All-in for Alaina
Donation protected
Nobody ever expects something like this to happen to their precious newborn baby girl… We don’t wake up every morning prepared to face the absolute worst tragedy anyone could ever experience. This isn’t fair! This isn’t okay! This isn’t happening! This isn’t real! This would never happen to my brother, he’s already suffered enough. I just want this to be over! I want to wake up from this nightmare but it’s all too real to bear.
My perfect niece, Alaina, is the beautiful daughter of my amazing brother Derrek. On Sunday, August 21, 2016 Alaina was rushed to the Children’s hospital in a scary Flight for Life helicopter due to a traumatic brain injury. She was immediately rushed into surgery in order to save her life from the brain damaging pressure that had been building up on the right side of her skull. All of this seemed be too much for a 3-month-old baby who was born 5 weeks premature, but she has stayed strong for us the past week. She is steadily progressing. Day in and day out Derrek is by her side. He has been living at the hospital, filling up Alaina’s room with unconditional fatherly Love. I truly believe the constant flow of loving energy Derrek has been pouring into Alaina’s heart is responsible for her progress. The doctors didn’t think she would last more than a few days. He stands next to her most of the day praying for her, talking to her, singing to her and showering her with the Love that she has been deprived of since birth.
Deprived of? Why was this perfect baby girl deprived of anything, let alone the Love she deserved? Well, Derrek breaks his back each and every day to support his beautiful family. Family is extremely important to my brother. Being a great father is his number one priority, so waking up at 5:30am every morning to work between 10-14 hours comes easy to this aspiring carpenter. If you’ve ever had an honest days work, you understand how much the hot Sun beats you down after 10+ hours of intense physical labor. Clearly, anyone would come home tired, ready to eat and relax for the rest of the night, but Derrek doesn’t want to do that… There is always an excited 3-year-old waiting to greet him with playful arms. Noah, the big man I like to call nephew, is ready to jump on Daddy’s back and tame the beast with paint on his paws. Recently, things seemed to be going perfectly at the apartment. Derrek was always ready to start caring for Alaina after him and Noah were done with ninja training. Each night, she would begin to settle down once the comfort of her Daddy’s protective arms cradled her to sleep after dinner. Sadly, the reason she was always so worked up was because of something unbearable to come to terms with. Something no one was prepared to find out. As more information emerges about what happened that Sunday evening, it is evident that there was an extremely serious case of on-going child abuse in the home while the kids were home alone with mom. Maybe she felt too overwhelmed because of postpartum depression and anxiety. Maybe it was because of something else, we don’t know for sure. Regardless of why, this is NEVER okay! NEVER!!! How could anyone do this to such an innocent, perfect little lady? Why is Alaina suffering? Why does my brother have to go through this? Why couldn’t I protect her? I’m my brother’s protector, which means I’m her protector. I’m Noah’s protector. I know this was out of my control, but why wasn’t I able to protect my niece? Why wasn’t I able to protect my brother from such a tragedy? It seems to me that it was because of a broken system. A system that has allowed abusive parents to get away with crimes like this for far too long. I will not let this type of behavior continue to ruin or take the lives of innocent children. I will not live in a society where we allow people who abuse children to walk among us unscathed. There are child abusers and neglectors who receive a mere slap on the wrist, while those with petty possession charges are serving prison sentences solely based on flawed criminal justive system. This is not acceptable.
We need to come together in this time of turmoil to support those who have suffered or may suffer the loss of a child due to abuse or neglect. There hasn’t been too much information shared with us about what exactly happened to Alaina on the 21st. However, the doctors have been very honest with us. An eye doc came in a few days ago to check for any blood splatter on the back of Alaina’s eyes. Sure enough, there was and still is. Doc said the only way this could have happened is from multiple, very hard strikes to Alaina’s tender little head. The doctors also found three ribs with healing fractures, indicating potential abuse from a few weeks prior to the incident. Naturally, the doctors were a bit standoffish at first because the story mom gave them wasn’t lining up with the injuries present. No one knew what to think. The emotional rollercoaster my brother has been put through the past week is excruciating to be apart of. The detectives immediately started working on interviews to get to the bottom of Alaina’s injuries. They interviewed me. They interviewed our close friends. They interviewed Derrek’s neighbors. They interviewed Noah. They interviewed Derrek. They interviewed Alaina and Noah’s momma. Tragically but thankfully she admitted to intentionally hurting Alaina that Sunday evening. In the two hour long videotaped interview, mom also admitted to other instances of abuse. It is becoming apparent that Alaina may have only received pain and torture during her first three months of premature life here on Earth. No one can imagine how it must feel to be helplessly in pain all day, patiently waiting for the comforting presence of Daddy to enter the home. It’s unthinkable. As new information constantly emerges, it is evident Noah has also been receiving abuse from his momma. Just last week his aunty asked him his name. He replied, “idiot.” This absolutely breaks my heart. That’s my nephew, my brother’s first-born son. How could anyone do this to her two innocent little ones? This cannot be our reality! I’m still waiting to wake up, but this nightmare isn’t a dream.
