Kevan can't walk - so his friends carried him across Europe

Shari Puterman | The Daily Advertiser

Show Caption Hide Caption Kevan's friends put him on their backs for 3 weeks He left his wheelchair behind for the adventure of a lifetime.

“When you do these things – crawl through a sewer, climb a mountain – you come out with the mindset that anything is possible. The world is accessible if we are willing to get creative with it. That just sets you free.”

Kevan Chandler, 32, is a regular guy with an extraordinary story.

The 32-year-old lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with two roommates and loves to travel.

During summer 2015, he and a group of friends spent three weeks backpacking through Europe, and they have plans to explore China in just a couple months.

Kevan was able to experience all the incredible things tourists dream of seeing.

But here’s the extraordinary part - he can’t walk.

Kevan was born with something called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disease affecting the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement.

He’s never taken a single step – but his friends carried him through Europe on their backs, and it started a worldwide movement, “We Carry Kevan,” that’s gaining momentum by the day.

The mission

Kevan was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before settling in Indiana.

He is the youngest of two siblings and shares a special bond with his sister, Connie, who also suffers from the same disease.

“We really have gone through life together, step by step,” Kevan explains. “Our parents are very creative, so they really helped us understand how to fight to live a full life and figure things out as we go. And since my sister is older, she kind of paved the way and opened a lot of doors.”

Connie attended public school, moved out of her family’s home, and went to college.

“It gave me something to work off of,” Kevan says. “I still made my own life, but she helped me realize that it’s all possible.”

The hardest part of growing up with this challenge, he adds, was getting weaker through the years. In fact, it’s still something he deals with on a daily basis.

“You never get used to that,” Kevan explains. “I am 32 now, and my hands, as an example, are still losing strength. After so many years, it’s very frustrating. High school and college were my worst times of growing weaker. It presented a lot of uncertainty because it’s still a rare disease, so there is some mystery.”

The movement

Kevan, who has a degree in counseling with a focus in prison ministry, spends his time raising awareness and breaking down barriers for other speciallyabled people.

Unlike his sister, who takes a drug called Spinraza for the condition, he declined treatment or medication, and credits his busy life with keeping him focused.

“I am pretty happy with who I am right now,” Kevan says, “and comfortable with where I am. I haven’t really slowed down much.”

And that’s definitely an understatement.

About three years ago, he planned to visit Europe with his friends but wanted to do non-wheelchair-accessible things.

“So we developed a backpack for my friends to carry me around,” Kevan explains. “There were four guys carrying me, and two guys filming it.”

For three weeks, they backpacked through Europe with no wheelchair. People were asking questions as they traveled, so the guys decided to develop their nonprofit, “We Carry Kevan,” with answers for the world.

The message

“It was basically a cooperative effort of people helping people, making that more practical, and making it more of a reality for people to embrace,” Kevan says.

"The most empowering part of everything with the guys was literally being able to go places I wouldn’t be able to go. It’s been enriching in two ways: They have never done it in the mindset of, ‘this is a service to Kevan.’ More so, we are just a group of guys on an adventure. Also, when you do these things – crawl through a sewer, climb a mountain – you come out with the mindset that anything is possible. The world is accessible if we are willing to get creative with it. That just sets you free. It allows the disabled community to feel a sense of freedom, strength and empowerment to do anything.”

So what’s on the bucket list for China this summer?

“We will visit orphanages with disabled kids and do a lot of sightseeing,” Kevan says. “I’m kind of up for anything. It’s a whole other world, another culture. I just don’t know what to expect. I am going into it with an open mind, excited for discoveries and adventures.”

To learn more, visit "We Carry Kevan: China." and We Carry Kevan on Facebook