Despite making incredible strides, Randy Travis is still struggling to walk or talk on his own after he suffered a massive stroke in 2013.
The Blast reports that the country legend’s wife, Mary Travis, revealed his condition on Monday while seeking to be appointed as his representative in an unrelated lawsuit.
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“Randy Travis was a victim of a very significant and severe stroke,” she explained. “Through his determination and bravery he has come a long, long way in his rehabilitation. Nevertheless, he still cannot speak. He cannot ambulate on his own. He needs assistance in many of his self-help skills.”
Travis’ lawsuit pertains to a DWI arrest in 2012, in which he sued the Texas Department of Public Safety to block the release of his arrest video. The dash-cam video shows the “Forever and Ever, Amen” singer on the site of a single-car crash after he left his house naked and “discombobulated.”
He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to two years’ probation and a suspended jail sentence, plus a $2,000 fine.
Travis’ team claims the video serves no public interest and is only “embarrassing a stroke victim.”
In a last-ditch effort to block the release of the video, Mary, along with Travis’ manager Tony Conway and publicist Zach Farnum, have created a Change.org petition fans can sign.
“The Texas Attorney General’s Office is refusing to follow a state court order from Randy Travis‘ 2012 DUI case with threats to release the police dash cam video five years after the incident occurred, even though the case is still under appeal in the federal court system,” the petition reads.
In 2017, a court let stand a 2016 ruling by the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals that stated the dashcam footage is a public record and must be released, the American Statesman reported. The ruling would allow the video to be released with the footage redacted from Travis’ waist down.
Travis’ lawyers appealed the decision, asking the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling because it would infringe on the privacy rights of people with mental health and medical issues, seeing as Travis is unable to verbally defend himself following the stroke.
