Woman with Terminal Cancer Leaves Town for Treatment, Returns to Dream Home Surprise
For the Larimer family, hometown pride means a lot of hometown love, too.
The Larimers live in Thompson, North Dakota, and their community easily takes top marks as one of the best for their most generous act of kindness.
Kerri-Lynn Larimer, wife to Dean and mother to boys Trey and Malek, has been battling melanoma for nearly a year, according to WDAZ.
Recently, she went to the Mayo Clinic to undergo treatment for her cancer.
This was when the community rallied to give her a surprise that rivals all others.
Thompson residents knew that now was the time to give back to the family that has given so much to the town.
“Let’s make it a great place to come home to, bright and peaceful,” said Gina Roller, Kerri-Lynn’s best friend told WDAZ.
Roller sent a text to about 20 people asking to help replace the floor in the Larimers’ home while she was away.
Kerri-Lynn always wanted to replace her flooring, but it became increasingly difficult with her cancer treatments.
The response to Roller’s text was astounding, to say the least, as it was passed around the town of 1,000 residents.
“People just kept coming, and coming and coming,” Roller told WDAZ. “People who weren’t involved in the group text heard from other people and they would come.”
As many as 75 residents worked on the home of the Larimers, helping until the wee hours of the morning for a week to get the house ready for Kerri-Lynn’s return.
The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team also pitched in to help. Trey plays on the team and they wanted to support him as well as his family in creating their dream home.
The community replaced more than just the floors in the Larimers’ home. The bathroom was remodeled, walls were painted fresh, new trim was installed, light fixtures were updated, a new furnace was added, the yard was cleaned up, and more outlets were added.
“If this was a project I was doing, it would take a couple of years, and I would have to hire someone to do it because I just can’t fix anything,” Dean told WDAZ.
The cost of the project would have neared $9,000, but the labor and all materials were donated by the community.
“I would call it our dream home for my wife and I,” Dean told WDAZ. “It’s what she wanted.”
“I think it’s helped a lot knowing this is a place she will spend the rest of her life and that she will be here and be in peace and she got to see and have the house she always wanted,” Dean added.
Kerri-Lynn now has her dream home and a little less worry as she undergoes treatment for her cancer – all because of the love of her community.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help with the expense of medical treatment and visiting the Mayo Clinic.
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