'We Carry Kevan': With a Little Help from His Friends, One Man's Quest Redefines Accessibility for the Disabled

A North Carolina man is giving people with disabilities the rare opportunity to leave their wheelchairs behind and travel the globe.

Kevan Chandler has helped more than 650 families across 30 countries travel to wherever their heart desires. 

From hiking, camping, and trekking through the snowy terrain these families use a specialized backpack designed by Chandler that allows them to carry their family members who are unable to walk.

"Redefining accessibility is a message for the disabled community as well as the able-bodied," he shared in an online video. "We need each other to make it happen through our creative and courageous effort to give it a try."

Chandler's work began in 2016 when he and his six friends set out for a trip across Europe.

The trip was a big risk for the soon-to-be inventor who has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare neuromuscular disease. Chandler uses a wheelchair to get around most of the time, but he took a step of faith and it turned into an adventure beyond his wildest dreams.

"I let a bunch of medically unqualified musicians put me in a backpack and carry me around the world," he explained in a video. 

By the end of the trip, the group had danced in the streets of Paris, hiked through the English countryside, and scaled the island of Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland.  

Chandler and his friends chronicle the details of their trip in the book, We Carry Kevan.

In it, he describes what it was like dancing and praising God near Paris' Place de la République.

"My soul was revived. The sights and sounds were exciting but the spirit of it all was what made me new in that moment," Chandler wrote. "It was the Holy Spirit, present and enjoying Himself among this bundle of believers."

According to WeCarryKevan.com, when he and his friends decided to travel without a wheelchair, they knew they had to "get creative".

They helped design a backpack that could carry Chandler comfortably. 

"I've been asked before what was it like in that moment leaving your wheelchair behind," he told CBN's Prayerlink. "And we were in a rush to get to the airport and on the airplane. So in the moment, it just kind of happened."

"But it was about a week later on the trip that I wanted some time to myself. I wanted a moment to wander off and do my own thing and I realized I couldn't because I didn't have my wheelchair," he continued.

"I was really faced with the moment of my wheelchair gives me freedom in some ways and having this backpack gives me a freedom and an experience in another way," he explained. "One isn't better than the other, but each one enriches life in its own way. Because of the backpack, I could do these crazy, amazing experiences with other people."

Luke Thompson was one of the friends who accompanied Chandler on the trip. And although Thompson could not carry him because of a skateboard injury, he did document their adventure.  

"I had no exposure to the disability community before this trip. I knew Kevan, but I had not spent a whole 'lot of time with him. So this was really eye-opening to what people can do when they come together to fill in the gaps and some of the abilities of those that you are around," Thompson told the PrayerLink. 

The friends said although the trip was an amazing experience it came with challenges. 

"We faced a lot of difficult things physically, but around every corner, there were challenges spiritually and emotionally, you know, relationally, as well," Chandler explained. "Got to have a lot of very real conversations with the Lord along the way." 

"I wrote the book for the same reason that we asked Luke to film the whole trip and experience because if you are going to do something this crazy then you have to have proof," he said. "We had this amazing time and thought it was worth sharing this story."

Chandler also started a non-profit, We Carry Kevan, to share the experience with families who have children with disabilities. 

"We started hearing from families all over the world asking us where did we get the backpack, where did I get these friends, how were we making this happen?... Now, 6 years later, we're coming alongside those families," he said. 

The backpack he and his friends designed is now being used all over the world and is redefining accessibility.

"We are passing that on to others and helping people realize through example and coming alongside them that accessibility comes together when you have people with you to think creatively and outside the box," he told PrayerLink.