Alex Trevino

When Alex Trevino tells his story, he doesn’t speak like someone who lost everything. He speaks like someone who gained a mission.

He was 23 years old, freshly reenlisted in the United States Army and on leave, when a severe car accident changed his life. The crash left him with multiple injuries, including a broken spine that resulted in paralysis. He was forced out of the Army, not because he wanted to leave, but because life had other plans.

For years after the accident, nothing felt stable. Transportation, something most people never think twice about, became the source of his biggest struggles. Every time he opened the door to his old truck, he had no idea what the day would hold. As he described it, “If I had to sum up my life before the truck in one word, it would be inconsistent.”

That inconsistency affected everything, his mental health, his independence, his medical care, his family time and his ability to help others. Even essential spinal cord evaluations in Colorado were impossible because he could not trust his vehicle to make the trip.

Then one day, after repeatedly struggling with transportation, a therapist mentioned Freedom Mobility Foundation. Alex didn’t believe it at first. But seven days later, he received a call from Kevin Pottinger that changed everything.“I felt like I hit the lotto.”

Not only had he been selected, he was allowed to choose the truck that would fit his life, his size, his paralysis, and his future. Thanks to the generosity and support of USAA and Freedom Mobility Foundation, that opportunity became a reality. When the keys to the adapted 2500 Chevrolet truck were placed in his hands, something in him shifted. He describes the impact in the most powerful way.

“Because this truck came into my life when it did, it will change my great-grandchildren’s direction of life.”

For Alex, the truck wasn’t a vehicle. It was a foundation. It allowed him to attend his annual spinal cord evaluations at Craig Hospital, the number one spinal cord facility in the nation. These appointments he had missed for years due to unreliable transportation. He made the 14-hour trip to Colorado smoothly, confidently, and safely. “This is more than a truck. It’s a pillar. It’s extending my life.”

The truck also allowed Alex to serve others in enormous ways. When the floods hit Kerrville, he hooked up his trailer and spent an entire week delivering food, water, and clothes to families in crisis. He used the truck to support search operations, haul supplies, and show up wherever people needed help. He describes that moment as the spark that lit something unstoppable inside him.

“Freedom Mobility gave me the spark I needed, and now I’m a wildfire that cannot be put out.”

That same spark pushed him to start a laser-engraving business dedicated entirely to raising money for veteran nonprofits. In his first year alone, he donated over $6,200. He now uses his truck to tow equipment, deliver products, and stay fully involved in helping other veterans improve their quality of life.

It changed how he shows up for his family as well. He no longer misses events, gatherings, or travel because of vehicle malfunctions. He no longer feels “stuck” or dependent. In his words, it allowed him to feel like a regular person again, not limited, not left behind, not defined by paralysis. And when Alex talks to potential donors, he speaks from a place few people ever reach.

“You’re not investing in one person. You’re investing in an entire lineage.”

To him, a single act of generosity can rewrite the future of a whole family. It can help a veteran regain consistency, stability, purpose, and dignity. It can turn one spark into a wildfire that spreads hope far beyond the original gift.

Freedom Mobility Foundation and USAA didn’t just give Alex a truck. They restored his momentum, purpose, and possibility.

And as Alex said best, “All it takes is one spark to start a wildfire.”