“This is so beautiful, you guys,” she told the crew in the room with her. “This is beyond what I thought it would be.”

Berg’s brand-new bedroom makeover had just been unveiled — a rose pink with gray accents covering the wall, a new dresser and side table, a new bed and bedding and decor reminding her of her strength and beauty.

Berg was the recipient of a bedroom makeover from My Happy Haven, an organization based in Mason City that rallies funds and volunteers to create a “happy haven” for women who are battling cancer. My Happy Haven started a Fort Dodge affiliate of the organization over this past year.

Berg was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer on Jan. 28, 2020. The past year for her can only be described as “constant hell.” She’s had to have a double mastectomy, regular radiation treatment and regular chemotherapy. She’s had to deal with infection, radiation burns, losing her hair and exhaustion.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Taylor Johnson Berg clutches onto her husband, Jim Berg, as they see their new bedroom after a remodel from the Fort Dodge Chapter of My Happy Haven on Sunday.

“It’s not easy,” Berg said. “People think you go in there and you just do your chemo, your radiation, your lipedema, but it is so hard on you. There were two or three times they didn’t think I was going to make it. It was really bad.”

But through it all, she’s had her rock — Jim Berg, her husband of 21 years.

“If it wasn’t for Jim, I don’t think I would have made it,” Taylor Berg said. “Jim has been so amazing. He took care of me and did a really good job.”

It was Jim who nominated Taylor to receive a bedroom makeover from My Happy Haven after he read a story about another local woman’s experience in The Messenger.

Cancer treatment is an incredibly tiring and often painful routine, and patients like Taylor Berg often spend most of their time in their bedrooms, which can become a bit depressing, which is why Jim nominated Taylor for the gift.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Taylor Johnson Berg, a Fort Dodge woman fighting breast cancer, holds her medallion of the Virgin Mary, which she kisses every morning to thank God that she's lived another day. Berg was the recipient of a bedroom makeover from the Fort Dodge chapter of My Happy Haven.

“It’s positive, it’s uplifting,” he said of the results of the makeover, as sunlight flooded into the room. “There’s so much life in here.”

“My room is beautiful and that isn’t even giving it enough credit,” Taylor Berg said. “At first I didn’t even think I deserved it, I thought there was someone else more deserving than me.”

Once Taylor Berg had been nominated, the volunteers at My Happy Haven got started rounding up donors and more volunteers for the project.

Mike Doyle Construction donated its services to the project, Baker Electric volunteered an electrician to install a ceiling fan and Diamond Vogel donated the paint for the project.

Dozens of community members stepped up to donate money to help meet the goal of $3,000 to cover the costs of the project.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Taylor Johnson Berg, a Fort Dodge woman fighting breast cancer, was nominated by her husband to receive a bedroom makeover by the Fort Dodge chapter of My Happy Haven.

“This means so much,” Taylor Berg told the My Happy Haven crew. “You guys made my year.”