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 am so happy for you guys, you truly deserve it! Cant wait to see the new house.
I’ve known this family my entire life. There isn’t a more deserving family. What a blessing for them! Congrats to all of you.
Hi and hugs from the Gerbins!
What a blessing for these people to do this for this family.
How could anyone not be happy for this family. As for, City
& Jimbo, may God bless you too.
It is wonderful this family is receiving such a gift. No denying that.
When I heard the christian commemnt I thought I had a taste of puke in the back of my throat and then I just hurled, I mean projectile!
The whole christian thing is such a turn-off. