On Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, at 10 a.m., Brett plunged into the water at the Snohomish Aquatic Center — his home for the next 24 hours. As fit as he was, he did not fully understand the physical toll the activity would take on his body, but he realized the mental impact would probably be greater. “It messes with your head to remain in motion,” he says.Throughout the event, the Bergerons were never alone. A few hundred friends, neighbors and family members came by to cheer from the sidelines. Kristen said she felt like she was the hostess of the pool deck. Their children handled social media updates. In a large show of solidarity, Brett’s colleagues from the fire department also jumped in the water and accompanied him for different periods, dunking one another and horsing around. One of the Bergerons’ neighbors, whom they did not know well, stood out in their minds. He stopped by on Sunday to see how they were, then came back the next morning to check on them again.During that 24 hours, Brett was out of the pool less than 20 minutes for bathroom breaks. He recalls feeling uncomfortable standing on solid ground. To stay fueled up, he drank a high-carbohydrate drink — and ate a cheeseburger 12 hours in to celebrate. After the aquatic complex closed for the night, they cranked up music from the 1980s.As the hours ticked down and the end came in sight, Brett’s endorphins went into hyperdrive until he emerged from the pool at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, to cheers and applause — and with a pair of very wrinkled hands. After sitting down to catch his breath and recuperate, he blacked out but came to soon thereafter. He did not suffer from anything physical, but he did have to endure the teasing of his fellow firefighters, who took pictures of him unconscious and promised never to let him live it down.For Brett, not seeing the event through was never an option. Raising money for research and raising awareness about MS was his way of giving back to the larger MS community. “Treading water for 24 hours is nothing compared to what Kristen goes through every day,” he says. “What I did pales in comparison.”
