The Rest of the Story...
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The words continued to flow from LeFerna's heart, obviously giving her son Travis, just the message he needed to hear. The song gave her an awesome peace as she sang it into his ear over and over for six long weeks.
During this time, Travis experienced miracle after miracle. The critical seventy two hour period passed, and doctors prepared him for what they called "the long haul." They explained to LeFerna since he did live, he would most probably be in a vegetable state like he was, for the rest of his life. They did a tracheotomy on his throat and put a feeding tube into his stomach. They prepped him for what turned out to be a nightmare, that Travis showed an amazing strength and will to live throughout.

LeFerna's first sign that miracles were to come was of course the way his car found a cushion of sorts on the corner of a church.

LeFerna wrote the song "God Loves You More" to let her son Travis know just how big God's love was for him, and how important he was. Telling him about the treasures in store for him and singing as if he was only asleep for a little while, so he would not be scared.
LeFerna's younger son Destin had also picked out a hip hop rap style of Christian tape with the message of the importance of living for Christ and being saved before it was too late. When she could not sing to Travis, she put head phones on him and played this younger style music for him to listen to.
LeFerna, as if acting on orders, filled what she thought were his waking hours with musically based messages, and during the next six weeks, the miracles came one right after the other. Seven of them in all.

Miracle 1... He did live past 72 hours. Doctors were sure he would not. During this time, LeFerna saw to it that 38 of his friends were allowed in to ICU to talk to him so he could hear their voices telling him he would be okay.
his miracle also continued on to prove he would not become the "vegetable" they tried to prepare his mother for. This was the most critical time. If he was going to live at all.

Miracle 2 was when they thought he developed pneumonia and found the reason he could not breath well on his own.
They tapped his right lung, hoping to relieve what might be causing congestion, and surprisingly drained 1 1/2 liters of a bloody liquid off of the right lung. The fluid was mostly hidden on the x-ray, so he ran a slight fever that made them think he had developed an infection somewhere and they checked the lungs.
Once the fluid was drained, he was " popped" or removed from the respirator, breathing on his own!

Miracle 3 was when they checked his legs with ultrasound and found a blood clot moving up his right leg. If this blood clot would have had just a few more hours, it would reach his heart, causing heart failure.
Travis just happened to be in the hospital of the famous doctor who invented the filter that stops these blood clots. It is permanently installed in one of his arteries and he must have it checked for clarity yearly, but it saved him from the traveling blood clots he developed the first week in his coma!

Miracle 4 was when they mistakenly gave Travis not one, but five doses of penicillin when his charts clearly said he was allergic!
Travis started having fever, with temps raising to high extremes. The doctors were blaming a damaged hypothalamus gland in the brain, but her heart kept telling LeFerna, that he was having some kind of reaction.
Her son was moved all over the hospital as they needed to make room for patients who needed urgent care more. Sometimes moving him without his charts. While they were lifting him from his bed to be transported again, that was when she saw it. His back was covered with a solid blistering rash like a second degree burn!
Nurses and aides tried to tell LeFerna that it was just a heat rash, but it was the same rash she saw on him as a child when he had a reaction to ampicillin.
She alerted everyone immediately about the reaction, and they found the mistake doses on the chart.
LeFerna also knew this reaction caused very high fevers that lasted over a week when he was small. The reaction he had was so bad, it also left him with a adverse reaction to the cold. He would swell like a balloon for years when any part of him came in contact with anything cold like a pop sickle or cold weather. He had just started growing out of this when he was sixteen. Yet these doctors were telling her they never heard of this, and that it would not do anything at all to him. That if he was accidentally given the penicillin product, it would come out through the urine and be out of his system within 24 hours.
Knowing they were acting peculiar about this mistake that went on for five doses, she knew they would never admit knowing about any terrible reactions, like even the death for some that penicillin allergies can cause. With drug reactions, even the best doctor can't ever know it all, they can't save lives without God in the first place, and it was obvious He was in control here.
It was how LeFerna poured her heart out to God in the first place about Travis' high fevers that had developed, and how he would never feel good enough to get better in this shape, that brought on this miracle.
It wasn't long before He exposed to her this terrible mistake they had made with the penicillin.

