Local Generosity Leads To New Home For Cancer Patient

Thursday, April 12th 2007, 9:53 am

By: News On 6

A team of volunteers is building a home for free for an Owasso family whose young son is fighting cancer. Work began early Thursday morning. It would usually take 65 days to build a home like this. News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports instead, it will take only four.

Greg Simmons of Simmons Homes is the builder. He has assembled a team of volunteers and sponsors, all putting their skills and expertise together for something very special.

â€œThey work very hard, and now we're asking people to come in at midnight," said Simmons.

They'll work around the clock until the home is finished, then they'll give it away.

"By Sunday at two o'clock we're going to have milk in the refrigerator ready for somebody to move in," said Simmons.

That somebody is one of Simmons' employees, Kim Bellmyer. Her 8-year-old son, Jordan, has cancer.

"He was diagnosed in September of 2006 with a brain stem glioma. It's a form of brain tumor cancer,â€ said Kim Bellmyer.

Jordan Bellmyer went through six weeks of radiation and is now undergoing chemotherapy. The family is selling their current home to pay medical bills.

So how do you build a home in just four days? Obviously it takes a lot of volunteer manpower, but it turns out the builder has a little experience at this sort of thing. Last year, Simmons Homes was the builder for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project in Dewey, Oklahoma. This year they wanted to do something similar. Jordan Bellymer's family made perfect sense.

"It's very nice to know that there are people out there that will do this kind of work," said Kim Bellmyer.

The home will mean a lot to the family. Kim Bellmyer says she's overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and hard work.

Crews got a slight head start pouring the slab, but everything else will be finished by Sunday. They're moving up the painting to beat the weather. The family won't know exactly what the home will look like until it is unveiled to them on Sunday.

For more information on Simmons Homes, click here.