July 7, 2024
Wounded Warriors Family Support (WWFS) was proud to assist Army Sergeant Odin Ayala’s family with their purchase of a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Odin currently drives with his prosthetics without the need of major modifications. The vehicle grant was provided through the Mobility is Freedom program.
Army Sergeant Odin Ayala was on his third deployment when he lost both of his legs in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sept. 14, 2011.
While on a search and seizure mission, he stepped on an IED resulting in the traumatic amputations of both of his legs above the knee, and the index finger on his left hand. Medically evacuated by helicopter, SGT Ayala was treated at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital in Bagram before being transported to Landstuhl, Germany.
SGT Ayala was next airlifted to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas where he awoke four days after the blast and remained for nearly seven weeks before being transferred to Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
Since moving into his home, Odin Ayala and his wife Claudia became parents to two children. The open floor plan and wide doorways make it easy for Odin to maneuver his wheelchair throughout the home with his daughter in his lap. He is also able to help care for his children in the middle of the night.
Odin is currently studying information technology at Cuyamaca College and plans to transfer to San Diego State University. A sports fan and former high school football player, Odin hopes to coach football at the high school level in the future.
Wounded Warriors Family Support is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured, or killed during combat operations. This organization is run by combat veterans for combat veterans. Rated a four-star nonprofit by Charity Navigator, Wounded Warriors Family Support aids veterans and their families in healing the wounds that medicine cannot.
