Brian Littrell is lucky to be alive. When he was 5 years old,
 his heart syddenly stopped beating for about 30 seconds. 
	"I remember them taking me out of my bed and
 putting me in a tub of ice to cool my body off," the
 Lexington, KY., native says of the nightmarish hospital
 stay that the doctors said should have been his last. "Then
 they put me back in bed with only a sheet to cover me. Ten
 minutes later they put me back in the ice. This kept up for
 an hour. Then I blacked out"
	His mom, Jackie, watched as her son's eyes rolled
 back in his head. Warned that Brian, his heart weakened
 and infected, probably wasn't going to make it, she did the
 only thing she could: "I just had a faith inside that this wasn't
 the end for Brian," says Jackie. "God just reached down 
and touched that child, and he started on his way up."
	Eighteen years later, the Littrells, Jackie and
 Harold, found themselves once again worrying about the
 health of their younger son ( Brian's brother Harold Jr., is 26 ).
 Last november, doctors discovered that the conginetil hole
 in Brian's heart had caused the organ to enlarge
 considerably: If it wasn't operated on soon, his life could be
 in danger.
	"My initial thought was, 'Great timing!'" Brian says
 sighing. The Boys were finally successful in the U.S., thanks
 to their first chart-topping single, "Quit Playing Games 
( With My Heart )." Two months without a lead singer would
 seriously impact the group. So, for the benefit of his band~
 and against his parents' wishes~ Brian put off the procedure
 for six months. ( He finally underwent surgery in May and is
 now fully recovered. ) Brian's mom resigned herself to his
 decision: "He's always been a team player."
	And a fighter. Jackie recalls Brian's annual attempts
 to join his highschool basketball team: "He never made it,
 because of his size." Finally, after getting cut again yet his
junior year, the church chior boy made an announcement. "I
 learned something today," he said. "I can play ball as good
 as any of those guys, but none of them can sing like me.
" And now he's got the fans to prove it.