Randy Travis' Wife Knew He'd Survive Near-Fatal Stroke After Receiving Sign 6 Years Ago
Country music fans of a certain age can’t help but recognize Randy Travis’ voice. His resonant, bassy crooning contrasted starkly against a music industry where many men’s voices climbed much higher up the scale.
But the “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “1982” singer has struggled in recent years. From a high-profile arrest to a near-fatal stroke, it’s amazing that he’s still with us.
The experiences he had over the years paled when compared with his 2013 health struggles. At that point, he fought to simply survive.
The Tennessean reported that Travis went to the hospital on July 5, 2013, thinking he had a bad cold. In truth, his lungs had filled with fluid, and he lapsed into a coma, during which he suffered a debilitating stroke.
When doctors realized what had happened, they gave his then-fiancée Mary Davis a horrible choice. Travis would certainly die if left untreated, but surgical intervention had a projected survival rate in the single digits.
Anyone who has been in a hospital room and faced similar news knows the horrible bleakness that settles over you in such a moment. Mary recalled reaching out to God while trying to make a decision.
“I prayed hard,” she said. “‘God, please let me have him back any way, shape, or form.'”
According to Inside Edition, what no one realized was that Travis remained conscious during the entire ordeal. He recalled hearing medical professionals say that it was time to take him off of life support.
Mary said, “I went to his bedside, and I said, ‘Baby, you gotta let me know if you wanna keep fighting this battle. And he just squeezed my hand and I knew then he wasn’t through fighting.”
She added to Today, “Even in his state, his semi-coma state, he squeezed my hand. And he laid there, and I just I saw this tear just fell.
“And it was, you know, one, two at a time. And I just went back to the doctors and I said, ‘We’re fighting this.'”
Amazingly, Travis made it. After around six months in the hospital, he was able to return home.
“Even in his state, his semicoma state, he squeezed my hand and he laid there and I saw this tear that just fell.” @randytravis’ wife Mary discusses Randy’s road to recovery after his near-fatal stroke pic.twitter.com/WeJkHwaOr3
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 13, 2019
Though the stroke has more than left its mark, Inside Edition reported that Travis managed to perform a rendition of “Amazing Grace” in 2016. The occasion? He was being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“There is a perfectionist in him that knows he’s not singing exactly like he used to that keeps him from enjoying it like I wish he would,” Mary said.
“I know the world, when they hear him, they can tell it’s Randy Travis, and the more he does it, the better it’s going to get.”
She also stated, “Everyday, we sing. It is a special thing to hear Randy Travis sing, don’t you agree?”
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