BY JARROD JONES

For the Courier

Micheal Duplantis has had a difficult recovery. After a driving accident 18 years ago, he said he continues to suffer from several injuries, and has had to undergo numerous surgeries.

"It has deterred me to an extent," Duplantis said. "I can't go outside and run. If I ever get tired, I have to stop (what I'm doing)."

Although the accident left him with a few disabilities, Duplantis, 43, said it has also given his life a unique purpose, as well as a gift for music.

For the last 13 years, Duplantis has been a music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church in Dulac. He's now moving toward the Christian music industry, releasing "Our Loving Mother," his first CD.

Before the accident, Duplantis was the manager of a warehouse store that was owned by his uncle. He said he was also a fisherman.

Duplantis said his life took a dramatic turn one afternoon in 1981. He was driving with his 3-year-old son. As he was crossing an intersecting road, his car was hit broadside by another car going 75 mph. He said the driver of the car was a 13-year-old boy.

Duplantis said he suffered from a broken leg, a damaged artery within his leg, broken ribs and internal bleeding. He said his son, whom he had shielded during the collision, had to be treated for minor wounds from flying glass.

After the incident Duplantis said he was knocked unconscious and was rushed to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery. He said after the surgery, he had an out-of body experience.

"I was in a waiting room, and a tunnel of light said to me 'Come.' And it was like a magnet that was pulling me, and I went in," he said. "At the first time of my life, I felt peace, joy and love."

He said after passing through the tunnel, he found himself in a place he described as "paradise."

"Everything there was perfect. The trees were perfect; the flowers were perfect. It wasn't too hot or too cold," he said.

During his journey, Duplantis said he encountered many amazing sites and people.

"One man, who was in his 30s, came up to me and threw his arms around me. I felt great love coming from him," he said.

He said he discovered that the man was his grandfather, who had been dead for 15 years.

"When he died, he had no hair, no teeth and was heavy-set. There, he had hair and teeth and was in good health," he said. "He said he knew I was coming and that he'd see me again.

Duplantis said he reached the top of a mountain as he approached the end of his journey.

"I looked down and I could see the city in gold," he said. "And, I was falling to pieces about it. I said to myself, 'I could stay here for the rest of my life.' "

He said he again heard a voice calling him.

"It said 'You have to go back.'And a gigantic hand appeared and shoved me back in my body, and boy, was I in pain," he said.

Duplantis said after he regained consciousness, he was told he would be in the hospital for six weeks.

"The first thing I wanted to do was tell my wife how much I loved her, because I realized I didn't know what love was," he said.

Duplantis said he made a remarkable recovery during his hospital stay. Two years later, he said, he was involved in another auto accident. He said he was told by doctors that he would be unable to work again.

Because of that disadvantage, Duplantis said he decided to take up music lessons. He said he rapidly learned how to play the piano.

"I love to play the piano. I have a great ear, and I could tell which sound was the best one," he said. He said he would go over to a friend's business and play.

"He told me one day, ‘you know, you're playing with your fingers flat. You're supposed to play with them curved.’ He said it took him four years to learn that." he said.

Duplantis said he returned to play for his friend the following week, with his fingers curved.

"He said, 'How did you learn how to do curve your fingers? It took me four years.’ I had to do it, I told him. It was just there," he said.

Duplantis said he also found himself wanting more knowledge about Christianity. He said he began reading the Bible because "I had a hunger for the Lord, something I'd never, had before."

Duplantis said he was also imparted several gifts from God.

"Rita (his wife) and I prayed together, and I started mumbling stuff, not even knowing what it was. I later found out I was speaking in tongues," he said. He also said he began hearing voices speaking to him.

"I'd be driving down the highway and start answering whatever I heard. My wife would say, 'Who are you talking to?' I'd say, Don't you hear it? I thought I was freaking out at first," he said.

But Duplantis said he realized that God was comrnunicating with him. He said the communication is what helps him to write his music.

Duplantis said he became a music minister at Holy Family Catholic Church on Christmas Eve in 1985. He said he plays piano, organ and guitar.

Duplantis and his wife also take trips to Conyers, Ga., where Nancy Fowler, a renowned Christian spiritualist, speaks to crowds of believers, sharing messages she says she receives from the Virgin Mary. He said his first song was inspired by one of the trips he took there last year.

During that trip, he said, he made two prayers.

"In my first prayer, I said, lord, when I get back home and everything settles down, could you help me write a song about Conyers?" He said in the second prayer, he asked God to heal a blockage within his heart.

"I said Lord, would you allow one drop of Jesus' blood to go through my body, and that people would see Jesus within me?"

