‘I can honestly say that I now better appreciate the pain my wife and all other mothers must endure when experiencing childbirth’, said Washington County Commission Chairman Tray Hawkins on Wednesday afternoon, February 21, 2018 as he prepared to be discharged from Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Alabama.
‘For the past several months I had been experiencing pain and discomfort but it was important to me that we participate as much as possible in the legislative session in Tallahassee’, said Hawkins from his hospital bed on Wednesday.
The source of the pain was kidney stones, and the discomfort was finally enough to convince Hawkins’ wife Jessica to seek medical attention on Tuesday.
‘We took Tray for a CT Scan and, as we suspected, he has kidney stones’, said Jessica Hawkins on Wednesday morning. ‘One stone was 10mm and was obstructive, so they did a lithotripsy, which appears, at this point, very successful’.
Now, after treatment, Hawkins will be back on the job starting Thursday morning, just in time for the Washington County Board of County Commissioner meeting.
The citizens of Washington County can attest that the time Hawkins spent in Tallahassee was indeed well spent, as Hawkins, along with state legislators, was able to bring about some funding decisions which will affect Washington County for the near and long-term future.
One such instance was Florida Governor Rick Scott’s approval of $1.8 million towards the construction of water and sewer placement on Hwy. 79, from Douglas Ferry Road to I-10, commonly called the ’79 Corridor Project’, ensuring that Washington County, Holmes County and Bonifay would be able to move forward with development.
‘We are all convinced that we are bulletproof until we are proven otherwise’, said Hawkins on Wednesday, ‘but with help of some great medical staff, my wife and family, along with friends, we are ready to go back into battle for the citizens of Washington County’.
Elected in 2016, Hawkins has been instrumental in cutting through red tape and bureaucracy, simplifying county systems and making aspects of county government easier to navigate for citizens.
Self-effacing, Hawkins does not take credit for much of this effort, saying instead, ‘Our Board of Commissioners is finally and truly cohesive, working together toward a common goal, and we are looking at great days ahead for Washington County’.
