Cherokee County 3-year-old boy battling cancer gifted treehouse 'mansion'
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - It was a wish come true for a Cherokee County boy battling cancer. Three-year-old Austin Herre wanted a treehouse, but it turned out to be more like a "tree-mansion."
Austin has spent much of his young life in the hospital. He was diagnosed with leukemia a little more than a year ago. When he got a chance to make a wish through Make-A-Wish Georgia, he asked for a treehouse.
"He's always loved being outdoors, has fun playing outside, so we figured this was going to be the perfect wish for him," said his dad, Chad Herre.
Make-A-Wish Georgia partnered with New South Construction to build something special.
"We had a lot of volunteers from our subcontractors, a lot of donations for materials, their time and 25 or so of our employees donated time as well," said Kelly Thomas with New South Construction.
"New South really took an idea and turned it into this magical thing," said Emily Campbell of Make-A-Wish Georgia.
It took a couple of months to build. Friday he finally got to see it. There was a special ribbon cutting and, since Austin is an honorary Cherokee County Firefighter, many from his firefighter family came to be part of the celebration. A couple of his nurses from Children's Hospital were there as well.
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The 850-square-foot structure has three levels. It is fully furnished and decorated with all the things Austin loves, from dinosaurs to firefighter gear.
"They really paid attention to what Austin likes, they really made it for him," said Chad.
It has a comfy loft and an escape hatch to the bottom deck. Outside there's a bridge to an outdoor play area.
It's a place he can enjoy now and for years to come.
"This treehouse is going to be here to remind him that he went through a really tough time but made it through it. They made it something he can use forever. They made it special for him. It's very Austin," said Chelsea Herre, Austin's mom.