MCKINNEY, Texas — On the second floor of a home in McKinney is interior designer Emily Hewett’s latest project, minutes away from its big reveal.
It’s tailored to her client, who is 7 years old and has recently spent more nights in the hospital than his room.
"We knew he’d have a lot of the primary colors in the room because of his Lego sets, so we just kind of designed it from there," said Hewett.
Drew Herrell is a bright ball of energy who was diagnosed with stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma last May. He’s had radiation and undergone chemo over the last 56 weeks, and Drew had another treatment Tuesday afternoon.
But he just returned to his loving family, and a big surprise.
"He thinks his room is being deep cleaned today, so he has no idea that he’s coming home to a brand new bedroom," said Hewett.
"Wow!" said Drew, as he opened the door into his room. "I love it!"
It feels like a fresh start, but it's filled with his old favorites, like a well-loved baseball jersey and his many Legos. This was all his mom Emily’s idea.
"I had seen other cancer kids get things like new rooms, so I reached out to the only person I know that had a design firm," said Emily Herrell.
That was Hewett, who owns A Well Dressed Home.
"Eight years ago, I was pregnant with twins on hospital bed rest, and Emily was my nurse," said Hewett. "I said 'You know, eight years ago, you took care of my family, and now we’re going to take care of yours.'"
"She said 'Girl, let me do it!'" said Herrell. "And here we are!"
Their meeting bringing new joy to Drew’s room.
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