By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
On Monday morning, Rep. Will Dismukes came by the Green Springs Assisted Living Home in Prattville. Greeted at the door by several of the Green Springs workers, Dismukes walked into the building smiling ear to ear, ready to share what would come to be an extremely compelling testimony.
Dismukes started the story off by telling the small, but captivated crowd about his time growing up in the river region. He spent most of his childhood on the Alabama River, just outside of Montgomery, where his family lived for over 150 plus years.
Dismukes went on to tell the audience about his health, and how it’s changed him as person over the last several years.
“Seven years ago this Thursday will be the anniversary of when I started to have health problems. I was at bible study with my now wife, Amber, when I started to have some chest and shoulder pain. My face went completely numb on my left side. I was only 22 years old and I had just come off an All-American baseball season with professional scouts watching me. I really wouldn’t have imagined that anything was wrong with me,” Dismukes explained.
That day, Dismukes went back home and took some aspirin, thinking that was all he needed to stop what he believed was just a panic attack. His father knew that something more serious was happening, so he took his son straight the hospital. Regardless, Will was calm within the situation.
“I was at complete peace with the situation. I knew that if it was the Lord’s will to call me home, that I had my eternity saved because I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I was completely content with that,” said Dismukes.
Within just a few minutes of leaving his house and meeting the ambulance, all of Dismukes left arm was totally numb – working its’ way down his side.
After arriving at Baptist South, Dismukes father carried him through the doors of the hospital and set him in a wheelchair before they took him to the back and starting running tests on him. At this point, Will could no longer even speak.
“We’re talking about a time period of about 30 minutes. I could no longer speak, and I was beginning to get numb all the way down to my feet on my left side. The doctor came in and told my family that I was having a stroke. We eventually came to find out that I had a blood clot in my right frontal lobe,” Dismukes shared.
Eventually, the family found out that Will could take a very expensive drug called a “clot-buster,” which would dissolve whatever was manifesting in his head. After about two weeks at the hospital resting, Will’s doctor broke the news to him that he would never be able to play professional baseball.
“I just thought, God, if you want me to play again then you’ll make it happen. I’m going to work hard and I want to do it,” Dismukes said.
After a couple months of therapy, Dismukes was able to regain complete feeling and control of his body. He was able to come back and play baseball with Faulkner, and through the power of the Lord, Will was able to go on and be an All-American again that season where his team would win the baseball national title in Idaho. He was even approached by the Milwaukee Brewers, who wanted to sign him to a contract.
Unfortunately, his scout called him shortly after and told him that he wouldn’t be able to play in the MLB due to his stroke, as the head medical doctors would not allow it.
“At that point I said. I got a degree, and I’m going to go work. I said, God, whatever happens, happens. In 2014 I decided to go into the ministry and share the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever I went. I went into youth ministry at Autauga Baptist Church and now I’m the pastor at Pleasantville Baptist church. I own a commercial flooring company and I’m even in the State House of Representatives. This isn’t to brag but to show what God did with my life. When I tell this story, I let everyone know that a rock in their path is just a stepping stone for the Lord’s play on your life. What seemed like such a big rock in my way turned into something even greater than I could have ever imagined,” Dismukes said.
He said that he thanked the Lord every day for the stroke, and how it’s made him the man that he is today.
Before leaving, Dismukes did encourage the citizens of Green Spring to continue to vote – as it serves a vital role in the community.
Dismukes, who represents the 88th District in the House of Representatives, recently dropped out of the 2nd Congressional District race. However, he is still ready to serve the community – whether it’s from the House of Representatives, his business or though the word of God.
