When Randy Travis suffered a stroke in 2013, doctors told his wife Mary it was time to say goodbye.
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Randy's vitals were low, and his blood cell count was dropping. Nevertheless, the spouse of the "Forever and Ever, Amen" singer saw he was still fighting.
All It Took Was a Squeeze From His Hand
Mary said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital, "That's when I went to him. That was the moment that I knew that Randy Travis was gonna make it because he squeezed my hand, and a tear went down his face. And I said, 'He's still fighting.'"
She went "mama bear" on Randy's caregivers and told them they were "going to fight with him."
"And I meant that, and Randy meant it," said Mary. "And I knew at that point in time, because he had every odd in the world against him, and he wasn't giving up. And I was so encouraged by that, to be honest. He was my inspiration."
She was right. Yet the stroke damaged the part of Randy's brain controlling speech and language. This condition, called aphasia, affects his ability to speak and sing. Still, Randy continues making music using artificial intelligence.
Randy Travis Has Also Been Touring
Randy and Mary now connect with fans through a show highlighting the singer's career.
"Randy and I are both on stage. I give a little bit of background as far as the music, the musicians, Randy, the stroke, a song, the AI, of course," explains Mary. "And then we show videos of Randy's historical past, as far as some of his joke-telling, which allows people to see the humor that Randy has. And all the way back to his childhood and working with horses in some of the Westerns that he was in, the funny things along the way.
"So it gives you a whole, like I said, biographical sketch of Randy Travis. And then James Dupre is singing all of the songs, and it's just kind of a magical night, really."
More recently, Randy received the ACM Milestone Award. He received a standing ovation when he accepted the honor.
Mary added, "Well, the Milestone Award, I guess just the terminology itself 'milestone' means a lot of different things based on the roads that Randy has traveled, the things that he's done, the things he's accomplished, and the things he's been through as far as his viral cardiomyopathy living through that, the massive stroke living through, there's just a whole lot wonderful milestones in Randy Travis's life."
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