Meet the St. Louis ‘Extreme Makeover Home Edition’ family
The St. Louisans chosen for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” are Dawn and Emmanuel Martirez of Shrewsbury. (Pictured: the scene this morning on the Martirez’ street, as photographed by a neighbor.)
Dawn is a pediatric cancer nurse. They have a daughter, Elle, and twin boys, Evan and Alec. According to the information released this morning:
“Evan has an extremely rare genetic condition called 9P minus, and Alec has another uncommon genetic disorder known as Crouzon Syndrome…. Both twins suffer from skeletal abnormalities that require extensive corrective facial and cranial surgeries, with Evan having physical handicaps and mental retardation and Alec being profoundly hearing impaired.”
Dawn Martirez had to give up her job to take care of the twins full time.
“As the boys get older, the home’s cramped narrow hallways, steep stairs, crumbling driveway and single, handicapped inaccessible bathroom are posing great problems for them and slowing their development. Now it is up to Ty (Pennington) and his designers to equip the Martirez’s home to accommodate the twins’ special needs.”
The “EMHE” team (including designers Paige Hemmis, Ed Sanders, Eduardo Xol and John Littlefield) will work with local builders Callier Thompson Shea Construction & Design LLC and Consolidated Construction Group Inc., plus hundreds of volunteers and workers. During the process, the Martirez family will go on vacation to Disney World.
I’ve known Dawn and Emmanuel for over almost 25 years. Congratulations! This honor is well-needed–and well-deserved. What a wonderful, happy family.
Congratulations to this wonderful family!
I hope they get the home of their dreams.
This is a great show. It’s nice to see Hollywood’s Christian side for a change.
I grew up in Webster and would love to volunteer. Do you know how I would go about doing this?
Here is the link with information on volunteering and donating. http://www.extremehomemakeoverstlouis.com
Does anyone know when this episode will air?
I started watching this show years ago, because it involved the building trades and the challenges in renovating existing spaces. Of course, now they do all new homes, but, I keep watching it, because you always meet the most amazing families.
I hope this will make their lives much less stressful.
Oh great, yet another sob story just to get a brand new house. All in the name of ratings!
This is a very loving, hardworking and deserving family! I am so grateful they were chosen for Extreme Home Makeover.
Reply to “City”:
As a parent of a disabled child, I can say with 100% certainty that the Martirez family would choose to keep their house as is in exchange for a miracle of having their children’s disabilities disappearing. Being the parent of a disabled child (or 2) is so much more than a “sob story”.
My guess is you often park in disabled spaces when the parking lot is full.
I hope you need help from someone some day and receive the same kindness you show from your crass and ignorant comment.