CLOQUET - Tragedy has turned to triumph for one Cloquet family.  They are getting a Thrivent builds with Habitat for Humanity home but they need your help to finish it.

A young Cloquet family is getting their 1st home!  It’s a chance for them to start over after a year filled with tragedy and pain.  They got the good news this summer.  "We came out and the Minnesota Timberwolves were here and they are the ones that told us we got the house and I just started crying, I was just like, I can't believe this is happening because all the bad things, I was just like this can't be happening, this is a dream," said Sara Johnson  "It’s a good thing after a lot of bad stuff," said Dan Johnson.

Dan and Sara Johnson have been through a lot and it all started last year when their son Landen was diagnosed with diabetes after he collapsed on the floor.  "His blood sugar was 1,497.  They said he shouldn't have been alive and I was like this is so horrible, how can this happen and I thought that was the worst thing," said Sara Johnson.  Then at just 4 months and 21 days old, Johnson says her son Aiden passed away from SIDS.  "And we were kind of struggling trying to move on without him, trying to teach the kids that it's not their fault, they blame themselves."  When on Valentines Day of this year, Johnson's husband and their 2 boys were involved in a near fatal car crash in Cloquet.  "Experiencing all that and staying in the hospital for 2 ½ months, it was the worst thing I could ever possibly imagine," said Sara Johnson.  Both boys were injured; their oldest son is still recovering.  Dan Johnson was in a coma for a month with a traumatic brain injury and was paralyzed in his hands and legs.  "They told me he would never walk, he would never talk again," said Sara Johnson.  It was a long road to recovery but now Dan Johnson is back on his feet.  "I’m supposed to be in a wheelchair, in a group home, not being able to respond to anything so I like to think that I’ve come really far," said Dan Johnson. 

They are renting a small apartment that is not handicap accessible so this new home is a blessing.  "If I can get in here faster, I don't have; to worry about Dan so much falling down the stairs, it's just really unsafe in our house right now," said Sara Johnson.  The Johnson’s have held fund raisers and have been there every week helping with the build.  "I’m continually impressed by their attitude, the way they've shown up all the time, every time we need them," said Daryl Yankee of Western Lake Superior Habitat for Humanity.   

Monday volunteers were finishing the electrical and getting the home ready for insulation, the goal is to have it completely finished by Thanksgiving.  "We’d like to sit down as a family; it would be kind of nice to be able to have our first Thanksgiving in our first home," said Sara Johnson.  But they need money to buy building materials so they can finish the home by winter.  "Yeah we could defiantly use the community's help to bring it on home here," said Yankee.  It's a chance for them to start a new life in a new home.  "It’s been a long road, getting a house that's going to be the way we want it is going to be wonderful," said Dan Johnson.

To donate, log on to www.habitatduluth.org or call (218) 722–3875.  They still need about $20,000.  Volunteers skilled in carpentry and finish work are also needed.