Volunteers surprise 9-year-old boy with brain tumor with new playhouse
— -- A 9-year-old boy whose right side of his body was left nearly paralyzed after surgery for a brain tumor was surprised with a new, custom-made playhouse in his backyard.
Blake Danforth, of Prairie Village, Kansas, saw the playhouse, which also includes a fire pit, for the first time after arriving home from school on Thursday.
“He could not believe it,” Blake’s mom, Mandy Danforth, told ABC News. “It took us everything we had to get him out of it last night. He wanted to sleep in it.”
It was Danforth’s idea to build a playhouse for Blake, who wanted something to play in outside. Danforth asked her father, Sandy Blake, for help building a “Little Rascals”-type clubhouse using scraps of wood.
When Sandy Blake, a devoted Home Depot shopper, approached the manager at his local store for help designing his grandson's playhouse, he was met with more help than he expected.
“We jumped right in,” said Kevin Trembly, the manager of the Home Depot in Olathe, Kansas, who first spoke to Sandy Blake and told him Home Depot would take care of everything.
Trembly led a team of nearly 25 volunteers from Team Depot, described on its website as a "385,000-strong army of associate volunteers." Team Depot volunteers, with help from vendors and local charities, spent the week constructing a dream playhouse for Blake complete with a fire pit, bean bag, sleeping bag and art desk stocked with supplies.
“It was an awesome thing to see his eyes light up,” Trembly said of Thursday’s surprise. “He’s got some real struggles but it was fun to see him just overwhelmed with joy to see he had a playhouse.”
Blake was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 2. Surgery to remove the tumor left Blake's right side nearly paralyzed and his right leg in a brace. Due to the tumor’s location in Blake's brain, doctors could not remove all of it, so he also had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
Blake still undergoes annual MRIs to track his tumor’s growth, according to Danforth. He also requires continuing physical and occupational therapy to rebuild strength on the right side of his body.
“We were told he was not going to make it twice, so it’s kind of a miracle that he’s alive and doing so well,” Danforth said. “Yeah he’s got disabilities, but the kid is such a fighter.”
Blake’s new playhouse, which was dubbed “Fort Blake,” includes features like stairs and a step ladder that will be therapeutic in helping him rebuild strength.
The playhouse also includes features that make it easier for Blake to play outside like other kids.
“He wants to be like all the other kids but sometimes he has to have things that are a little easier for him to manage,” Danforth said. “Everything in this playhouse is built for him.”
