New SUV for wounded veteran

“Today, I’m touching more people with one hand than I did when I had two,” said retired U.S. Marine Corps Carlos Evans.

Carlos Evans, now a Winter Garden resident, was serving his fourth deployment in 2010, this time in Afghanistan. While leading a foot patrol, he stepped on an improvised explosive device and was severely injured. He lost his left hand and both legs above his knees.

He was fitted with prosthetics and learned how to drive a modified van but struggled to lift his wheelchair into the back. All that changed Sept. 16 when Carlos Evans received the gift of a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe through the Wounded Warriors Family Support nonprofit organization.

Carlos Evans and his wife, Rosemarie, were invited to the University of Central Florida’s #UCFSalutes military appreciation football game, and during halftime at the FBC Mortgage Stadium, they were taken to the field for a special presentation. Their personalized Tahoe was driven into the stadium and onto the field.

Carlos Evans drove it home.

Wounded Warriors Family Support launched Mobility is Freedom in 2015 to provide modified vehicles for combat-wounded veterans. Carlos Evans said he reached out a few years ago inquiring about its grant program, which donates adapted vehicles.

Last year, WWFS was partnering with UCF and was looking for a veteran who lived in Florida.

“When they told me about this, the difference between this and the grant is you (get to) pick the vehicle you need,” Carlos Evans said. “We did some research, because you look at a vehicle for someone like myself — how can you make it adaptable? That’s the vehicle we picked, and they made it happen.”

He lost his left hand at the wrist, but he still can use his forearm to push a special padded bar for the gas and brake pedals. All other controls are on the steering wheel on a device the size of a computer mouse for his right hand.

“The detail in the modification is amazing,” Carlos Evans said. “The great thing about the adaptation is I can drive it, and my wife can drive it as well.”

Before he received the Tahoe, Carlos Evans was driving a van with a ramp. He needed assistance putting in his wheelchair, though, so he never felt fully independent.

His new SUV has a built-in lift in the back, and it picks up his wheelchair and places it in the vehicle with a push of a button.

He said he is so grateful for this huge gift.

“I was amazed, because13 years after my injury there (are) still people out there that care about veterans like myself,” Carlos Evans said. “That amazes me, inspires me.”

SENSE OF FREEDOM

The Evanses have two teenaged daughters who were 3 months old and 4 years old when their father was injured. They are thrilled to see him gain some independence.

“For me and for my family, it’s life-changing,” Carlos Evans said. “For someone else, it’s a vehicle, but for me, it’s independence and freedom. Not just my personal freedom, but to my wife and my daughters being able to see me doing things I didn’t think they would. They get to see me walk to my car. … It makes me feel good; I’m driving my vehicle.”

The SUV also is easier for him to maneuver because of the type of prosthetics he wears. His legs were amputated far above his knee, and when he was first fitted with artificial limbs, he couldn’t walk very far before they slipped off.

“My limb is shorter, so the socket didn’t work well,” he said.

Two years ago he underwent a surgical procedure called osseointegration that involves inserting a metal implant into the bone of the residual limbs, which then attach directly to the prostheses, eliminating socket-related issues. The prosthetics go into the limb instead of on it.

“I’m still learning how to use my prosthetics, but it gives me more mobility,” Carlos Evans said. “I’m still going through therapy. My body is just getting used to it. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there.”

SEMPER FI

Carlos Evans joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2004, went to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and then was stationed at Camp Lejeune until 2012. He was deployed three times to Iraq, in 2005, 2006 and 2008. His fourth deployment took him to Afghanistan, where the sergeant served for about three months before the accident.

“You don’t expect that to happen,” Rosemarie Evans said. “You know they’re going to war, but you expect them to come back.”

In addition to losing his legs and hand, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was flown to Germany and then to Maryland, where he spent two years having surgeries and going through rehabilitation. Carlos and Rosemarie Evans and their children lived in North Carolina for four years before moving to Winter Garden in 2016.

The family has received much support since the life-altering event, especially through their faith, family and friends. They currently attend Journey Church in Maitland.

“Without faith, I wouldn’t be here,” Carlos Evans said. “I would look at myself as a victim. With faith, I see myself as complete.”