A Utah mom battling breast, lung and bone cancer is finally home with her family for the holidays.
Kim Power Stilson, who has been using a wheelchair since August, never thought she’d be able to spend Christmas in her two-story house in Orem. Because the structure did not accommodate her wheelchair, the 52-year-old had been staying at a friend’s accessible house with husband, Chad Stilson.
But in December, the mother of three got the surprise of a lifetime when hundreds of neighbors, friends and family surprised her with a renovated home — complete with a bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” Power Stilson, a radio personality in Utah, tells PEOPLE. “I cry, it was so nice of everyone to help me get home to my family, during the season when everyone should be with their families.”
BRYCE DENOVELLIS
Power Stilson was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2015, but even after a mastectomy doctors found the cancer had spread to her lungs and bones.
“I’m weak and haven’t been able to walk for a while,” she explains. “I was just able to get out of hospice for Christmas and come home.”
Adds her husband: “It’s a terminal diagnosis, but we pray every day. We just need a miracle. This new home has given her some hope and restored her faith in humanity.”
BRYCE DENOVELLIS
A month ago, a contractor had the idea to renovate Power Stilson’s home so that she could be home for Christmas. With help from the Heart 2 Home foundation, friends and family worked day and night to remodel the home so the loving mother could be with her children.
“I had no idea there was so much love permeating here,” says Power Stilson. “People I know from grade school have sent checks or cards or something saying ‘Let’s get you home!’”
Read about how the family has been trying to get a sense of “normal” this Christmas at People.