Within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, Chrystal Rucker is a household name. Over the last decade and a half, she’s made her own spine-tingling renditions of Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow,” Tramaine Hawkins’ “Changed” and Lecresia Campbell’s “Safety” fan favorites at concerts and convocations within the church. However, the EPM Music Group is about to take her national with her debut CD release,” You Deserve” (EPM Music Group), hitting retail and online stores everywhere on June 26, 2012. As America prepares to meet Chrystal Rucker, the country is also about to learn about the power of faith to heal. … Within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, Chrystal Rucker is a household name. Over the last decade and a half, she’s made her own spine-tingling renditions of Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow,” Tramaine Hawkins’ “Changed” and Lecresia Campbell’s “Safety” fan favorites at concerts and convocations within the church. However, the EPM Music Group is about to take her national with her debut CD release,” You Deserve” (EPM Music Group), hitting retail and online stores everywhere on June 26, 2012. As America prepares to meet Chrystal Rucker, the country is also about to learn about the power of faith to heal. In spring 2007, Rucker suffered a series of strokes that almost killed her and could have ended her singing career. She had just picked up her niece and nephew from school and was driving them home. “My arm just went numb,” she recalls as she was driving. “I looked in the rearview mirror. I was talking but my mouth on the left side wasn’t moving.” She made it home and was planning to lie down when her mother insisted that she go to the hospital immediately. Rucker as examined at the hospital where the doctor said that the CT exam showed no abnormality. Her mother didn’t believe the report so she took Rucker to another hospital where she was administered an MRI that showed that she’d experienced a stroke. “The doctor said I should have sued the first hospital,” she recalls. She was put on blood thinners and scheduled for therapy when she had another stroke while at the hospital. She was in intensive care for a week. “I taught myself how to drag my leg until I got to where I needed to be,” she remembers. “I got some strength from somewhere and I looked at my daughter and I knew she needed me so I fought so that I could be here to help her grow up. When you have someone you have to live for it makes all the difference in the world in your healing process.”
