This weekend Cherry Johnson will sleep in her own bed in her own home for the first time in almost five months.

Tropical Storm Harvey flooded the disabled, widowed Johnson out of her Port Arthur home but the kindness of friends and strangers is what gave her her house back.

On Friday, Johnson opened her front door to see her newly repaired and renovated home where some of those who helped had gathered and waited.

“Sorry y’all, I’m just happy about this,” Johnson said as she wiped tears from her eyes. “It’s amazing they did this and I love each and every one of y’all from the bottom of my heart.”

Longtime friend Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert remembers a conversation he had with Johnson not long after the devastation.

“She said ‘I lost all of my memories.’ I told her you’ll make new ones. She said ‘I lost my house’ and I said we’ll make it 10 times better,” Hebert, who played a major part in the renovation, said. “This has to be the best thing I’ve ever done as a police officer.”

The work on Johnson’s home began with Operation Blessing. A week after they left Hebert had a call notifying him the Cleveland Indians made a donation to help.

“It was at that point that I thought, we can do it,” he said.

Carol Hebert, the detective’s wife, called the completed work awesome.

“It’s very rewarding to watch and our kids are better because of this,” Carol Hebert said. “Sadly there are so many other people in this situation. It’s an accomplishment to get one person back into their home, so many others need help too.”

A number of individuals made the house a home, including PAPD Officer Larry Myers, Sgt. Johnny Warner, Det. Ryan Kidwell, Det. Paul Arvizo, Lt. Martin Blitch, Det. Jonathon Green, Steve Foreman, The Hebert family, Verna and Cal Rutherford , Tina and Lance Bradley, Justice of the Peace Marc DeRouen and Eric Thurston of Thurston Plumbing to name a few and several of the officers paid out of pocket for appliances for the home.

Like other Port Arthur residents Johnson had to be rescued by boat from her home. She flew out on a C-130 plane to Dallas then later stayed at the tent shelters outside the Robert A. Bob Bowers Civic Center.

She then moved on to a hotel room — where she has been living since, but funds quickly run out even with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Johnson, who is blind in her right eye, suffers severe allergies and breathing problems and must make weekly trips to doctors in the Houston area. She also suffers from epilepsy. It wasn’t always like this — she once worked at DuPont in Orange but was forced to stop due to health reasons.

Since then she has been active in neighborhood watch programs and made it a habit of cooking for police during holidays.

Johnson is now looking forward to cooking hearty meals for officers once again.