Today he is on holiday with his family in New Zealand as part of a dying wish organised by their friends.

Meanwhile the friends, Paula Miller and Nicole Edmunds, their families and a host of volunteers have been furiously working on a major makeover of the Chandler home to surprise them when they return on Wednesday.

Hard at work at the Chandlers' east Dubbo residence yesterday, Mrs Miller explained how the joy of making new friends turned to tragedy less than a year later.

"We met Ann-Maree and Judd (Chandler) 10 months ago when Ann-Maree became an Enjo home marketing consultant," Mrs Miller said.

"Soon after, we met Judd and their boys Joshua, Caleb and Jeremiah.

"We shared many camping and skiing trips and barbecues together and became extremely close friends."

Within a short time Mrs Chandler took over as Dubbo manager for Enjo products, putting her in a better position to fulfil her dream of "doing up" their home.

At Christmas, the three families celebrated well into the night revelling in each other's company. Then on Christmas Day the first sign that something was seriously wrong with Mr Chandler became evident when he was hospitalised after having a fit.

"We had no idea what was wrong and we were all very worried," Mrs Miller said.

Mr Chandler continued to have more fits during the New Year period and was sent to Sydney for specialist treatment.

"In April they (the Chandlers) went to Sydney and received the worst possible news - Judd was told he had an incurable brain tumour," Mrs Miller said.

"The news just ripped our hearts to pieces."

The Chandlers sought further opinions, however the diagnosis was the same and they eventually accepted the inevitable.

"Judd, Ann-Maree and the boys decided against chemotherapy, they wanted to enjoy what time they had left," Mrs Miller said.

"After a lot of grieving we asked Ann-Maree what Judd's dying wish was and she said he wanted to see the snow and visit his family in New Zealand."

That said, the Millers, the Edmunds and all the Enjo teams in NSW set about making sure Mr Chandler got his wish.

"Barbara De Corti from Enjo head office helped out and we raised enough to send them on their holiday," Mrs Miller said.

"After that Nicole and I put our heads together and thought what would be the most important thing on Judd's mind - what would put his mind at peace when the time came?

We reckoned he would have been thinking about Ann-Maree and the kids and how they would they be able to do up the house.

"So we came up with Paula and Nic DIY Rescue.

"We had a fantastic response from local businesses and volunteers and came up with more than 40 items inside and out the home that we are giving a complete make-over."

Volunteers on the Paula and Nic DIY rescue project will be working non-stop until Wednesday afternoon when the Chandlers are due to arrive home from New Zealand.