Help Bring Alex Home!

Please help bring Alex back home where he belongs! My nephew, as many of you know, has Asperger's, severe asthma requiring frequent treatments & an autoimmune deficiency among other serious medical issues. He misses alot of school due to these chronic illnesses.  My sister, Brandy, has been the one keeping up with his many specialists with the help of our mom.  Alex has lived in the loving, safe home of my sister, mom & dad his entire life with the exception of the short time Brandy & his father were living in Oklahoma.  Brandy had a "504" plan in place at the school that was supposed to protect Alex from being punished for excessive absenteeism.  The school has not been following through with this & the Principal has chosen not to excuse many of Alex's absences. There is so much more to the backstory here.  The issue currently at hand is, Alex was removed from Brandy's custody & placed in the "care" of his father in Texas.  Alex was ripped from our loving, safe & attentive family with little more than a few hours notice.  We feel like we are in a nightmare.  The Judge unfairly refused to hear or look at any evidence Brandy had in her favor.  We have records dating back to Alex's birth year proving her case.  The Judge signed off on an emergency custody petition brought forth by Alex's "father", who has had very little interest in his life up until now (recently remarried), before ever hearing evidence presented from all sides.  Alex has a therapy dog named Taz.  He loves Taz...he is his heart & soul.  Alex himself made the decision to leave Taz here with Brandy because he was afraid his father would not take care of Taz properly. All of this is being layed at this young man's feet a week before his 12th birthday.  He just got the courage up to ask out his little crush.  She said yes & he was so excited to come home & tell everyone.  He just reconnected with his best friend from elementary school & was excited to invite him to his upcoming birthday party.  All of this has been ripped away from him.  He has come such a long way with his Asperger's therapy & we feel this is going to do irreparable harm to his psychological well being.  The next hearing is set for March 7th.  We are now faced with the task of securing a GREAT & KNOWLEDGEABLE lawyer to fight tooth & nail for Alex.  We, as a family, are doing everything we can to come up with the legal fees.  Brandy has been a single mom raising Alex without much assistance from her ex-husband.  She has very little resources & we feel a court appointed attorney will not fight as hard for her or Alex.  We need all the help we can get.  Any contribution, no matter the amount, will be so greatly appreciated.  Please help us bring Alex home where he belongs.  Any leftover donated funds not used for legal fees will be graciously donated to the Autism Foundation in Alex's name.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping!!