MAIN-A-DIEU, N.S. -- A few months ago, an entire community came together to build a much-needed new home for a Cape Breton senior.
Now, Barbara Lahey is in her new digs -- just in time for Christmas.
Lahey had been living at her old home since 1976, but it had seen better days.
"I was a bit sad this morning because they started tearing the old place down," Lahey said.
The mobile home is where Lahey lived with her husband -- who has since passed away --- and where she raised her children.
But her friends and community knew she wouldn't make it through the winter if she stayed there.
So, they came together and built her a new home.
"What a Christmas gift this is," Lahey said. "I just wish my daughter down in the States was able to come and see it."
From heat pumps to the floors, everything is brand new.
Joe Forgeron was one of the organizers and volunteers. He calls the project a labour of love.
"It's a great Christmas," Forgeron said. "Everybody came together … and it's heart-warming. It's a nice gift."
When crews broke ground a couple of months ago, the goal was to have Lahey in her new home by Christmas and before the cold winter months.
"We had a couple of cold nights here the last three or four days and her water froze in the trailer, so now she doesn't have to worry about that," Forgeron said. "She's warm and comfortable and no worries."
When word spread through the small fishing community of Main-a-Dieu, N.S., that Lahey needed help, people came together quickly to deliver, despite this being a time when many people have been forced apart.
And Lahey says she can't say "thank you" enough.
"It's hard to believe that people would do this, but I have some good friends and a great community," said Lahey. "Now you're going to make me cry."
Happy tears, thanks to a Christmas that came early.
