Brave 3-year-old cancer survivor and family gets surprise home makeover

FOX 2 (WJBK) - The holidays are often a time we remember what we’re most grateful for, and this Thanksgiving is an extra special one for the Fowler family.

Brett and Tammy Fowler are overjoyed to be reunited with their son Beckett - one of the bravest 3-year-olds you’ll ever meet.

"In shock," said Tammy Fowler.

"Overwhelmed," said Brett Fowler.

"Just happy to be home," Tammy added.

For the better part of the last six months, Beckett and his mom and dad have been living in Tennessee at St. Jude’s Hospital.

"The journey’s been up and down, a lot of highs and a lot of lows," Brett said. "Missing (the rest of the family), being separated from them, our dog. We’re such a tight-knit family and being pulled apart for so long has just been gut-wrenching and heartbreaking."

Beckett has been battling ATRT brain cancer - a very rare, fast-growing tumor that usually occurs in kids ages three and younger.

"Beckett was diagnosed with ATRT on March 22 about a month after his birthday," said Tammy. "We found out and he got a surgery here, and then ... we went to St. Jude. He did another surgery there where he got a gross total resection, so they got it all out on April 6. So he's technically been cancer-free since then."

At just 3 years old, this little warrior has undergone serious surgery to remove his tumor, 30 rounds of radiation, and five rounds of chemotherapy - all while being separated from his three other siblings.

"He was very motivated to come home," Brett said. "Every day he was asking us, when are we going home, when are we going home."

But Thanksgiving couldn’t come soon enough and the Fowlers' prayers were answered. Together, with their little boy, they are back home and Beckett is cancer-free.

"When we found out there was no evidence of disease ..." Tammy said.

"A weight was lifted," Brett added.

It led to a special homecoming for a very special boy.

After hearing his story the Suite Dreams Project, a local Rochester-based charity, decided to step in.

And with the help of donations and time from others to make Beckett’s return home even sweeter, they started with the bed of his dreams - a monster truck bed.

"We ended up walking through the house and I could just tell it was something that needed a little more than just a child’s room worked on," said Sheri Daugherty of the Suite Dreams Project. "They had some water damage previously while they were out of town, and the house was just in need of some help."

And the giving didn’t stop there.

"It started with Sheri saying we’re like to do Beckett’s Room, then she texted us about a month later and said we’d like to do the kids' room," said Tammy.

The Suite Dreams Project, along with the generosity of the community, gave the Fowler home an entire makeover.

"It’s like the shows on TV," Brett said. "It’s incredible."

"The Suite Dreams Project has been around for 23 years," Sheri said. "We have been redoing sick children's bedrooms for 23 years and every single project is just a labor of love."

For more information: suitedreamsproject.org