Southern Gospel artist Brothers Forever had a close call recently with carbon monoxide poisoning on their tour bus. It’s not unusual for the group to travel with their families, and on this trip the bus held nine people.
While traveling by tour bus to a show in North Carolina, member Gary Ballew’s daughter Alexis woke up nauseous. She tried to wake up her mother, who did get up but passed out. The others on the bus alerted Gary to the situation, and they discovered that they all had been suffering from headaches and nausea. They stopped, got off the bus, got some fresh air and felt better.
The band went on to their destination but when they got their an EMT at the church took a look at Gary’s wife Alexis and his wife Cyndi and sent them both to the emergency room, where they were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning at a potentially lethal level.

In an open letter to fans, Gary writes, “The doctor stated, ‘Your family is very blessed. You should have been a news headline in tomorrow’s morning paper. I see that sort of ending in this kind of story all the time.’ Lexie, Cyndi, and I all began to weep. God’s hand was on all us in that ER room, and we are so grateful to be alive.”
Gary continues:

“If Lexie had not woke up with nausea, we would all have died in our sleep of carbon monoxide poisoning. I praise the Lord today for so many people who were praying for my family and our group. This could have been a great tragedy in my life – to say the least! The book of James says, ‘Your life is a vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow.’ We do not know how many days we have left!
Love those around you. Tell them what they mean to you now! Don’t wait! God gave the nine of us in the group a second chance, and we are so thankful to be alive. We had an awesome service on Sunday night. Many people were healed and set free at the altar. To God be the glory for the great things he has done!”

Brothers Forever’s Gary Ballew and Curtis Hagy wanted to share their story as a reminder about the dangers of carbon monoxide. Hagy says, “We really want to get radio stations and the whole gospel music community involved so that they can let their listeners and friends know that they need to get protected. Carbon Monoxide is odorless, colorless and tasteless. You don’t even know when you are exposed until you show the symptoms. We had no way of knowing. We are just thankful to be alive! Everyone that has a bus, gas logs in their homes, kerosene heaters, etc… needs a detector.”
If you ever wondered if your prayers mattered, this should show you that they do. Christian music artists spend an incredible amount of time on the road, in buses, traveling at all hours of the night, just to get to a church to perform and share the gospel.
For more about Brothers Forever, visit their website www.brothersforever.net.