Randy Travis Wife Reveals 1% Survival Odds After 2013 Crisis
Mary Travis says doctors gave country star Randy Travis a 1% chance of survival in the first days of his 2013 hospitalization. She spoke as he releases "Same Old Way," his first full album of original music in more than 18 years.
Randy Travis' wife, Mary, has revealed that doctors gave the country music star a "1% chance of survival" after he was hospitalized in 2013 with a viral heart condition. She shared the details in a new interview as he releases his first full album of original music in more than 18 years.
The couple wed in 2015. Travis is now 67.
The first days in the hospital
"They had already told us he had a 1% chance of survival. And that was the first couple of days in the hospital," Mary said.
She described her thinking months later. "So here we are, five and a half months later, he's still here. He's still improving," she said. She added that Travis came out of his second brain surgery "with flying colors."
Mary also recalled doctors telling the family he did not "have any chance" after his first brain surgery. Then, she said, they began to see "the glimmers of hope and the hand of God" in his recovery.
Stroke, rehab and a return to music
Travis later suffered a stroke. The couple then spent three years going to rehabilitation every day, according to Mary, and stayed "very quiet and out of the limelight" during that time.
She said he eventually "got tired" of treatment and decided to "go live life." That included returning to his music.
Mary also spoke about his character in the hospital. If he had not been in a coma and had been aware of his surroundings, she said, he likely would have thanked the nurses whenever they had to "cut him or stick him or poke him." "That was Randy Travis," she added.
"Same Old Way"
The new album is called "Same Old Way." It is his first full album of original music in more than 18 years.
Mary said that before the stroke, the couple thought "the world was an oyster" and that he would release "so many more" albums. She called the new record a "miracle."
"Life is so precious and so fragile, but it's so wonderful also," she said. "And to be able to do something like this, it's pretty monumental. It doesn't happen often that somebody has the opportunity to do this after a life-changing moment."
She said simply being with Travis is "such an inspiration" to her.
What was reported in 2013
In July 2013, Travis' friends and family were reportedly "frantic" and "extremely worried" as he stayed in critical condition at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. Doctors were treating him for acquired viral cardiomyopathy, a heart condition caused by a virus. He was 54 at the time.
Page Six previously reported that he later received an implant known as the world's smallest heart pump to help improve blood flow to his heart. Later that month, he was recovering from surgery after a stroke and interacting with friends and family while on a ventilator. By then he was off the heart pump and had begun the early stages of physical therapy.
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