Last July, 3-year-old Colton Cook of Pekin, Illinois fell and hurt his back.

Nothing too unusual for this active tot, who’d spent his summer swimming, playing t-ball and soccer, say parents Dustin and SamiJo.

But as the days passed and their son kept asking them to rub where it hurt, they wondered what might be wrong.

SamiJo took Colton to the doctor. A pathologist looking at the boy’s blood tests acted on a hunch, leading to more tests that revealed Colton was fighting leukemia.

“We were on the road within 12 hours, heading for St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis,” says Julie Cook, Colton’s grandmother. “He started an aggressive course of chemotherapy right away.”

Back home, another challenge waited

After 6 weeks, doctors said Colton could return home to rest between rounds of treatment. But they made clear his living environment would need to be scrupulously clean and free of dust.

Dustin and SamiJo had just started an addition to make room for their growing family. “The house and yard were pretty torn up,” Julie says. “They had no kitchen, no garage, no patio.”

And, with construction dust everywhere, they also had no way to bring Colton home.

Family and friends got busy. Dustin’s buddy Jimmy Poole organized other friends with homebuilding skills. The team reached out to Prairie Material and other local businesses for the supplies needed to finish the work ahead of schedule.

A village gathers to get it done

Gifts flowed in – from concrete needed for the garage, steps and patio to plumbing, cabinets and fixtures for the kitchen. Crew members donated time and talents, kept going by neighbors who dropped by to cook meals and cheer them on.

While Colton faced the hardest work of all in Memphis, the crew finished up in Pekin. The fully renovated home was soon ready for Colton, his parents and baby sister Brylee to return.

The family has expressed heartfelt thanks to the entire community, including Prairie, Hoerr Construction and Mathis-Kelley Construction Supply Company, for the generosity that made Colton’s homecoming possible.

“We were honored to help,” says Denny Oedewaldt, general manager for Prairie in Central Illinois and Indiana. “Our hearts go with Colton as he returns to St. Jude’s for treatment later this month.”

All of us at Prairie Material wish you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season. Thank you for your business and your partnership all year long.

For updates on the Cook family, visit Team Colton on Facebook.​