On February 20, 1974 at 1:37 am a star was born. His name is Brian Thomas Littrell. Brian was born with a hole in his heart, but they didn't know about the hole until he was five.
One day, Brian was playing and he fell on his knee and it got infected. However, because of his weak heart, Brian stayed in the hospital for five months before it recovered. It was then that they discovered the hole in his heart. Brian was really weak. One time his temperature went up so high they had to put in a bath tub full of ice in order for him to survive.
The doctors said that he had 1% chance of survival and told his parents, Jackie and Harold to go on to make funeral arrangements.
But a miracle happened----Brian didn't die. Brian's mother Jackie said that God reached down his healing hand on Brian. The doctors could not explain what had happen. And even to this day, Brian is grateful to God for the miracle. He prays and reads the bible every night.
As a child, Brian was always known around the church for having an angelic voice. But in school, Brian was never popular and never fitted in. One time at a talent show, Brian sang a duet "Another Time, Another Place" with a popular girl which he had a secret crush on. However, it turned out that the girl only wanted to be friends.
Brian was getting ready to graduate. One day, his final year in high school during history class, he received a call from his cousin Kevin who was forming a band and needed another voice. So Brian flew down to Orlando and sang in front of a whole crowd at Sea World to show his talents to the management of the band and they accepted Brian right there.
Brian flew back to Lexington to graduate. All of sudden, Brian was the gossip. Rumors were going on that Brian was joining a band. In an interview, Brian said " When I was leaving high school to become a Backstreet Boy, all the girls that I used to just adore before, you know, wanted to date me as I left. And it was like, come on. You know it doesn't take a lot of intelligence to really figure it out. But, you know, it's just something that you deal with. People say oh we love you, we love you....but does anybody know, you know, the true definition of love?"
On May 8, 1998, Brian had a heart surgery. It was only supposed to be 45 mins, but it ended up taking two hours because the doctors discovered another hole in his heart during the surgery. The doctors were doubtful of Brian's survival. They told him to drop out of the band or he would die. But a miracle happened again, Brian pulled it through.
With the support of his family, friends, fans, his girlfriend Leigh Ann, Brian recovered fine.
Wherever Brian is, we will always pray for the very best for him. Our hearts will forever be with Brian.
Written by: Sandy Chang
Copyright 1999
