THE GREATEST GIFT

JACKSON, Mo. -- It's a miracle the David and Merrily Rinehart family was together for Christmas this year, but then, their bustling two-story house on Russell Street in Jackson is full of miracles of all sizes and shapes.

Five weeks after giving birth to triplet boys on Oct. 18, doctors removed a malignant, golf ball-sized tumor from Merrily's brain.

She survived the surgery despite doctors' grave concerns, and this Christmas may well be the most precious one the family has spent together.

"We got a second chance," Merrily said, wiping tears from her eyes. "Some people don't get second chances."

Christmas Day in the Rinehart home is comfortable, full of friends, family and love. The triplets, Jack, Sam and Clay, nap in the arms of David, Merrily and her mother, Sandie Finney.

Daughter, Katelyn, 20 months, sits in a child-size vinyl chair, one eye on the television and the other on her mother. She occasionally runs back and forth to the family room to play with her new Christmas toys.

Merrily and David consider their four children miracles.

David, 32, who runs a carpet cleaning business with his father, and Merrily, 31, a Lifebeat paramedic at Southeast Missouri Hospital, always knew they wanted several children and were devastated a few years ago after learning they would not be able to conceive.

After turning to fertility drugs, Katelyn was born. David and Merrily were overjoyed and prayed for more children.

Early this year, the couple learned they were pregnant again, this time with triplets. Jack, Sam and Clay were born, each weighing about 5 1/2 pounds.

Memory lapses

Five days after delivering the triplets, Merrily began experiencing nauseating headaches, memory lapses and an inability to pair names with familiar objects.

"I would be looking at a pencil, and I knew it was a pencil, but I couldn't find the word," Merrily said, recalling how the problem at first seemed minor but quickly became worse.

Merrily finally went in for tests around Thanksgiving.

Although specialists were not supposed to look at Merrily's test results for another week, a curious doctor happened to examine one of the brain scans the day the test was done. Alarmed by what he saw, he and hospital staffers acted quickly and called the Rineharts with the chilling news.

Merrily was scheduled for surgery within 24 hours of the discovery. Doctors warned her she may not survive.

The news was a shock to the couple, especially considering Merrily's enthusiasm for exercise and healthy eating. David said it has been difficult to realize cancer knows no boundaries.

Doctors diagnosed Merrily with a tumor known as oligodendroglioma. The tumor can spread throughout the brain tissue and sometimes cannot be completely removed by surgery; however, some have survived at least 30 or 40 years after having this type of tumor.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 7,000 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord were diagnosed in U.S. women during 2000. Brain and spinal cord cancer accounts for about 1.4 percent of all cancers.

"We're active," David said. "Out of anybody, she would not be the one you'd think this would happen to."

Prepared for worst

The hours Merrily and David had before leaving for the surgery at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis were spent planning, praying and saying goodbyes.

"I had to say bye to everybody," Merrily said, fighting back tears. "It was awful. Basically, we thought I was going to die. That's what we were planning."

The couple discussed funeral arrangements and what would happen to the children if Merrily didn't survive surgery or if she became disabled as a result of it.

She explained that she and David knew they could rely on family and friends to help care for the babies should anything happen to her.

"I knew the kids were going to be all right," she said. "I knew I had done my job giving birth to them. That's what I wanted to do, and I knew they would be OK."

David said all he knew he could do to help his wife that day was pray and be supportive.

"I was just trying to be strong for her," he said. "I told her, 'There's nothing that I can do for you. The only thing I know to do for you is take you to church.' We went to our church, and we got our pastor and we prayed."

Merrily's mother said she was devastated when she learned of her daughter's tumor and her chance of survival, but something kept her from panicking.

"Everything was happening so fast, but as soon as you were upset about something, God answered it," Finney said. "He didn't mess around. He knew what you could take and what you couldn't take."

Then, she said, she became convinced that Merrily was not going to die.

"I kept saying, 'She's not going to die because I'm not being prepared for it,' " Finney said. "If she was going to die, He would be telling me things. He would be preparing me for it."

Surgery goes well

The surgery and Merrily's recovery went far better than doctors expected.

"It's been a miracle -- for everybody," Merrily said. "Actually it's been more so for people we don't know and our family and friends because they see that I had a second chance and I'm here, my normal self and goofy like normal."

After Jan. 1, Merrily's yearlong chemo and radiation therapies begin. For the first six weeks, she will spend five days a week in St. Louis for the 15-minute therapy sessions. David will stay in Jackson to work and take care of the babies with the help of family and friends.

Merrily said she is thankful for all the help she has received from family, friends and complete strangers. Every need the family has encountered has been met by someone. Teams of friends even come to her house to help take care of the babies.

The couple said the experience has helped them to re-evaluate their priorities and understand that God has a plan for them.

"It can happen to anybody," Merrily said. "There's no rhyme or reason. But I think this has been a blessing. I think that God wanted this to happen -- me being alive today, the way everything happened.

"I feel there's a reason why I'm here. I don't know if it's my children. Each day I just want to do the best I can do."

She said she wants people to realize tragic, unexpected things happen all the time.

"I hope it teaches people to think twice, to give family and friends an extra hug or kiss before you leave because you don't know when you walk out the door if you're ever going to see them again," she said.

"I got to walk back in the door and say, 'I may not come back. Give me lots of hugs and kisses.' "