Family in need of help!

Hi, my name is Shelly Bergeron and I’m fundraising for my son Derek Browder as he is in financial need to retain an attorney to gain custody of his daughter Braelyn.

Derek was involved in a catastrophic motorcycle accident in 2012, in which he sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, a broken back, many other broken bones scrapes and etc. He is truly a walking miracle, as he has surpassed all the doctor’s expected limitations. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t struggle but Derek refused to be disabled and from the time he left rehabilitation and having to relearn everything from how to eat, walk, talk and everything in between. He lost his job, his apartment his stability and had to live with me, but he was determined to not let his disability stop him from working and trying to attain the things he wanted in his life, as in having a wife, kids and a job.

Derek went back to work and never went on disability as he said he could work although he wasn’t able to go back to the career he had worked up to, he had to do things he was able to do. It hasn’t been easy and he has struggled but his determination to not let his disability define him, has been inspiring. He has struggled keeping work and finding work that fits his needs.

Derek was blessed with his beautiful daughter Braelyn in 2019, unfortunately Braelyn’s mother has been dealing with some issues that have made her an unfit parent, (she has lost custody of her two other children) and Derek had to take her and raise her with my husband and my help. He spent over $7,300 on an attorney trying to keep her safe and get a court order to become her primary custodial parent. Unfortunately, Covid hit and he had to let his attorney go as he lost his job, and the court orders didn’t make it to the final orders and somehow per the courts words on Jan 18, 2024 unintentionally have fallen through the cracks, as finally the court sent him notice of a final hearing date set for April, with a pre-trial conference and mediation before hand.

Prior to this Derek has filed several orders seeking an emergency motion due to Braelyn’s safety, with each attempt being denied as he wasn’t submitting the proper documents. The last attempt he submitted for a review of his original case from 2019, which is how the court finally realized they had made a mistake. Unfortunately Derek has been struggling over the last couple of years financially and has not been able to hire an attorney to assist him, and with his brain injury he doesn’t always understand exactly what the court needs, and or how to proceed. We have tried to help but we moved from Colorado to Florida two years ago and I’ve been struggling with health issues myself.

Derek is now married to my wonderful daughter-in-law Emily since July of 2021, and they have been blessed with another daughter Alina who is a year and half old and they are expecting in August. I am so proud of the husband, father and man Derek has become. He does everything he can to support his family both financially and emotionally. Unfortunately, Emily was diagnosed with a rare genetic gene disorder about two years ago and hasn’t been able to work as she was because of being sick, this has been financially straining on them. Derek is working full time and also a second job trying to make extra money but hasn’t been able to make enough to hire an attorney.

With Derek finally being granted the court order hearing to gain permanent orders for Braelyn he is in need of an attorney to guide him through the process and hopefully get custody of her. As Braelyn’s mental health and safety depends on this. They are hoping to gain full custody and also relocate to Florida where they can have some family support, so any extra funds will be used for that.

Anything you can contribute to help him would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Shelly Bergeron