BROCKTON – An 11-year-old Brockton boy battling cancer was able to remodel his dream room thanks to a Boston nonprofit organization.
The Room to Dream Foundation transformed a regular apartment room into a “Stranger Things”-themed hideaway for Spacy Romain and her brother Emmanuel Romain.
The nonprofit organization designs and remodels the bedrooms of children with chronic illnesses to promote their health and well-being during their recovery.
“They were both speechless when the room was finished,” said their mother Deslourdes Reus.
Spacy battled cancer but is now in remission and she couldn’t be happier about it. Spacy’s cancer journey began in 2019 and four years later, she can finally say, “I am cancer free.”
“My cancer journey was hard, especially when my hair fell out because of chemo. I was really sad. But now that chemo is over, it’s growing back,” said 11-year-old Spacy.
Reus said she could sleep well at night knowing that her child was no longer sick and could lead a normal life again.
“I am grateful to Dana-Farber and this organization for helping us set up a beautiful space for the children to play,” said Deslourdes, who asked that her children’s faces not be photographed to protect their privacy.
The first night the siblings slept in their rooms, they stayed up, watched movies, lay in bed and enjoyed their newfound comfort.
“The bed felt so soft,” Spacy said.
The foundation took three days to renovate the entire space of the two-bedroom apartment in Brockton.
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The team added brightly painted walls with fun designs, two office areas in the closet, and a 12-bulb ceiling light to brighten the space.
“The biggest part of this project is executing the mural I designed. I wanted it to be fun and playful, so I used circles of different sizes and colors to add visual interest to the space,” said Caitlin Kazunas. “In addition to the larger furniture, I also thought about smaller details that tie the space together, like a beaded curtain for the desk corner, funky pillows, a lava lamp, and custom neon signs with their names.”
