It's the American Dream. Working hard and building your own home from the ground up.

But for a Solon Township family, the dream turned into a nightmare this spring when they faced losing their home to foreclosure.

“We built it ourselves 20 years ago,” said the woman, whose name is being withheld but we’ll call Debbie. Her family is one of 26 for whom foreclosure became a real possibility in the first quarter of this year. (See related story on Page 19). “Like a lot of families, we used our equity to cover other expenses.”

In addition to an original mortgage payment, the couple had a second mortgage at 10 percent interest. They covered both for a period of years. Then, the unexpected took place.

“My husband had an excellent job. I was working full-time. But, in January 2006, he was diagnosed with cancer,” the 44-year-old mother said. “He was 51 at the time.”

The couple’s efforts turned to fighting the cancer. He was treated in Traverse City, the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor and the Cancer Treatment Center in Chicago.

“We had a high deductible, but were able to keep up until he couldn’t work anymore,” Debbie said. “Then, that came to a screeching halt.”

Too ill to work, the man and his wife struggled during the 5-month minimum waiting period for disability designation. Without that income, the couple was forced to tap into the man’s retirement.

“That was gone in six weeks, between medical and living expenses,” said Debbie, who was fortunate to be able to turn to her parents for assistance. “The money they were giving us was for their retirement.”

By November, the couple began to fall behind on their loan payments. For a while, Debbie tried to alternate payments in hope of keeping collectors at bay. After three months’ delinquency, the family was served with foreclosure documents.

“A man came and posted a sign on our front door saying we were in foreclosure,” Debbie said. “It was very uncomfortable.”

In a small county, private trials such as these which become “public” only add to the trepidation. Notice of foreclosure and sheriff sale is also published in the local newspaper and posted at the county government center for all to see.

And as the winter loosened its grip on the Leelanau landscape, there was hope — for the man’s health and the couple’s home.

“He called me at work the other day to let me know he did 75 push-ups,” Deb said of her husband, who is gaining strength but is not likely to return to work. He also began receiving Social Security disability. “He used to do hundreds. But, now he’s happy just to be able to do that many.”

Also, one of the mortgage holders agreed to combine the loans and refinance them at a lower, more manageable interest rate and payment. Papers for the new loan were signed this week.

“This will help ride out the storm,” Deb said.