You go away for 9 weeks and the neighbours remodel your home (Picture: SWNS)

Nine weeks ago, the Cassidy family packed up and travelled out to America so their three-year-old little girl Emily could receive life-saving cancer treatment, after a tumour was found behind her eye.

They left behind a family home in Stechford, Birmingham, that had seen better days. The house had damaged walls, while the roof and windows needed repair and refurbishment, all of which had let in damp and mould.

Yesterday, the family returned home after Emily had responded well to treatment – to find the neighbours had renovated their entire home.

Lucy was shocked at the transformation (Picture: SWNS)

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The damaged walls and extension has been rebuilt, they have a new roof, the windows have been replaced and they have a brand new kitchen and bathroom, as well as a newly landscaped garden.




‘It’s amazing, I can’t believe it’s mine,’ said Lucy, 27, who’s married to Phil and mum to Chelsea, eight, and Chloe, six, as well as Emily.

‘As I walked in I felt like my heart was going to burst, it’s gorgeous, like a showhome.’

The work included: New roof and windows

Upstairs internal walls knocked down and rebuilt

Extension knocked down and rebuilt

New kitchen and bathroom

New electrics and plumbing

New flooring and carpet

Bright, fresh new bedrooms

Landscaped front and back gardens

New furnishings

The DIY SOS style makeover had been carried out by a group of volunteers, marshalled by Georgie Moseley. Georgie runs the charity Help Harry Help Others in the name of her son, who sadly died aged just 11 in 2012. Before he passed away after a four-year battle with brain cancer, Harry raised over £500,000 for Cancer Research UK.

The kitchen and bathroom, like the rest of the house, were in massive need of some TLC (Picture: SWNS)

Now, his mum carries on his work and runs a drop-in centre to help families battling cancer. That’s where she met Lucy and Emily. After visiting them at home, she decided she wanted to do something to help.

What a difference 9 weeks makes (Picture: SWNS)

I promised Lucy that we would make their home safe and practical,’ Georgie recalls. ‘So I set up ‘Georgie’s Respite Renovations’ because I just couldn’t leave the family like that.

‘Your home should be your respite, especially when you’re in and out of hospital.’

Lucy agreed the renovation will make a massive difference.

‘Before it was horrible bringing Emily home to the house the way it was,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t dirty but because of the state of it, she kept getting infections and that kept delaying treatment for us in hospital.

‘This is going to make a huge difference to our lives. It’s now somewhere Emily can come home and relax after her chemo and we can have friends round without feeling embarrassed.’

Emily’s room (Picture: SWNS)

Chloe’s room (Picture: SWNS)

And she made a heartfelt thank you to Georgie, all the volunteers and the 40 local businesses who have given them all a sanctuary to come home to during a very difficult time.

Brave Emily Cassidy, three, had an operation remove an aggressive cancerous tumour behind her eye in March but doctors discovered soon after the disease had spread (Picture: SWNS)

‘The kids love it, they’re running round the garden. It’s somewhere they can feel proud of, they’ve never had that before,’ she explained.

‘I can’t wait for our first Christmas in our new house. We are eternally grateful to Georgie and the team.’

You can read more about Harry Moseley’s story and the work of Help Harry Help Others here.

MORE: Cancer sufferer Harry Moseley, 11, laid to rest in Birmingham

MORE: Harry Moseley, 11, loses brain tumour fight after raising more than £500,000

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