Today, he’s a shy but confident fourth grader. But a few years ago, when he was a 6-year-old, Joshua Bailey was diagnosed with leukemia.

And all he wanted then was a fort in his back yard, which would be his own private hideout. Joshua’s father started building the structure in 2002 but suffered a heart attack soon after and couldn’t complete the project. He’s since recovered.

Determined to see the fort completed, Joshua went to the Make A Wish Foundation in late 2003 and asked for someone to finish the job his father had started.

The foundation met Ron Turner of RTKL Associates Inc., an architectural firm with an office in Los Angeles, and asked for his help last November. RTKL in turn brought Turner Construction Co. (no relation) on board to help with the fort. And soon, Joshua had his wish granted by both companies.

Complete with a refrigerator, DVD player, plasma screen, chairs, a bunk space and a slide, the fort is now really Joshua’s second home.

Joshua describes it as “his space.”

“It took a long time for my wish to come true. But when they finished building it, I was really, really surprised and happy,” he said.

Joshua was called into RTKL’s office in Los Angeles in early November and asked to pick one of three designs the company’s employees had submitted as part of an interoffice competition. He quickly picked a sphere-shaped battleship-like fort.

On Dec. 3, the team started work in Joshua’s back yard, completely hiding the construction from Joshua by putting up a blue curtain across the area.

About 22 employees from Turner pitched in with their time and effort, helped by 10 subcontractor firms with 36 craftsmen. Local and national companies donated the different items to put inside the fort. Last-minute work included landscaping the entire backyard to make the surroundings pleasing.

At 10 a.m. on Dec. 17, Joshua arrived with his entire family in a limousine, as neighbors and everyone who had worked on the fort waited and watched.

Joshua walked up and pulled down the screen to reveal his dream fort. He looked at it silently for an instant before running up to it with a big smile on his face.

“His jaw dropped and he said ‘Oh my gosh!’ and went running up the stairs with his family in tow,” said Kelli Seely, chief executive of Make A Wish. “The whole crew of workers looked really tired, but they were also smiling and laughing and there was just so much excitement.”

The fort still has to get a door for Joshua to start spending nights in there, and that would be taken care of soon, said Rory De John, vice president of Turner.