A humble leader rises to the occasion John Stumbo defies medical odds to continue his leadership when he is most wanted. by Debbie Dunlap “It was the ‘swallow heard around the world’,” chuckled John Stumbo, President of the U.S. Christian and Missionary Alliance while sitting in his new headquarters in Reynoldsburg. At least, that’s what one of his best friends called it. Others call it a modernday miracle. As a pastor, Stumbo has been leading his entire life. “Leadership kind of chased me,” he admits. From serving as the quarterback on his high school football team, to leading a large network of churches, Stumbo serves as a strength for others. And as the Alliance relocates from Colorado Springs to Reynoldsburg, building on the former K-Mart Plaza property, Stumbo knows that his leadership will only grow as he and his organization become an integral part of this community. But not long ago, this humble and softspoken man’strength was challenged in a way he never dreamed. Inspired by his daughter’s incredible long-distance running skills, Stumbo took up ultra-marathons in his late 40s. Stumbo was the epitome of fitness, tackling rugged landscapes that some might travel by ATV or mountain bike. But in 2008, that all changed. “In a week’s time, I went from that intense kind of fitness to not being able to drive a car,” Stumbo remembers. Something was mysteriously attacking his muscular system, affecting every movement. In a matter of days, he found himself in one of the top research hospitals in Portland, Oregon, where he slipped into a coma. There, his mystery illness stumped doctors for 77 days. They performed a tracheostomy and inserted a feeding tube, and his family gathered and prayed. One afternoon, his wife and children were called to his side. The doctors did not feel Stumbo would make it through the night. But he pulled through, later being released to return home to gain strength and recover. Because he had lost his ability to swallow, his feeding Reynoldsburg Magazine • Spring, 2022 tube continued to be necessary while he underwent physical therapy. “People who knew me didn’t even recognize me… I looked like an 80-somethingyear-old man.” Slowly, he moved from the wheelchair to the walker to a cane. A triumphant journey to the mailbox one afternoon was akin to reaching Mt. Everest. “My muscles were gaining strength,” said Stumbo. But the ability to swallow still eluded him. For a year and a half, Stumbo was passed from specialist to specialist, and no one could find the answer to his inability to swallow. In 2010, he and his wife decided to set out on a month-long journey from Oregon to Minnesota, loading up with nine cases of canned nutrition that was poured into Stumbo’s feeding tube every day. Stopping some 2,000 miles away from home, Stumbo and his wife rested at a hotel for the night. At breakfast the next morning, the meal was anything from ordinary. Stumbo’s feeding tube was clogged. “We sighed toward Heaven and probably prayed the weakest prayer of our lives,” said Stumbo. “’Really?!’. But we kept going. I just needed time to drive and think about what to do.” He’ll never forget what happened next. “As we were driving, my wife reached over as she had done numerous times before and prayed for me. There, in the privacy of our car, on a lonely stretch of road in Illinois, I suddenly felt a little twitch, a little twinge. Something fired for the first time in a year and a half. And I thought, ‘Could it be today?’” So, he quickly grabbed his wife’s orange juice in the car and took a tentative sip. “I literally felt it go all the way down.” His ability to swallow had returned. Facing death had a great impact on Stumbo. It strengthened his relationship with his wife and allowed him to relate to others facing a myriad of challenges. But maybe most importantly, it allowed him to realize that even as a leader, he needed the help of others – often a difficult realization when frustration, pride, embarrassment, and anger seem all that’s left when facing a personal crisis. “When you need people the most, you’re going to want to be with them the least. And that’s a dangerous place to be. One of the greatest dangers in those dark times is isolation.” Which is why today, he reaches out with empathy, understanding and hope. Debbie Dunlap is a freelance writer and is a staff member of Reynoldsburg Magazine. She is also President of the Reynoldsburg Board of Education 17 Reynoldsburg Magazine Photo In the pictures above, John Stumbo in various phases of his health struggle. In the center, in coma, bottom, being fed through a tube while his wife, Joanna looking on. Photos courtesy of John Stumbo
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