Miracle 5, was an ephiphany that came to LeFerna while Travis' high fevers were going on.
Confused that the Penicillin had left him with a six year adverse reaction before and no one seemed to be too concerned about these extremely high temperatures except her. So after about three weeks into his coma, and his fever peaking as high as 106.4, LeFerna was tiring from running for ice packs on an understaffed floor, while doctors who seemed to think Travis would just do this the rest of his life, only allowed him Tylenol. With doctors so unconcerned about such a high fever, LeFerna felt so alone.
While watching the perspiration bead up on the left side of Travis' face only, with a perfect line running right down the middle. Maybe they were right, she thought, the rash was gone and he had plenty of time for it to work it's way through his system. Maybe it really was his hypothalamus glad and he would be like this the rest of his life... but at least he was alive. She had told God that she would take him any way He would let her keep him, so she continued to run for ice when she saw the body temperature begin to rise.
Then LeFerna, who still found that mustard seed of faith, while she had feared the penicillin and it's causing high fevers may had damaged his brain even more, realized what God was doing.
She was thanking God for keeping Travis alive another day, when it came to her. It was this mistake situation with the penicillin that had bought them more time in this hospital. Before the mistake they were telling LeFerna to make arrangements to transport him to a nursing home. She realized she hadn't been hearing this anymore... and she had a private room where she could stay beside him. She thanked God for these things, but didn't realize until these prayers, that as long as he had the fever, they couldn't transport him! God knew this all along.
They didn't have the therapists and help he needed in a nursing home, so she was fighting to get him in another program and needed more time to prove he could come out of this. God bought Travis the time he needed.

Miracle 6 involved the calling on at least one of His angels, as the high fevers continued.
LeFerna, from the beginning, would sneak across hallways and down corridors into vacant offices to use the internet. She had several prayer circles working to pray for Travis. What she realized was that she had not lately been specific when she asked them to pray for him. Granted, his prayers were being answered as far as living, but could they pray for his temperature to come down now? He would never get better unless the fevers went away. This was plain.
One night she found a vacant computer terminal again and went on the internet to ask her prayer partners to be more specific and pray for his temperatures to come down. That same night, she slept longer than the normal couple of hours, as Travis' fevers would usually peak a couple of times in the middle of the night, and she would always hear him stirring and getting restless when they would begin. (By this time, Travis was moving his left leg and left arm while in his coma.) As if someone woke her, she suddenly opened her eyes, to a very cold chill in the room. Travis was very still and she reached out from her bunk beside him and felt his skin which was very cold to the touch. Then she realized how long it had been!
LeFerna jumped up and saw that Travis was a white as a ghost and his lips were blue ! She ran around to the other side of the bed to check his vital signs thinking he had passed on in the night. When she reached under his wrist to check his pulse she noticed that the electric cooling blanket underneath him felt very cold. She then looked at the machine attached to it and it read only 35 degrees!
The machine attached to the plastic water filled cooling sheet, was set to normally maintain 70 degrees beneath him. It had malfunctioned during the night and almost froze him to death!
LeFerna screamed for the nurses to help her, while she jumped on his bed, grabbing him in her arms to lift him up away from the freezing plastic sheet made into his bedding. Soon the nurses were there to help, and they rubbed all the color back into his skin and warmed him with hot towels.
He seemed to be fine after things settled down and he was warm again. His temperature slowly came back up and leveled in the 99 degree area.
Later that day, he started to rouse and even opened his eyes he felt so much better! Praise the Lord! He was only starring straight ahead, still in his coma, but he never had a high fever again!