Derrek has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. He has sacrificed so much to make sure his children grow up in a healthy environment. He works too damn hard to be going through this. Right now, he needs to spend as much time as he possibly can with Alaina. He needs to devote all of his time, energy and Love into her priceless soul. He needs her. We need her. She needs her Dad. She needs us. Daddy’s tender kisses all throughout the day and night keep her pushing to come back to us. His soft voice encourages her to wake up so that we can look into those beautiful brown eyes. We want to feel her soft hands squeeze our fingers again. Derrek can’t lose his daughter. I can’t let my brother lose his baby girl. Please join me in constant prayer to bring Alaina back to full health. I’m gonna give this my all. I will do whatever it takes to spread the word so my brother receives the support necessary to stay strong for Alaina and Noah. They both need 100% of his attention. Derrek shouldn’t feel stressed about how to make ends meet while fighting for his daughter’s recovery. My brother’s family needs all of us to do whatever we can to shed positive light during this dark time. Once Alaina pulls through, she will need some very specialized attention. Derrek has lost thousands of dollars in wages from being unable to work, but A-Shed USA has been very supportive in light of the terrible news. His job is waiting for him once Alaina has made a full recovery. Noah has lost valuable time which should have been spent with a playful, encouraging father. We will never be able reverse what has happened, but we can come together to make things easier while Alaina recovers.
Pray. Meditate. Go to a river and ask for its cleansing power to keep Alaina’s soul pure. Go to the top of a high mountain and shout out Love for my brother’s family and others experiencing such misfortune. Please pray for my niece, my nephew, my brother and everyone experiencing the debilitating aftermath of child abuse. Lets all go all-in for Alaina. Lets all go all-in to end child abuse.
Below are some images of Alaina and the family, some of which may be disturbing to look at.
My perfect niece, Alaina, is the beautiful daughter of my amazing brother Derrek. On Sunday, August 21, 2016 Alaina was rushed to the Children’s hospital in a scary Flight for Life helicopter due to a traumatic brain injury. She was immediately rushed into surgery in order to save her life from the brain damaging pressure that had been building up on the right side of her skull. All of this seemed be too much for a 3-month-old baby who was born 5 weeks premature, but she has stayed strong for us the past week. She is steadily progressing. Day in and day out Derrek is by her side. He has been living at the hospital, filling up Alaina’s room with unconditional fatherly Love. I truly believe the constant flow of loving energy Derrek has been pouring into Alaina’s heart is responsible for her progress. The doctors didn’t think she would last more than a few days. He stands next to her most of the day praying for her, talking to her, singing to her and showering her with the Love that she has been deprived of since birth.
Deprived of? Why was this perfect baby girl deprived of anything, let alone the Love she deserved? Well, Derrek breaks his back each and every day to support his beautiful family. Family is extremely important to my brother. Being a great father is his number one priority, so waking up at 5:30am every morning to work between 10-14 hours comes easy to this aspiring carpenter. If you’ve ever had an honest days work, you understand how much the hot Sun beats you down after 10+ hours of intense physical labor. Clearly, anyone would come home tired, ready to eat and relax for the rest of the night, but Derrek doesn’t want to do that… There is always an excited 3-year-old waiting to greet him with playful arms. Noah, the big man I like to call nephew, is ready to jump on Daddy’s back and tame the beast with paint on his paws. Recently, things seemed to be going perfectly at the apartment. Derrek was always ready to start caring for Alaina after him and Noah were done with ninja training. Each night, she would begin to settle down once the comfort of her Daddy’s protective arms cradled her to sleep after dinner. Sadly, the reason she was always so worked up was because of something unbearable to come to terms with. Something no one was prepared to find out. As more information emerges about what happened that Sunday evening, it is evident that there was an extremely serious case of on-going child abuse in the home while the kids were home alone with mom. Maybe she felt too overwhelmed because of postpartum depression and anxiety. Maybe it was because of something else, we don’t know for sure. Regardless of why, this is NEVER okay! NEVER!!! How could anyone do this to such an innocent, perfect little lady? Why is Alaina suffering? Why does my brother have to go through this? Why couldn’t I protect her? I’m my brother’s protector, which means I’m her protector. I’m Noah’s protector. I know this was out of my control, but why wasn’t I able to protect my niece? Why wasn’t I able to protect my brother from such a tragedy? It seems to me that it was because of a broken system. A system that has allowed abusive parents to get away with crimes like this for far too long. I will not let this type of behavior continue to ruin or take the lives of innocent children. I will not live in a society where we allow people who abuse children to walk among us unscathed. There are child abusers and neglectors who receive a mere slap on the wrist, while those with petty possession charges are serving prison sentences solely based on flawed criminal justive system. This is not acceptable.
