SUGAR HILL, Ga. — A Georgia tree worker and young father is paralyzed after a tree branch fell on his head.
Friday started off like a normal day on the job for Evan Parker. He was on a tree worksite when suddenly a dead tree branch fell and hit him on the head.
“In an instant, everything changed — he was left paralyzed from the shoulders down," his friend Jake Richardson said.
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Evan Parker, 21, remains hospitalized at Northside Gwinnett Hospital. Richardson said his friend will need extensive medical care and rehabilitation plus specialized equipment in the future.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan spoke with his parents who say it’s hard to see their son struggling.
“It’s so scary to walk into the room and see your baby like that. It’s the worst,” his mom, Kesha Guzman, said.
“No one ever expects this, and when this happens you have to hold yourself together,” his father, Laren Parker, said.
Guzman says that when the limb fell, it hit his helmet and crushed his neck, but their grateful he was wearing the helmet or he could have died.
“It’s the hardest word hearing paralyzed and quadriplegic,” Guzman said.
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They say their son had limited insurance and they’ll face overwhelming medical and rehabilitation expenses, including future home renovations.
“None of our homes are wheelchair accessible or have wide doors or anything,” Guzman described.
Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help support his girlfriend and their 1-year-old son. So far, they have raised over $10,000.
“The costs for these essential needs are overwhelming, and his family is doing everything they can to support him,” Richardson said.
“All we can do is pray and hope for a miracle,” Laren Parker said. “Miracles do happen.”
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