Help Support 11-year-old Brenden

Hi, my name is Fawn and I have the privilege of being Brenden Bourgord’s step mom. Brenden is an 11-year-old boy who goes to school at Riverview Elementary in South Beloit, IL. On Thursday, May 25th he was getting off the school bus at his grandma’s house and was struck by an SUV. Brenden was thrown 20-30 feet and landed in a ditch. His best friend Mario saw the accident and ran to get his Grandma for help. Brenden was taken to Janesville Hospital. After an initial examination and CT scan, Brenden was then flown to Madison Children’s Hospital. Upon arrival in Madison, Brenden was rushed into emergency surgery to repair his ruptured diaphragm and lacerated spleen. Brenden also had a broken femur from the accident. His spleen was beyond repair and needed to be removed. The doctor was able to repair his diaphragm. Brenden underwent a second surgery on May 26th to repair his femur, where three screws and rods were placed to hold his femur together and he grows. The healing time for his femur is 3-6 months and 1 year before he can do sports again. Brenden remains on oxygen, lots of antibiotics, and numerous pain medications at this time. Brenden will need to stay in Madison for 2 weeks before being able to return home. Brenden’s mom, Ashley and step-dad, Tyler live in Beloit, and Brenden’s dad, James and myself live in Ringle. Today we found out from the police department that no charges will be filed again the person who hit Brenden, because it took place in Illinois. Since the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it all becomes a civil suit that needs to be initiated by the family. This means that on top of driving to and from Madison, cost of hotels, cost of food, lost wages, etc, that we will also need to hire a lawyer for Brenden. We (parents, step-parents, grand parents, step-grand parents, aunts, friends, etc) are asking for any help possible with gas money, hotel stays, etc etc while Brenden is in Madison. Also anything towards a retainer on a lawyer is much appreciated.

Any amount helps and we appreciate everything and everyone who has reached out over the last couple of days.

Update: Brenden’s doctors are worried he may have a TBI and he is being monitored closely. He now has a lot of bruising on his head that is showing up. He has diminished bowel sounds and movement on his left side, but his nurses are hopeful it will improve with time.