Duplantis said when he and his wife returned home, he awoke early the next morning and watched a video-cassette that featured Fowler.

"She was saying some very powerful things," he said.

After watching the tape, Duplantis said he decided to go back to sleep. As he lied in bed, he said he heard a voice.

"It said: 'Our Loving Mother, to Conyers we come, to ask for conversion, to offer God's love.' That was beautiful, I said to myself." He said the voice repeated the words and he quickly got out of bed to write the verse.

"I then said to myself I know what the refrain has to be. So I wrote it down, and then I thought about another verse, and wrote that down," he said. "In 15 minutes, I wrote 13 verses."

Duplantis said he showed his wife, his daughter and several of his friends his song, titled, "Our Loving Mother."

"I figured that I was going to give this song to Conyers. I didn't want my name on it or anything else," he said.

After he had the song typed, Duplantis said he was soon given another message.

"I was at Mass one Sunday receiving communion, and I said a prayer. Then I heard the Lord say 'Now I want you to write the music (to the song)."

He said he did just that. He then said while trying to meet with Nancy Fowler to discuss the song, he had an angiogram taken for the blockage in his heart. He said once the X-ray was taken, his doctor could not find the blockage.

"I said to the doctor that I prayed that Jesus would allow me one drop of his blood to enter my heart, and that I would be more like him," he said. He also said the doctor later wrote a letter to him, saying that his angiogram was filed "as a miracle."

Duplantis said he met with Fowler in Conyers last January. During the meeting, he said, she asked him to discuss the song.

"When I started talking about it, Nancy said my whole body had been like a white light all around her," he said.

"She said 'The Lord wants you to get it copyrighted, ordained and professionafly
done,’ " he said. "She said 'You have a beautiful voice and God wants you to use it to touch the world.' And she said 'the world' again."

Duplantis said shortly after the meeting, he received a phone call from Fowler.

"She told me 'Don't worry about (her) organization. Don't help the organization.' "

He said Fowler also suggested that he create a CD of his song, along with other songs he had written after "Our Loving Mother."

"She kept saying ‘Make a CD, make a CD. I had no idea of how to make a CD," he said.

"She said 'You have other songs you've written. You can do a CD."

Duplantis said he counted all of his songs, and realized he had written 33 of them.

"That was peculiar to me, because 33 is Jesus' age when he died." He also said Fowler told him that he would have the CD completed by May.

Duplantis said as he searched for a studio to record his songs, he developed pneumonia, he lost his voice and his gall bladder had to be removed.

"It was like one thing after another. I wondered if I was ever going to get this done," he said.

He said he finally made contact with a studio located in Lockport.

"It was owned by a young man who'd built his own studio. We'd talked on the phone for about 40 minutes or so," he said. He said he scheduled an appointment with the studio owner the next day.

"We spoke for about two hours and he asked when I wanted to start. I said, tomorrow night." He said he spent 42 hours in 12 days to compte the CD.

Duplantis said the CD and its cassette version were completed in May.

He said he gave a copy of the cassette to Fowler, and on May 13, the songs were played in Conyers.

Duplantis said the CD was released late last month. He said "Our Loving Mother" is on sale at Hoffman Music, Body & Soul, and on his home page in the Internet.

Duplantis said he is delighted that his songs are available to the public. He added that he is surprised that the songs have caught the attention of young people.

"I received an e-mail from a 15-year- old boy, and he wrote that he liked my CD better than the Backstreet Boys," he said. Although, he had to admit he wasn't familiar with the pop group.

Duplantis said he has been told that his songs have been classified as Christian pop, "because it has an upbeat to it."

Duplantis said his favorite song on the CD is "He Touched Me," because of the following lyrics:

"He touched me right where I am. Didn't look at my sin; just came right in. He touched me."

Duplantis said he has also launched an charitable organization called little Helpers of Our Loving Mother, to support the work of Fowler's organization. Duplantis said his work is often delayed by his injuries. He said he suffers from sleep apnea and chronic fatigue syndrome. He also said he has had several surgeries performed on his legs, his knees and his neck.

"I could complain about what I have and make you sad, or I could tell the story I have, which makes me happy," he said. "The Lord has touched me along the way, and I have a lot of pain, but I have a lot of joy, too."

Recently, Duplantis said he has written a new song, titled, "You Have Sent Me, Lord." He said he will possibly use the song as the title track of the next CD he does.

As far as concerts, Duplantis said he has performed his songs at several churches over the years. He said he has played at church services, weddings, and funerals for churches like St. Eloi Catholic Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

"I don't have any plans to do a concert at this time, but it's a possibility," he said. "If I go somewhere, I'll always bring my keyboard."