It’s been seven years since Randy Travis has been able to speak, much less sing, after suffering a stroke in 2013. The country music superstar continues to make small gains in his recovery, every day, with his wife, Mary Travis, holding on to hope that he will someday be able to perform again.
“He doesn’t think so,” Mary told the Charlotte Observer. “But I never give up hope on that. Every day, there’s a new word, there’s a new response that lets us know that that brain is still rewiring. And every stroke is different. I mean, there’s so many brain cells and synapses and all those things that of course we don’t understand. Only God knows those things. We don’t know if one day it will all of a sudden come back — and it may, I’ve heard of that — or if it’s just little by little and his confidence comes back. I don’t know.
“Like I said, every one of them is different, and every one of them affects the person differently,” she added. “So we just keep hoping and praying, keep working at it. If it doesn’t come back all the way, then we’re OK with that, too. We’re content with where we are if this is it. And if it does, then glory be — it’ll be wonderful.”
Mary has been Randy’s caregiver since his stroke. The couple began dating in 2010, tying the knot two years after his stroke. Although their life is much different than their early years, Mary is profoundly grateful for the second chance her husband has been given.
“My one prayer [when he first had the stroke] — and it happened so fast — was ‘God, please just let me have him back. Any way, shape or form,’” she recalled. “And God was faithful. He gave him back. And we followed that light. … It’s easy to be bitter, but it’s much better to be better. So yeah, it’s all positive. We stay away from the negative. They have a problem for every solution, so we don’t go there.”
Randy and Mary have been spending most of their time at their Texas home during the coronavirus pandemic, although Mary says her husband is surprisingly fit, in spite of everything he has been through.
“By God’s grace, he’s just as healthy as a fiddle,” she boasted. “I mean, he’s probably a lot healthier than I am at this point. But, you know, he doesn’t have any heart issues or lung issues, and after he’s been through what he had been through, you would think so. But he doesn’t. We haven’t had any complications whatsoever. Knock on wood and thank God, we haven’t had the flu, we haven’t had anything like the COVID. He’s tough as a boot, sweet as an angel.”
Randy just released a brand-new single, “Fool’s Love Affair.” The song was discovered when one of the songwriters, Charlie Monk, was cleaning out his office. Released on July 29, 35 years after his debut single, “On the Other Hand,” was released, “Fool’s Love Affair” has already surpassed one million streams.