In 2010, a man named Bryan Thouvenel and his friends decided to go to a local karaoke bar in the small town of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. At the time, Bryan, in his 30s, was an aspiring musician and songwriter who struggled to provide for his two daughters. He was surprised that night when he met a girl with whom he would spend the next two years dating.
Their relationship may not have lasted but it did result in Bryan being blessed with yet another daughter, Harmony. Tragically for Bryan, when his relationship with Harmony’s mother ended on a bad note, she took Harmony and moved north unexpectedly to neighboring Washington.
Thouvenel knew after some time that they had retreated to Washington, but was unaware of their exact whereabouts. He frantically searched for his daughter but yielded no results. Eventually, he filed for custody of his daughter to his local courthouse, and in 2015 he was granted custody of little Harmony.
Unfortunately, that didn’t do much to put Harmony back in his arms. Her mother still had possession of her and was making no effort to contact Bryan or obey the court’s orders. Luckily for Bryan, a friend recently phoned him while in Washington. In a miraculous coincidence, the friend had seen Harmony and her mother at a Salvation Army homeless shelter.
SOURCE: Katie Alaimo/AP
Bryan and his mother immediately traveled to Spokane, Washington to reclaim his daughter from the estranged and controlling ex-girlfriend. Thouvenel requested for a court order from the local courthouse and summoned Harmony and her mother to the Spokane courthouse. It was there that a judge rewarded Bryan full custody and he and his daughter were finally reunited after roughly two years.
“I sat there and the next thing you know I’ve got my daughter coming out, walking by herself. She’s kind of looking around, and I said her name once. She kind of looked at me funny and I said ‘Harmony, it’s daddy.’ Her eyes just kind of lit up,” Thouvenel told NY Daily News.
Since revitalizing and rebuilding his relationship with his daughter, Bryan has been motivated by his emotional journey. His experience made it easy for him to join organizations like The Pacific Northwest Father’s Rights Movement in an effort to help other fathers in need.
He also found and joined a Washington-based nonprofit called Time to Put Kids First. The organization granted Bryan and Harmony a trip to Hawaii where they can spend precious time together and build back their relationship after spending two years apart.
“For two years she didn’t have any memories with me so they decided it would be a nice idea to send us over to Hawaii for a retreat,” Thouvenel said in his interview with NY Daily News. “It would be this huge memory that she would actually remember. Regardless of whatever happens in the future, she will always have this one memory with dad.”
What do you think of Brayn and Harmony’s incredible story, parents? How would you fight to get back your precious child?
READ: Father with dwarfism inspires son and others by running marathons
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