Miracle 7. LeFerna kept a journal the entire time they were in the hospital. Travis was getting more alert almost daily as she thanked God for each day's accomplishments. The therapists started working with him and she had something new every day it seemed.
LeFerna asked the nurses if she could prop him up in a chair to give him a change during the day and they ordered a special chair to move him onto and crank him up to a sitting position. Daily, she would sit him up, then put his head phones on him. At night the nurses would hear her pray with Travis. They would stand close to the door so they could listen to her sing him to sleep with "God Loves You More." Then one day soon, it happened!
The therapists came in one morning and said, "Travis, you are going ambulatory today!" They came in with belts, a wheelchair and a walker. They looked at LeFerna and said,
"Mom, can you help?"
They were the only ones who believed in Travis like his mother did. There was eight stages of a coma that they used to determine who may be waking up and when. Travis had to be in a stage 4 for them to take him to rehab and work more with him. He bounced back and forth from a 3 to a 4. Every time the doctors from rehabilitation came in to see him, he wouldn't respond. He would only do these no. 4 type of responses, like blinking or wiggling a toe on command, sometimes and not always. The therapists knew this, and were out to prove he was ready for rehab, that he could cooperate with people and do what he was asked, once and for all.
LeFerna jumped up with anxious arms open. The three women sat him up like dead weight and lifted him onto his feet while his mother held him onto the walker in front of him and helped him keep his hands on it. She would pull the walker away and the therapists would position his legs underneath him. It was an amazing site. He could not even hold his head up! He actually drug his own foot up to the other each time to take a step. They made it all the way to the door with him!
Everyone was exhausted, and when they asked him if he wanted to quit, he yelled "NOOOOOOO!" the whole floor was on hand to hear and see this amazing walk!

That night a very thankful mother went to record the days miracle in her journal and saw that it was the 40th day that God had chosen to show her that her son could still talk and understand, but that he would walk again!
Another sign that God was in control. Her son was going to come back to her, because God chose to love him, even more!

She sang to him once more, before they both settled down for the evening. This was only the beginning, for now he could be moved to rehab the next day, to relearn everything he had ever learned in his life. This was the beginning of his "long journey" back to us. (Which turned out to be a record breaking six weeks, coming home just in time for the holidays.)
Travis' positive attitude and hard work helped him learn to sit up, eat, speak, wash, feed himself, shower and shave, dress himself, read, write and finally walk with only the help of a cane by Thanksgiving.
Just eighteen weeks after his accident, he was enrolling back into Central Michigan University as the first ever to attempt getting a college degree there with a major brain injury. He is expecting to become a Chemical Engineer!
Now a junior in college, Travis is doing well. When he works hard and he gets a 90% on a calculus exam now, and KNOWS God loves him very very much. He looks forward to telling his story to many.

With two signs, a song and seven miracles... Travis was off to a perfect start on a complete new life.

How "God Loves You More" Was Released

LeFerna, living over two years in their pole barn after fire destroyed their home in Michigan, lost everything except her music and computer equipment. She took this as a serious sign to go on with her call and to not give up her desire to have a music ministry. During a mental and spiritual comeback from their so-called "arson" fire that distroyed their home (forced into sueing a crooked insurance company they'd had for twelve years who refused to pay coverage) and coping with Travis' new disabilities and the many issues, (She had to get congress' help to allow him back in school) she wrote several more songs that were healing for all of them.
LeFerna had opportunities but had never recorded anything major before, for fear of being "seen and not heard." A few years earlier, when God took over her life, after her parents had died, she was about to give up thirty years in music and entertaining just because of the lack of self esteme due to a weight problem. They somehow convinced her in Nashville that being over weight would effect a recording career drastically, so she never tried. She stayed content to work locally.
With a love for southern Gospel music, and too little of it around Michigan, her husband Roger, knew she would be good in music ministry. He helped her sell all that they could to come up with the money she needed for producer Nick Bruno to work with her. Led to him through Singing News Magazine, the industry's top communication, she recorded her first project at LaVerne Tripp's studio at TBN's Trinity Music City just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
The project is called "Moving Mountains" and that is actually what she has done too, since she made her promise to answer the call to music ministry.
Before she had the CD finished, the song "God Loves You More" was finding it's way onto the Industry chart by way of one radio station. KLLN fm and dot com out of Newark, Arkansas.
Making many friends on the internet, she became a member of the southern Gospel music industry mailing list, and defended KLLN's well known DJ, Fred Ahlborn's position on an issue one day. This made him decide to look her up and see who she was.
Fred was very surprised, when he followed her link to Travis' homepage. He saw how it had inspired over 5000 other head trauma families, co-workers and friends. Fred was surprised to find this, as his own daughter had been through a head injury, and he and his wife could relate to everything LeFerna and her son had been through.
Fred then followed the link on Travis' page to find the song LeFerna wrote for her son while he was in that coma. He liked it and listened to the other songs while he was there at LeFerna's mp3 site. (mp3 is a file format that they use that gives near CD quality when downloaded, but takes up very little memory as a file.) mp3 site
The DJ's favorites included "The Mustard Seed Song" and "Finding You Finding Me.", which LeFerna is donating her BMI royalties to help her prison charity work. (Not exactly ironic, with all her so-called "arson" research that helped her prove her own fire was not arson, that she would find innocent prisoners who have been accused of arson crimes they did not commit!!)
He then downloaded those three songs to play on his station, choosing Travis' song, "God Loves You More" as the song he thought LeFerna should release first. He played them a few days and got a favorable response from his listeners, so he put them into his regular rotation.
"God Loves You More" was the favorite. The first month the song was no. 13 in KLLN's station's top 20, and just a few weeks later made the no. one spot!

