Life After the Storm: Actor & Father Tray Chaney on survival, faith, and rebuilding—one day at a time

Game Changers
Sep 26
4 min read

Game Changers Magazine • Game Changers Media Network • Voices of the Village podcast — where change starts with conversation.

written by Shawn Raleigh

On the morning of May 29, 2025, life looked bright for actor and musician Tray Chaney—beloved for his roles on The Wire and beyond. He and his 19-year-old son Malachi had just left V-103 after a celebratory on-air reunion with Big Tigger and Snoh “Snoop” Pearson, part of a press run marking the show’s 23rd anniversary. Lunch at Malachi’s old job, a quick stop at home to pack, then a flight to D.C. for a niece’s graduation and an early birthday celebration for Malachi on June 1. A family weekend was loading.

By afternoon, the sky shifted. Wind became a roar that “sounded like a train inside the house.” Walls and TVs tore loose. Tray felt the bed lift as if gravity quit. In the next frame he remembers: mud in his mouth, sheet wrapped around his face, the roof gone—and one thought pounding through the chaos:

“Where’s my son?”

Neighbors became first responders, sprinting through rain and debris. Malachi had been thrown roughly 300 feet into the woods. When emergency crews reached him, he was alive. Tray—bleeding from a head injury—was transported to Piedmont Henry. Malachi was airlifted to Grady for trauma care.

The doctor’s list that night was brutal: broken ribs, fractures across the face, a cervical spine injury, lacerations, and a brain injury. Tray curled in a chair, pain beyond tears. “If I had lost my son,” he admits, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Malachi survived.

“Love Thy Neighbor” Isn’t a Metaphor

Tray refuses to tell this story without elevating the people who ran toward danger.

“My neighbors saved my son’s life. God used them. They got him to where he needed to go for his life to be saved.”

City leaders, lodge brothers, pastors, and friends showed up with prayers, food, dumpsters, tarps, and time. In a world quick to brand itself, Locust Grove officials, James Earl Acey Lodge #600, and countless unnamed neighbors just worked. No lights. No speeches. Just love in boots.

Faith in the Rubble

“God didn’t do this,” Tray says plainly. “God saved us.” He speaks of the Book of Job, of a faith that refuses to break, of humility reset by force. Money, cars, clothes—gone. The chain he wore never came off; the ring he exchanged with Aisha, his wife of 20 years, turned up in the wreckage like a parable.

“We already did the ‘be strong’ part. We survived a tornado. Now? Pray for us.”

For a man known for charisma and grind, the mission now is stripped and bigger: walk with God, tell the truth, heal out loud.

A Mother’s Strength

Aisha Chaney didn’t ride out the storm in the house; she lives in its aftermath. She works from wherever Malachi is—24 hours a day since May 29—balancing wife, mother, fashion designer, advocate, and anchor. Tray won’t speak for her pain, but he honors the weight she carries: watching an independent college sophomore become a patient overnight—and fighting for his tomorrow.

The Work of Healing

Today, Shepherd Center is Malachi’s gym, school, and proving ground. The regimen is strict: showers, meals, PT/OT, brain rehab, mental health—repeat. On night one he tried to take himself to the bathroom; staff had to remind the fighter to let healing set the pace. Even so, therapists say his progress is remarkably fast; youth and will are working.

Meanwhile, Tray and Aisha live in a hotel. Insurance forms. Adjusters. Rental cars. Receipts. Life shrunk to a carry-on bag and a Bible he held aloft in the lot where a home once stood. Each day is logistics and grief, gratitude and grind.

The Man the Moment Demands

Tray talks often about Jason Wilson’s book and the idea of a comprehensive man—strong and vulnerable, protector and nurturer, unashamed to cry.

“You’re not soft because you cry. You’re human.”

He’s bathed his teenage son. He’s lifted prayers over strangers who now stop him in stores—not to ask about TV, but to ask to pray with him. The platform has shifted. The purpose has not.

From The Wire to the World

What’s next? Tray’s careful with plans now. But he sees it:

Father–Son testimony tour on survival, faith, and brain injury awareness
A docuseries or film—“the biggest role of our lives is the reality role we’re already living”
Partnerships that educate families on TBI recovery, PTSD, and disaster readiness
More daily honesty online—journaling, tears, workouts by a hospital bed, the wins and the setbacks

“Why me? Why not me. God gave us a story to give other people hope.”

How to Show Up

Tray is clear about what helps.

Pray. If you don’t know what to say, say that you’re praying.
Be kind. You have no clue what people are carrying.
Support the rebuild. Tray’s GoFundMe is linked in his bio at @traychaneyvision.
Check on your people. Hug them like it could be the last time.

Timeline: One Day Changed Everything

May 29, 2025 – V-103 interview. Afternoon tornado destroys the Cheney home. Tray injured; Malachi found in woods and airlifted to Grady.
May 29–June – ICU, surgeries, stabilization, and transfer to Shepherd Center.
Summer 2025 – Rapid progress in rehab; family relocates to hotel; rebuild and insurance labyrinth begin.
Today – The work continues: therapy, paperwork, faith, and community.

Editor’s Note

If you or a loved one is navigating trauma recovery, Tray’s family wants you to know you’re not alone. Talk about it. Cry through it. Write through it. Healing is work—and it’s holy.

Follow @traychaneyvision for updates. Keep the Cheneys in your prayers. And keep being Game Changers—because communities heal when neighbors run toward the storm.

What's Next For The Chaney Family? Life After The Storm on VOTV