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Grammy-nominated gospel singer David "Pop" Winans, patriarch of the iconic first family of contemporary gospel music, is making what doctors consider a miraculous recovery from two strokes, seizures and a heart attack, his son, the Rev. Marvin Winans, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with The Detroit News.
"He is a miracle in progress," Winans said. "Doctors said he should be blind, paralyzed or dead. I'm just amazed because what transpired is beyond medical belief. The doctor said, 'Now, I believe.'"
The elder Winans, 74, was admitted to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak on Sept. 30. He had been to a doctor's appointment that morning and stopped to have breakfast at a restaurant. On the way to his vehicle, he became disoriented and fell in the restaurant parking lot. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital by ambulance.
"It was a major stroke," Winans reported. "He never had weakness. His mouth never twisted. When they saw the CT scan, they said don't get our hopes up because it was major. They didn't look for him to come out."
The situation became more dramatic when the elder Winans suffered a second stroke on Nov. 3. He wasn't expected to survive.
Before leaving for a previously scheduled trip to Suriname, South America, Marvin Winans recalls praying, leaning over his father, who was barely holding on in intensive care, and whispering these words in his ear: "Barack Obama is president, and be here when I get back."
But the pastor of Detroit's Perfecting Church said he was prepared to lose his father.
"As a believer, the Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," Marvin Winans said. "I didn't want to lose my dad. I don't know how to say it, but it's OK because I know I'll see him again. I want my dad to live to be 80 or 90 or 100 if he so desires. I hope unlike others who have no hope. I don't grieve like others who believe this life is it."
David Winans was released from Beaumont Hospital on Tuesday, and spent part of his first day in rehabilitation in orientation, doing a few exercises, wheeling himself around and taking a few steps. He told his wife, Delores "Mom" Winans, "I have to get my strength up so I can get out of here."
Marvin Winans said his father entertained other patients and medical staff with his praise and worship in the hospital. "He was hollering out, 'Thank you, Jesus' and 'Yes, Lord.' We told people if he hollers 'Yes, Lord,' don't get alarmed, just say 'Yes, Lord.'"
In all, the Winans family has won 35 Grammy awards. David and Delores met while singing in a traveling gospel choir. The couple recorded as Mom & Pop Winans. They had 10 children including The Winans, brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and the late Ronald Winans, who died of a heart attack in 2005. Other family acts include Daniel, Vickie, brother and sister BeBe and CeCe, and Angie & Debbie. Their grandsons formed the third-generation group, Winans Phase 2 and grandson Marvin Winans Jr. has launched a solo career, and recently released a CD.
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