Cancer Patient Gets a Refreshed Backyard, Thanks to Deputies and Volunteers

Volunteers cleaned up a cancer patient's backyard.
Volunteers cleaned up a cancer patient's backyard.(Collier County Sheriff's Department/Lt. Nicole Minick)

Cpl. Dean Peck of the Collier Sheriff’s Office said he knew how much she liked spending time in her yard.

A Florida resident battling cancer now has a sunnier spot to relax, thanks to the 15 police officers and other volunteers who took the time to refresh her backyard.

It all started when Cpl. Dean Peck of the Collier Sheriff’s Office paid a visit to a family friend. He wanted to bring her flowers after finding out she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

But he wanted to do more to lift her spirits, so he decided to put it upon himself to clean up her backyard since he knew how much she enjoyed sitting out in the sun.

When Peck mentioned it to his colleagues, several of them volunteered to help and even friends outside the sheriff’s department jumped in to volunteer their time.

On Saturday, they got together to pressure wash her home, lay down 100 bags of mulch and paved her backyard with bricks.

Officers called the new space “a virtual oasis” in a Facebook post recounting the hours long effort.

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