By Roy Hall
September 4th, 2013 is a day I will not ever forget. My mom suffered a massive stroke and heart attack at the same time, the day before I was to leave to go on vacation to the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. All the way there on the bus from California I asked everyone to pray for her. When I finally heard the news what was wrong, I was halfway there. The news was that part of her brain was dead; there was heart damage, no speech and no movement. It was just devastating as you can imagine.
Well, prayers went up and around 1:00pm during the afternoon showcase, the hospital called and said, “We were standing by your mom’s bed side and we said her name and she opened her eyes and could make a fist!†After four days of NOTHING! That was a miracle!
They told me how grim the situation was and that I had to make decisions that were going to be very hard. They took her off the ventilator and put her on oxygen, because that was her wish, not to be revived. I was then told to either put her in hospice or a feeding tube and I did not feel comfortable about the feeding tube because of all the other surgeries. No matter how small a procedure that would be, I couldn’t do that to her.
So I went to one of my friends at NQC who was a nurse and she prayed with me and talked to me and told me that the hospice was the better choice. Then I ran into two other ladies and they were nurses and they also said hospice was better. So I began to look for someone to gather around me and pray for me as I made the phone call for hospice and they did.
I felt a peace about it, but deep inside I knew my mom was going to die. It took me two days to get to California on the bus, and another two days to recuperate from the trip, but I finally went to see Mom in the nursing home. She looked horrible! I took her hand and looked into her eyes and talked to her but there was no squeezing of the hand, no indication she knew who I was. I left the room in tears and cried out, “Oh Lord if she’s not going to be the same, please just take her.†Four days later it’s exactly what happened. There was no funeral, no memorial service, no nothing. They treated her as a homeless person and I had to make the choice to have her cremated.
I had to give away everything, sell everything and move. I even had to shut down my Internet station as well. It was a very hard time for me. In November, I moved back to Missouri and went back to the radio station I was at before. I was there till March of this year. I got my Internet station back again, but had technical problems and physical challenges. With no one checking on me by phone or in person, it was hurting me emotionally and all the way around. So the Lord opened the door for me to leave Missouri at the end of May to go to live in Alton, Illinois. Thanks to my dear friends Earl and Theresa Young, and Cindy Hughlett, I live in the best apartment I’ve had in years. The rent is even less than I was paying in Missouri!
This year, I was nominated for the Eyes of Mercy Servant Award in June and the Radio DJ of the Year in the Gospel Post Fan Awards in July. My friends from Florida, The Reflections, nominated me for that. I also got my Internet station up and running again. I have done over 300 interviews with many Southern Gospel and Christian Country singers. They have all become like family to me and I love each and every one.
Then I heard about Creekside Gospel Music Convention and I wanted to go! Christy Hinson told me about www.gofundme.com so I set up a page there and donations came there and by mail. I was overwhelmed by all the support and it is really exciting to me to know that I will be able to be there for the four days, to get to do more interviews and get more music for my internet station. I’m so excited!
My heartfelt thanks,
“Cowboy Royâ€
Roy Hall
http://www.cowboyroysgospel.com/
Update from SGN Scoops: Cowboy Roy has now called to say his driver was hospitalized and isn’t able to go to Creekside. Roy can take the bus to Knoxville, but he needs a ride from Knoxville to Pigeon Forge and then back to Knoxville when it’s over. We are asking for any of our Creekside friends who will be going through Knoxville to consider making plans to assist Cowboy Roy. If you can help, please contact Vonda Easley at vondaeasley@gmail.com
Don’t forget…Creekside Gospel Music Convention is Nov. 3-6 at Pigeon Forge, TN.  Join Cowboy Roy and all your favorite artists at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center. http://www.creeksidegospelmusicconvention.com/
