would be nothing serious, but the ultrasound revealed a mass in her bladder. God’s timing was perfect because at the moment that the ultrasound tech began to scan her bladder, Tenley peed. It was at that very moment that the ultrasound tech was able to see the mass. If Tenley had not peed at that exact moment, we may have been sent home knowing nothing about the tumor. The following week, on Thursday, we had a cystoscope done and they were able to remove the tumor completely with the help of a $100,000 tool the hospital had ordered. Within the 2-day span, between our consultation and her surgery, they were able to acquire the tool needed for our baby’s surgery. We were relieved to find out that her doctor was able to remove all the he could see of the tumor in her bladder. We truly believe him being able to remove the tumor was a blessing from God. He initially thought he would only be able to cut off a tiny bit of the tissue due to how small she is. We were hit with the news, following the surgery, that the doctor and pathologist thought the tumor was "suspicious." We waited and waited for good news but the report came back with the news of the Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor and as if things couldn't have gotten any worse, they wanted to do a CT Scan of her lungs (where this type cancer is usually found) and it revealed two more tumors in her lungs. Some would say these kinds of things would set you back in life, don't get me wrong we are extremely hurt by all this, but we have grown so much in our faith through this short time and I know we will continue to. God’s got this and we will NOT quit fighting. Please join us as we fervently pray for our sweet daughter." -Tanner Norman, Tenley's father

Everydaym my village bows their heads as one and asks for the healing power of Jesus to see this family through every parent’s worst nightmare. Every day we talk to people and ask, "Have you heard anything about Tenley," "How is that baby girl?," " What can we do?," "How can we help?," "How are her grandparents?" And even though they are at MD Anderson in Houston, it feels like they are here. We all look at the pictures Jordan posts and pray for her. Pray to give her strength and pray to keep her spirits up.

Update on Tenley after their visit to Houston, Texas:

Once we arrived in Houston, they reviewed the CT of her chest and determined the two spots were not cancer (Halleluja!), which was a huge relief. They scanned her entire body and determined that the cancer had not metastasized, so she had another surgery where they did a more thorough job removing the remaining portion of the tumor in her bladder. After surgery, she began receiving chemotherapy treatments. The protocol she is on lasts 31 weeks, which consists of 5 different types of chemo-therapies. It is a very aggressive treatment, but is required for this type of cancer. She has since had two sets of scans, and both have shown no evidence of disease! Praise God! She finishes chemotherapy on October 4 and will have scans shortly after. As long as her last scans are clear, we will be cleared to finally come home to Alabama after being gone for 9 long months. We will then have to return every 3 months for scans. -Jordan Norman, Tenley's mother

I would just about guarantee Tenley is on every prayer list at every church in Baldwin County, and if you have ever been in the South, you know that is hundreds of churches. Denomination does not matter. They pray for her. They raise money for her. They pray for her family, and we pray for each other to continue to have the opportunity to pray for healing.

I am so proud of my village and I’m so proud to call it home. Please join me and my village in praying for Tenley Norman. Pray for her parents and family. Pray that this vivacious little girl heals.

The power of prayer can change the world!

Tenley Tough-Fundraiser for Tenley Here is a website you can go to and help Tenley!