We need to come together in this time of turmoil to support those who have suffered or may suffer the loss of a child due to abuse or neglect. There hasn’t been too much information shared with us about what exactly happened to Alaina on the 21st. However, the doctors have been very honest with us. An eye doc came in a few days ago to check for any blood splatter on the back of Alaina’s eyes. Sure enough, there was and still is. Doc said the only way this could have happened is from multiple, very hard strikes to Alaina’s tender little head. The doctors also found three ribs with healing fractures, indicating potential abuse from a few weeks prior to the incident. Naturally, the doctors were a bit standoffish at first because the story mom gave them wasn’t lining up with the injuries present. No one knew what to think. The emotional rollercoaster my brother has been put through the past week is excruciating to be apart of. The detectives immediately started working on interviews to get to the bottom of Alaina’s injuries. They interviewed me. They interviewed our close friends. They interviewed Derrek’s neighbors. They interviewed Noah. They interviewed Derrek. They interviewed Alaina and Noah’s momma. Tragically but thankfully she admitted to intentionally hurting Alaina that Sunday evening. In the two hour long videotaped interview, mom also admitted to other instances of abuse. It is becoming apparent that Alaina may have only received pain and torture during her first three months of premature life here on Earth. No one can imagine how it must feel to be helplessly in pain all day, patiently waiting for the comforting presence of Daddy to enter the home. It’s unthinkable. As new information constantly emerges, it is evident Noah has also been receiving abuse from his momma. Just last week his aunty asked him his name. He replied, “idiot.” This absolutely breaks my heart. That’s my nephew, my brother’s first-born son. How could anyone do this to her two innocent little ones? This cannot be our reality! I’m still waiting to wake up, but this nightmare isn’t a dream.
Derrek has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. He has sacrificed so much to make sure his children grow up in a healthy environment. He works too damn hard to be going through this. Right now, he needs to spend as much time as he possibly can with Alaina. He needs to devote all of his time, energy and Love into her priceless soul. He needs her. We need her. She needs her Dad. She needs us. Daddy’s tender kisses all throughout the day and night keep her pushing to come back to us. His soft voice encourages her to wake up so that we can look into those beautiful brown eyes. We want to feel her soft hands squeeze our fingers again. Derrek can’t lose his daughter. I can’t let my brother lose his baby girl. Please join me in constant prayer to bring Alaina back to full health. I’m gonna give this my all. I will do whatever it takes to spread the word so my brother receives the support necessary to stay strong for Alaina and Noah. They both need 100% of his attention. Derrek shouldn’t feel stressed about how to make ends meet while fighting for his daughter’s recovery. My brother’s family needs all of us to do whatever we can to shed positive light during this dark time. Once Alaina pulls through, she will need some very specialized attention. Derrek has lost thousands of dollars in wages from being unable to work, but A-Shed USA has been very supportive in light of the terrible news. His job is waiting for him once Alaina has made a full recovery. Noah has lost valuable time which should have been spent with a playful, encouraging father. We will never be able reverse what has happened, but we can come together to make things easier while Alaina recovers.
Pray. Meditate. Go to a river and ask for its cleansing power to keep Alaina’s soul pure. Go to the top of a high mountain and shout out Love for my brother’s family and others experiencing such misfortune. Please pray for my niece, my nephew, my brother and everyone experiencing the debilitating aftermath of child abuse. Lets all go all-in for Alaina. Lets all go all-in to end child abuse.
Below are some images of Alaina and the family, some of which may be disturbing to look at.
Organizer
Steven Bryant
Organizer
Westminster, CO
