Tim Willson’s fight with prostate cancer began at 50, and after enduring two battles and 38 radiation treatments, he thought the worst was behind him. But years later, a tractor accident left the Frankfort resident with three broken vertebrae in his neck, sending him back to the hospital.

During his recovery, Willson said he awoke from a vivid dream in which he was helping children battling cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That dream sparked a new sense of purpose, driving him to support young cancer patients in their fight for a brighter future, he said.

In October, Willson’s company, which he co-owns with his two sons, Frankfort-based King Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, teamed with St. Jude to raise $50,000 by the end of the year to support St. Jude’s mission to find cures and preventative treatments for childhood diseases.

As of Tuesday, the most recent report tallying donations received by St. Jude from King Heating, shows the company raised $51,321.

“I can’t be prouder to give that kind of money to a bunch of sick kids,” Tim Willson said. “The dream was real. We saw the dream through and now the kids got some money.”

For Luke Willson, who co-owns King Heating with his father and brother, hearing his father’s dream after he woke from a medically induced sleep was “hugely emotional.”

“I don’t know what it was, but he woke up with a mission to help sick kids and that’s exactly what we did,” he said.

Helping children fight life-threatening diseases was more than just a dream for Tim Willson — it was personal.

After his first bout with cancer, doctors removed his prostate and thought he had beaten the disease, only for the cancer to return.

“A year or two later, it came back with a vengeance, and at that point they had given me two years to live,” he said.

Willson said he was raised a fighter.

“I don’t lay down real easy, I’m a South Side guy,” he said. “You know, that’s kind of not what we do.”

After enduring weekly radiation treatments, Willson was able to beat cancer for a second time. He credits his success in part to the care he received at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

“I’ve always been passionate about the fight for cancer because if you’ve had it and you kind of whoop it, you feel for people around you that have it,” he said.

“Plus a lot of friends over the years have died of cancer, and it’s decision making and staying vigilant with it,” he said. “The kids, though, that thing breaks me up, they’re little kids, what could they have possibly done? I think they need help the most because they’re kids.”

After breaking his neck in April, Willson started thinking about his dream, believing it was a calling to give children a chance to beat cancer, he said.

He eventually decided to raise funds for St. Jude, the nation’s leading hospital for treating children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, according to its website. The hospital does not charge families for care and relies primarily on donations, which inspired Willson to support the hospital’s work. Willson also wanted to ensure that his donations would directly benefit the children, and chose St. Jude, in part, because 82 cents of every dollar donated goes toward supporting their mission, according to the hospital’s website. Donations help fund a variety of needs, from a toy, wagon, meals, chemotherapy, outpatient care, an ICU stay to even the Starbursts given to children after chemotherapy to help combat the metallic taste they often experience, Willson said.

Through his company’s website, Willson set up a fundraising page linked directly to St. Jude, ensuring that all donations go straight to the hospital without his staff having to handle the funds. He also committed to donating a portion of the proceeds from every furnace tune-up job to the cause.

Luke Willson said the company focused its marketing plan on supporting St. Jude and trained its technicians on the new focus. As donations poured in, Willson said he was thrilled so many people rallied behind the cause. Even before the fundraiser officially launched, his company participated in the Frankfort Fall Festival Parade in September, handing out St. Jude donation cards to raise awareness and garner support, and posted a billboard advertising the campaign.

By mid-December, Willson said he had reached his $50,000 goal.

“It’s been amazing how many people joined in,” he said. “Customers, neighbors, friends, suppliers, employees and folks in the area who heard about the drive and wanted to help.”

Willson said he is thinking about hosting another fundraiser.

“To get that amount of money is pretty cool. That’s got to help sick kids,” he said. “Never raised money before and it makes me think that the sky is the limit and in another few months, do it again.”

“Aside from breaking my neck three times, I would do everything over again,” he said.