A community of strangers and small businesses came together on Sunday to put together a holiday light display for a Lithia teen suffering from a rare form of epilepsy.
Duffey Tree Care helps install Christmas lights during the holiday season, but the business went above and beyond for the Petro family after the initial consultation.
Two weeks ago, Holly Hollenbeck was at the home with Renee Petro to give her an estimate on light installations, when Petro's son had a seizure.
Branden, who suffers from Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome (FIRES), had to be taken back inside during the quote -- cancelling the appointment.
But, Hollenbeck decided to reach out to Petro to donate the display for free.
After two weeks of organizing an event, on Sunday, more than a dozen volunteers came to Petro home to decorate the inside and outside.
"I wasn't expecting all this," said Petro.
Hollenbeck started a fundraiser through crowd sourcing where she raised hundreds of dollars for the family and display. People also donated lights.
With so many donations, Duffey Tree Care had enough to decorate the inside and outside.
After five hours on Sunday, Branden got to see the elegant and bright light display.
"It feels like Christmas," said Petro, "it hasn't felt like Christmas in a long time."
The reaction from Branden was priceless as he started a big applause -- and "Yay!"
The best part, Branden's father will be returning home from deployment in Iraq just before Christmas.
In a Facebook post, the Petro family tried to put a thank you list together to all those who helped make this Christmas special for their family: Duffey Tree Care, Gabriele Jones, Chaberak Family Christmas Trees, Amy Kowalaski, Jeanna Baldi and Leena, Theresa Clinton, Manuel, Woody, Russel Livingston and the GoFundMe "Santa elves.
From the Petro family, a BIG thank you and Happy Holidays."
