SPENCERPORT, N.Y. -- This story involving a tree and good will toward others may just as well have come around Christmas.

But it all started when Wednesday’s wild windstorm hit the Statt family’s Spencerport home.

“I would’ve never in a million years expected this to happen,” Darcy Statt said. “My dad’s a horticulturist, and I called him and said ‘The tree’s coming down.’ He said, ‘No way, that tree’s not coming up.’ But we could see the ground cracking around it, and the roots coming up."

Police told the Statts crews were too busy clearing trees from roadways to help.

“I ran door to door, in tears, asking, ‘Does anyone know anyone that can help,” she recalled.

That’s when Jim Cady from down the street offered his dump truck. If it weren’t for that dump truck, what was left of an 80-foot-tree could’ve gone right through the house.

“He pulled the tree back up so it was right side up, instead of leaning, almost falling on the house,” Kevin Statt said. “Parked the dump truck and kept it from basically destroying our house.”

Cady says the tree was a few minutes or even just one good gust from falling when he arrived.

“Lucky I had the chains,” Cady said. “And that truck weighs eight tons empty. So that held that tree all night until her tree surgeon showed up.”

It stood the test of that long night.

“The tree leans over where both of my small children sleep,” Darcy said. “And even with the chain, you just never know what’s going to happen. So we ended up putting mattresses and sleeping in the dining room all night just in case. We had no power too, which didn’t help. When we woke up the next day, and everything was still standing, it was amazing. We're very lucky.”

Cady had never met the Statts before, but said he simply wanted to help his neighbors.

“Jim has his own company, so he’s a busy guy,” smiled Kevin. “He did this without even asking for a dime.”

For the Statts, whose 5-year-old son is a cancer survivor, it reinforced that their community has heart.

“I just hope, we have such a great, supportive community, that everyone can be as lucky as we are to have neighbors help them out,” Darcy said.