By GINNY COOPER/Staff Writer

CALERA—When Evan Majewski was born, the doctors told his parents his chances of survival were slim to none, and that even if he survived he would be unable to walk, talk and would be cognitively challenged.

Majewski defied all odds, and the 16-year-old now attends Calera High School and, though he does use a wheelchair primarily for long distances, can walk with canes for short distances and was recently inducted into the National Honor Society for outstanding academics.

“He is truly a hero,” family friend Vicki Denny said, and noted Majewski even stuck up for her daughter when she was being bullied.

Majewski has been nominated as a “local hero,” and entered to win a wheelchair accessible vehicle as part of the National Mobility Awareness Month.

“Just like any other 16-year-old, and continually growing young man, he wants to have a driver’s license and the opportunity to transport himself to a life of greatness,” Evan’s mother wrote on his nomination biography.

Evan is also part of Brian Copes’ engineering class, and will travel to Honduras to help others this summer.

“There’s nobody I know of that would be more deserving,” Denny said.

To learn more about the contest, visit Mobilityawarenessmoth.com.