Dorsey Ross: Born to Overcome Through Faith and Determination
Unmasked with Wesley Farnsworth – Episode 6
Some people talk about overcoming.
Others live it every single day.
In this episode of Unmasked, Wesley sits down with Dorsey Ross, a man whose entire life has been a collision of impossible odds and relentless faith.
Born with Apert Syndrome on January 16, 1977, Dorsey entered the world with a deeply challenging prognosis. His forehead protruded outward, his eyes and nose were set back, and his fingers and toes were completely fused with no individual movement. Doctors told his parents he might not survive, that he could become brain dead, and even suggested they place him in an institution.
Instead, his parents chose a different path.
They chose faith.
“We’re Not Signing the Papers.”
In the episode, Dorsey shares how his parents—already in their 40s when he was born—were initially told his mother might have a tumor or cancer before doctors discovered she was pregnant. No one expected a complicated birth, and no one was prepared for what followed.
When Dorsey was born, the medical team whisked him away instead of handing him directly to his mother. That alone told them something was wrong. Later, a doctor explained that he didn’t have a normal soft spot in his skull to allow his brain to grow and warned he might not live.
Their recommendation? Put him in an institution and walk away.
Dorsey’s parents refused.
As believers in Jesus, they chose to see him as a gift from God—not a mistake, not a burden, but a child to be loved and cared for for as long as God allowed. They took him home, and soon a group of nurses suggested another option: a hospital in New York City where surgeons were operating on children with similar conditions.
At just six weeks old, Dorsey had his first major surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Many more would follow.
A Childhood of Surgeries, Struggles, and Small Miracles
By the time he was around sixteen, Dorsey had undergone dozens of surgeries—eventually totaling around 68 operations in his lifetime, some lasting 10–15 hours at a time.
Because of these procedures, he missed a lot of school. To help him stay on track, a home teacher would come to his house while he recovered so he could keep up with the class. Even with that support, he struggled with a learning disability. Tests were hard. Math was difficult. School didn’t come easily.
On top of the academic challenges, Dorsey endured intense bullying. He was called “monster” and “freak,” both at his special school and in public. He looked different, and the world didn’t always know what to do with that.
But even in the middle of these hardships, God was moving.
The Youth Group That Changed Everything
One of the most powerful parts of Dorsey’s story is his experience in youth group. While some people rejected him, the teens and leaders at his home church in New York embraced him.
They joked with him—but in a way that included him, not to wound him. They treated him like everyone else. They loved him, encouraged him, and made room for him to belong.
Dorsey admits that if they had treated him poorly—if the “people of God” had acted just like the world—it might have pushed him away from church, and maybe even from God. Instead, their acceptance deepened his faith and helped him understand his identity in Christ.
As he grew older and read more of Scripture, passages like Psalm 139 helped him see that he was created on purpose, in the image of God, even if he didn’t understand the “why” behind his disability.
Wrestling With God, Wanting to Give Up, and Choosing Life
Dorsey is honest that there were times he considered ending his life. The pain, the stares, the surgeries, the bullying—it all weighed heavily on him.
In those dark moments, he never acted on those thoughts, but he felt the temptation.
What stopped him?
He describes sensing God’s Spirit reminding him, through Scripture and prayer, that his life had purpose. That he was God’s masterpiece. That there was more ahead than he could see.
He also talked with his parents, pastors, and friends, allowing others to support him and speak truth into the lies he was hearing in his mind.
One of the most moving images he shares is of his mom praying with him before surgeries. Sometimes she literally held the anesthesia mask over his face while they sang:
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow…
Because He lives, all fear is gone…”
That truth—life is worth the living because He lives—became an anchor.
“He’ll Never Make It in College.”
At one point, a high school history teacher told a panel he didn’t think Dorsey had the ability to make it in college.
His parents disagreed.
They had always encouraged him to try, to see for himself what he could and couldn’t do, instead of letting others decide for him. When he said he wanted to go to college, they backed him.
His mom gave him a simple, powerful statement when he asked how long she thought it might take:
“I don’t care if it takes you 10 years, as long as you finish.”
It wasn’t far off.
Dorsey spent four years completing a two-year associate degree at a community college, then five more years finishing his bachelor’s degree in youth ministry at a Bible college. Along the way, his mom passed away due to complications from a stroke. She saw him graduate from community college, but not Bible college.
Even so, her faith in him helped him carry on.
Called to Ministry… Just Not the Way He Expected
After Bible college, Dorsey tried to become a youth pastor. He interviewed with multiple churches, but doors never seemed to open. He grew frustrated, asking God why he had been led through Bible college if no ministry positions were coming together.
Then an opportunity came from a different direction.
His church held an outreach event and invited people to share their stories. Dorsey volunteered. After he shared his testimony, he sensed the Holy Spirit nudging him:
“Send this out. Call churches. See what I will do with it.”
He followed that prompting, sending letters and video to churches around the country.
From 2007 until COVID shut things down, Dorsey traveled and spoke in churches across the U.S., sharing his story of faith and perseverance—just like that youth leader had once prophesied when he was a teenager.
Life After COVID and Trusting God With the Next Chapter
Today, Dorsey works at a local retail store in cash services and serves in his church’s youth ministry. Recently, his father passed away at 94, which has brought another layer of transition and grief into his life.
He doesn’t know exactly what the next chapter holds—whether God will open doors for him to travel and speak again—but he’s choosing to trust that the same God who carried him through 68 surgeries, school, ministry, and loss will keep guiding his steps.
His favorite verses reflect that trust:
Philippians 4:6–7 – Don’t be anxious; bring everything to God in prayer.
Jeremiah 29:11 – God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.
“Don’t Give Up.”
When Wesley asks what he’d say to someone who feels confused, lost, and unsure of what God is doing, Dorsey keeps it simple:
Don’t give up.
Don’t quit on what you believe God has called you to.
You may not be able to see 5 or 10 miles down the road, but God is showing you the step that’s right in front of you.
One day, when you look back, you’ll see what He was doing.
