I had known Taylor Martin since I first did an article on his mother Cyndi for my "Heroes Among Us' column. We became friends that day, Cyndi, Taylor and I. It was hard not to admire the amazing courage of this young man, so brave, so loving, and inspiring. Taylor even had a good sense of humor. He did all this in spite of having NF-2 a rare and horrible disease which causes tumors throughout the body. By the time I met Taylor when he was 17, he had already lost his hearing from NF-2. He had gone totally deaf one day at school when he was just twelve years old.

In April of 2009 I decided to get serious about recording my music and booked a studio session in Scottsdale.
The day before I went into the studio I got an email from Cyndi Martin, Taylor's mother. Cyndi said Taylor had requested that his friends start praying for God to take him back home.

This request really touched me. All that evening I found I was singing a song that was going through my head that I had sung years ago on a long drive back from filming. All I sang were the words "Pray me home..." over and over. I knew that had to be the first song I recorded. So I quickly sat down at the piano. figured out the notes, and wrote them down so I would remember how to play the song when I got to the studio.

The next day in the studio I told the engineer Taylor's story and that even though Taylor could no longer hear I had to record the song for him. John told me that he had a client who was deaf. When she would come into the studio to have John write music for her, she would explain the way the song needed to feel. John would play something and she would "feel" the vibrations to the music. That way she could determine if it waas the right sound or not and guide John to what she wanted. That woman's story gave me some hope that perhaps soemhow Taylor could hear the song too. Maybe if I sang the song to him, Taylor could also "feel " it.

After recording the first version, I played it for my Dad. He told me the song needed verses, so I wrote the verses based on Taylor's story.

In January of 2010 I was finally able to see Taylor again, just for a short while. At that time Taylor's energy was a lot lower and he needed to sleep much more. Taylor always puts his hand on my arm when we are visiting. I also put my hand on his arm and sang him "Pray Me Home" Taylors father Peter was there. He was signing some of the song to Taylor.

When I finished, Taylor signed "Thank you" to me. It was sad to know that was probably the last time I would ever see Taylor, but I knew the song had to get to him.

For anyone who is taking or about to take that ultimate journey, I offer "Pray Me Home." May it give some comfort.

Epilogue: Taylor Martin went home February 12, 2010
I was only one of the thousands Taylor touched with his beautiful life.
May he touch many more through this song.