CHESAPEAKE

About 100 people waited on the lawn with signs Saturday.

“Here they come!” someone shouted.

The crowd went silent as a white limo pulled up.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Evans and his wife, Nicole, stepped out and slowly took in the scene. They pushed their kids toward their house where changes awaited them.

This time, the unknown brought happy tears.

The family had just settled in to their house in Sicily when Aubree had two firsts on Jan. 28, 2012: wobbly steps and a birthday. The euphoria didn’t last long. Aubree stopped walking a couple of months later, about the same time her parents realized that her brother, Halen, wasn’t reaching milestones expected of a 3-year-old. They took their concerns about his limited use of words to a specialist, and he was diagnosed with autism.

Doctors still couldn’t figure out why Aubree wasn’t walking, so she was flown to Portsmouth Naval Hospital in May of 2012. They quickly found a cancerous tumor, which had crushed her spinal cord. The 16-month-old was paralyzed from the waist down.

The family was devastated. The Navy moved them to Hampton Roads and told Ryan Evans to concentrate on his family. He struggled to get out of bed each morning.

Aubree went through several rounds of chemotherapy. The tumor was never removed because the nerves around it, if damaged, could completely paralyze her.

They slowly learned to adapt to their new lives, with Aubree in a wheelchair and Halen in therapy. The kids thrived, despite their setbacks. Aubree learned to climb stairs on her own and dreamed of becoming a Disney princess. She tells her parents that when she gets bigger, she will walk. Halen memorized every type of dinosaur and started kindergarten.

In early summer, they got a call from the Roc Solid Foundation about putting ramps in their home to help Aubree move around.

Eric Newman, Chief Play Officer for the foundation, visited soon after. He was talking with Ryan Evans when he heard a thump. It was Aubree dragging herself down the stairs. He knew this project would have to be even bigger than usual.

On Wednesday, a Roc Solid crew showed up at their Chesapeake home, and the family was sent to Williamsburg. The kids had their first waterslide experience, and the family relaxed and spent time getting to know one another.

“For the last two years, it was like walking through a tunnel. We just kept moving,” Ryan Evans said. “Now it feels like there’s a light, and we’re marching toward it.”

While they were gone, the foundation and other volunteers went to work. They built an in-ground therapy pool, a wheelchair-accessible playground and ramps.

The playground is where Aubree can learn her limits and build strength. In the pool, Halen will be forced to make eye contact and resolve sensory problems.

On Saturday, the Evanses were ushered inside their renovated home to see the changes. Ryan Evans’ eyes were wide as he told them it was too much. His wife held a tissue to her face. Her shoulders bobbed as she cried.

Halen ran to the kitchen and looked out the window.

“There’s a playground! There’s a playground!” he yelled.

As the adults hugged and Ryan Evans thanked everyone, Aubree furrowed her brow and wheeled herself up a ramp. She rolled her chair to where her brother was standing. Her eyes took in the pool and playground. A slow smile crept across her face.

Mary Beth Cleavelin, 757-222-5131, marybeth.cleavelin@pilotonline.com