Trying to come back from the fire that destroyed their home, has taken it's toll on their finances, so the project is slow at coming out. After what LeFerna has gone through in the last three years, after beginning her ministry plans, she is finding out what so many of us, in todays stressful world need to learn.

There is peace in patience.

The Mustard Seed Ministry

"Moving Mountains" should be up for at least 3 reviews in the month of March 2001, and she is currently looking for a compilation company (A company who puts your song on with several others to present to radio stations. In most cases, this is the only way you get air play today)who can make a home for her first "chosen" single release of "God Loves You More."

LeFerna, a thirty year "indy artist"( or independent music artist)is planning a fifteen state tour for the Mustard Seed Ministry beginning in mid June. Her son Travis will be sharing his awesome testimony, while her younger son's multi-talented gifts to perform will include a champion yo-yo demonstration on how to find hidden talents and use them to serve God (Encouraging others to find their gifts, then go into hospitals and nursing homes to entertain where they LOVE kids.)
Also Destin, LeFerna's thirteen year old, will bring his Christian swing dance partner Heather, who joins him as the first ever "Christian Swing Kids." Dancing in one of their competition aerial style dance routines to "Jesus Loves Me" and "Spreadin' the Word" dressed right out of the late thirties and forties, wearing a zoot suit and all!

Christian Swing Kids" is a new teen ministry that shows other teens and young adults ("Teen-ads")that they can use following Jesus as a release from today's pressures, as they try to portray it is "cool" to be Christian. Their reasoning behind using swing, Christian style, comes from the history of the German "Swing Kids" who turned to swing during the time Hitler forced them into naziism! The "Christian Swing Kids" do a top notch job of entertaining LeFerna's theory our government is allowing our kids to feel forced into the same type of "anti-Christism" with the lack of God and the ten commandments in our schools, causing today's confused and psychologically dangerous kids today.
"The majority of our children today, are not lucky enough to be raised up in a church like many families in southern Gospel music are. No offense to our churches, but so often the ones that do go to church are bored out of their minds... or scared to death!" LeFerna says.
The low percentages of our children in public schools who go to church is shocking to some, but understandable to LeFerna's "been there done that" way of working with teens, and her ministry concentrates on giving teens a fun message that God loves them, and they don't need to be scared, knowing that eventually they could very well be our only leaders in these ending times of ours.

Although they plan on visiting all the family that they can find while on this midwest to west tour, (since life can be so short) LeFerna will be stopping by to meet DJs and doing interviews for radio stations along the way.
Concerts are being booked from Arkansas west, and sharing information about her new youth ministry bible study book and her charity prison work as well. LeFerna says "I can't WAIT to get back on the road again!" LeFerna, with the outgoing personality she has learned to perfect through the years, goes on to add with budding confidence

"It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!"

Read what others are saying and the latest Reviews!

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