TOWSON, Md. - In January, former Towson University football player Mark Rumsey was told he would be dead by the end of May. Four months later, Rumsey celebrated his 58^th birthday and began coaching high school football.

Rumsey spent three seasons at Towson as a versatile defensive back for head coach Phil Albert and defensive coordinator Gordy Combs from 1985-1987. A two-time all-state player from western Pennsylvania, Rumsey was recruited by Indiana (Pa.) University as a quarterback, but when head coach George Chaump installed a pro-style offense, he started looking for a new home.

In the fall of 1984, he contacted Albert and assistant coach Rich Bader about joining the Tigers, who finished 9-4 and made the NCAA playoffs for the second consecutive season.

"My sister Tracy lived in the Baltimore area," Rumsey said. "I knew Towson had a good program, so I called down and talked to Coach A and Coach Bader. They invited me down. I came down and met them face-to-face. Kurt Beathard was the quarterback at the time, so it made sense for me to play on the defensive side. I was welcomed with open arms. Coach Albert was ahead of his time as a coach with the way we threw the ball when a lot of people weren't doing that back in the mid-80's. He was also just as good a person as he was a coach. I felt that right away."

Rumsey enrolled in school for the spring semester in 1985 and joined the football team. That fall, the 5-foot-10, 180 pounder played special teams for a team that went 7-2-1 and finished the season ranked 10^th in the nation.

The 1986 Tigers reached the NCAA quarterfinals in the final season at the D-II level, including a 23-15 victory over Rumsey's former school that denied IUP an NCAA berth. Rumsey had eight tackles, two pass break-ups and a fumble recovery as the backup free safety.  

In 1987, Rumsey moved into a starting role at cornerback after Dave Meggett was moved to tailback following an injury to Danny Ricker. He finished his senior campaign with 24 tackles and two interceptions. In a 30-14 victory over Howard, Rumsey helped stop Harvey Reed, the nation's leading rusher, 12 times for gains of four yards or less.

"After Harvey Reed gave them a 7-0 lead on a 64-yard touchdown run, Gordy moved me from corner to weakside linebacker," Rumsey said. "They weren't throwing the ball and since I studied every position, he knew that I knew what everyone was doing. They put me out at willie (weakside) linebacker and I had one of the best games of my life out there. It was a lot of fun."

"He was a jack of all trades and was a good player," said Combs, who replaced Albert as Towson's head coach after the 1991 season. "He played a lot of different places for us and did a really good job. Rums always came to play."

Rumsey graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration then embarked on a 30-plus year career in the mortgage finance industry. It was right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit when Rumsey began having health issues.

"I could not think straight and found myself not being able to find way home even with the GPS," Rumsey said. "I was a single father and my kids were young. I was confused all the time and had blackout situations where I would just fall down. I went to see a neurologist and let them know that I had multiple concussions and if that had anything to do with it. I spent six months as part of an experimental program to develop a way to detect CTE. But after a battery of testing, including a five-hour cognitive test, I didn't have any problems with my brain. But I started to get fluids building up in my body and went to the hospital where I found out it wasn't my brain; it was the ammonia levels because my kidney was shutting down. I was diagnosed with Hepatorenal syndrome, a rare kidney disease and my liver was shutting down as well. There were no filters, so all the toxins were getting to my brain which is why I was having the issues."

Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) causes functional kidney failure in people with advanced liver disease. Complications of end-stage liver disease affect your circulatory system, breaking down the blood supply to your kidneys. HRS progresses rapidly, in a matter of weeks to months. The only cure is a liver transplant. The most common theory is that HRS is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels that feed the kidneys, resulting in reduced blood flow to the kidneys and declining kidney function over time. Although the hepatorenal syndrome occurs in individuals with liver disease, the exact cause of the condition is unknown. Researchers have noted that blood circulation is abnormal in individuals with hepatorenal syndrome. The arteries that circulate oxygenated blood from the lungs to the rest of the body (systemic circulation) widen in contrast to the arteries of the kidney, which narrow causing a decrease in the blood flow through the kidney.

After spending two weeks in a Columbus, Ohio hospital, Rumsey moved to Phoenix with his sister Lisa and her husband where he works with a kidney specialist. liver specialist and a transplant team.

"My sister and brother-in-law did not want me to die alone in Columbus," Rumsey said. "I had to give up my children because I couldn't even take care of myself anymore. That is the most heartbreaking thing. I love those kids more than anything in the world. The doctors have been great, but I am past the point of a transplant. The doctors have done what they can. I take sixteen prescription medications, which is keeping me alive for the moment. In January, I was told to let nature run its course and gone by the end of May. I am at complete peace with it."

The dire situation has not stopped Rumsey from living life to the fullest. In May, he became a volunteer quarterback coach at Imagine Prep Sunrise, a two-time defending state champion, and was recently baptized.

"I told the kids that I am dying but that God brought me to this program, and it was going to be okay. They have breathed life back into me," Rumsey added. "They asked me what my number was in college and have dedicated the season to me. The season motto is, 'win one more for number 24.'

"This summer I went to a men's retreat with 425 other men and got baptized. It was one of the best weekends I have ever had. I got rid of my car and bought an older SUV and drive through the desert and spend days out there. I get to think and pray. It is working. I went in one day recently and my numbers changed 180 degrees for the better. I told my doctor he is doing what he can do with the medications and me and the Lord and I are going to try to take care of the rest. I have been talking to hospice and the lady told me she has never met someone as at peace with everything."

Nearly forty years after arriving on campus, Rumsey has fond memories of his time at Towson. In August, he contacted Deputy Athletics Director Casey Cegles with a desire to be buried in a Tiger jersey.

"I am proud to be part of the Towson football program. It meant a lot to me to be accepted the way I was when I came on board," Rumsey said. "I stay connected with a lot of teammates. Chris Ginakes and I met in our first year and almost 40 years later we are best friends. He is my brother, and we are like an old married couple – finishing each other's sentences. He will deliver my eulogy. I would not want anyone else to do it. I don't want a pastor who doesn't know me."