“I was just praying,” she said. “All I wanted to be able to do was walk and talk with him again. That’s all I asked for.”

During the surgery, doctors performed an endarterectomy, a procedure to remove plaque clogging a carotid artery, which posed a considerable risk to Rodgers’ vocal cords.

“They told me, they’re very clear, ‘You may not come out of this alive.’ And I said, ‘Oh, well, that’s a plus, isn’t it?'” Rodgers said.

“And when I woke up, I opened my eyes, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m still here,'” said Rodgers.

Rodgers’ surgeon even played his music during the operation.

The recovery process was slow, marked by small victories, including Rodgers’ return to playing the guitar and singing after six months.

“Each thing was a step forward. Each thing that I did was an achievement … ‘Oh, I can do this. I can sing,'” Rodgers said.

With the support of his family, Rodgers returned to the studio in Vancouver a year and a half ago, where he recorded his new album, “Midnight Rose.”

His wife emotionally recalled hearing him sing again, calling it “amazing” and “just phenomenal.”

“I didn’t think that would ever happen,” she said.

Image Credit: Rob Lyon