Things certainly appeared to be going beautifully for Roslyn and her husband Ian, a Christian couple from Newcastle, NSW. Ian ran a flourishing business and Roslyn enjoyed her work as an accounts manager. They had also been blessed by the arrival of a healthy little boy, Jesse.
Then Roslyn found out she was pregnant again. In her own words, “Life was sweet.”
It was at this time they decided to act on long-held plans to move their growing family to the Gold Coast, Queensland. Roslyn’s last day of work was a double celebration, not only of well-wishing for her new life, but also because it was also the day of her mid-pregnancy scan.
Amid the excitement about whether the new baby would be a boy or a girl, Roslyn set off happily for her appointment. There was no sign of the darkening skies that had been gathering around her.
The look on her doctor’s face was the first hint that all was not well. “The news was alarming. The obstetrician said I had an abnormal pregnancy and the baby had not developed, even though I looked and felt pregnant. I had a condition called a molar pregnancy,” Roslyn explains.
Instead of a growing baby in Roslyn’s womb, there was a growth, like a bunch of grapes in appearance. The doctor informed her she would need an immediate curette. That wasn’t all. The doctor then explained that 1% of these pregnancies turn out to be cancerous. “I was numb,” Roslyn remembers. “I drove back to the office in shock. All I could hear was the word ‘cancer’ in my head, but I decided it would not get the better of me.
“All my co-workers had excited faces when I got back to the office. I had to tell them the bad news. What was meant to be one of the best times of my life was turning into a nightmare.”
After the procedure there was more bad news. Roslyn had cancer. She would need to start chemotherapy immediately. “I felt very alone and the only source of strength I could find was to pray. I wasn’t particularly spiritual. I believed in God, but was very ignorant of anything after that. That was just the start of my spiritual journey.”
The Ewart family from left: Ian, Roslyn, Jesse, Charlie and Matt
Fresh faith and greater trials
At this stage their plans to move were too far advanced to cancel. So the couple found themselves heading off to Queensland the next day, facing not only a new city, but the spectre of cancer as well.
With no time to explore her new home, Roslyn began daily visits to receive chemotherapy, with weekly blood tests to check the cancer levels. “This took a lot of time and expense; the whole experience was very draining. But worst of all, week after week, nothing was really happening. The drug didn’t seem to be doing its job.”
Roslyn and Ian found a church in Surfer’s Paradise, which taught Jesus still heals today. They were given books and tapes on healing. They learnt that they could come to Jesus like a child, believe the Bible without doubting, and receive healing. “Well I grabbed hold of that and confessed it and stood firm. I wouldn’t accept that God had given me a beautiful baby and husband only to die,” recalls Roslyn.
Roslyn attributes her growing faith at this time to two sources—the new Christian friends from church who prayed and believed with her, and the information she ‘fed’ herself. Roslyn focused not on cancer or her fears, but on the healing promises in the Bible. “I saturated myself in Christian tapes and books and just meditated on the healing Scriptures.”
This determination to stand firm and believe for healing was to undergo severe testing. Months passed with no improvement.
Then at one of her weekly visits to her specialist she was confronted by yet more bad news. The tumour in her womb had started growing through to other organs in her body. Roslyn now had to begin regular admissions to hospital for extensive chemotherapy.
It was at this low point though, that they were to see the first encouraging sign that God’s healing power was indeed at work in her body. One of the usual side effects from her new medication was extreme nausea; however Roslyn experienced no nausea at all.
Our God is bigger than medicine
Yet the darkest time can be just before the dawn and a further trial was ahead. During a church service one Sunday Roslyn suffered a massive haemorrhage and was rushed to hospital, losing consciousness. The monitor flat-lined; her pulse had stopped. Ian and a close friend were asked to leave the room.
Outside, they prayed. Roslyn’s pulse returned. Finally Roslyn and Ian, and her doctors, were about to see a miracle for which there was no medical explanation. The next test showed that the tumours had disappeared, and the cancer count had plummeted! Roslyn remembers, “They were stunned because they had never seen this happen before, it was unheard of.”
The couple were asked to attend a meeting with a panel of oncology doctors at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Brisbane. “They were very perplexed as they said that medically this was impossible. Ian explained that we were Christians who believed in a healing Jesus. Roslyn’s own doctor said, ‘Well your God is bigger than our medicine’.”
At the final consultation her doctor confirmed that she was completely healed of cancer. He also said that Roslyn would not be able to have any more children, as her reproductive organs were too damaged. “We just smiled and shook that comment off. To the doctors’ total amazement I fell pregnant a few months later!”
Roslyn went on to have a beautiful, healthy baby boy called Matt (meaning ‘gift from God’), followed 15 months later by another gorgeous, perfectly healthy boy, Charlie.
Today Roslyn is aware that she owes all her blessings to God’s goodness, working in her life through the power of his Word. As she says, “If it wasn’t for my faith in God’s promises I wouldn’t be here today.” CW
[learn_more caption=”More information” state=”open”] Molar pregnancies tend to occur more commonly in younger and older women. In Australia it is estimated 1 in every 1400 pregnancies, and in New Zealand 1 in every 1500, will be a molar pregnancy. In this condition, foetal cells have an abnormal genetic makeup and form a tumour. This tumour, or ‘mole’, can grow and even spread to other parts of a mother’s body. The condition is usually benign (non-cancerous), however molar pregnancies can become cancerous if not removed. Having a previous molar pregnancy increases the chance of having another molar pregnancy to 1 in 70. [/learn_more]
