Randy Travis’ wife, Mary, revealed that she instinctively dismissed the suggestions from his medical team to disconnect him from life-sustaining medical equipment following his stroke twelve years ago, as she believed in his resilience and determination to recover.
‘Randy never doubted his ability to overcome the situation,’ Mary shared with Fox News Digital on Tuesday about her husband, who has utilized AI technology in recent years to continue producing music despite losing his voice due to the stroke.
At one critical juncture, Mary recalled the doctors advising her to consider turning off the machines that were crucial for Randy’s survival when he was 66, during a particularly difficult phase of his health battle after his stroke in July 2013.
‘When they said, “We need to consider removing life support,” I stood by his bedside in disbelief,’ Mary recounted. ‘They believed it was a lost cause given his condition at the time.’
Mary told the outlet about some of the most tense moments in the seven-time Grammy winner’s yearslong health battle.
Mary detailed that Randy had developed a staph infection alongside three other hospital-acquired bacterial infections, like Serratia and Pseudomonas, and the medical team expressed concerns over his capacity to withstand such health challenges.
Randy Travis’ wife, Mary, refused to follow the doctors’ advice to withdraw life support following his stroke twelve years ago. The couple is pictured here on August 20 in Nashville.
Mary told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that ‘there was never a doubt in Randy’s mind that he could make it through it’ the health crisis. Pictured with an ACM Milestone Award
Mary – who celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with Travis earlier this year – explained one incident in which doctors explained to them that amid plunging vitals and a low blood count, the end was perilously close.
‘That’s when I went to him,’ Mary said. ‘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.”‘
Mary said she took on a ‘mama bear’ mentality, and that she told doctors they were going to do their best to ‘fight with him’ amid the adverse circumstances.
‘I knew at that point in time, because he had every odd in the world against him, and he wasn’t giving up,’ said the supportive spouse. ‘And I was so encouraged by that, to be honest. He was my inspiration.’
Before he suffered the stroke, Randy had dealt with viral cardiomyopathy, a condition that led to congestive heart failure.
Mary opened up to the outlet about how she and her husband incorporating AI into their show.
‘Randy and I are both on stage,’ Mary said. ‘I give a little bit of background as far as the music, the musicians, Randy, the stroke, a song, the AI, of course.’
The couple was pictured onstage in Nashville August 20 at the ACM Awards
The couple use AI and provide fans with a bio of Randy’s career in their stage show
She added, ‘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.’
Mary said the stage show provides a ‘biographical sketch of Randy Travis,’ at which point James Dupre ‘is singing all of the songs.
‘It’s just kind of a magical night really,’ she added.
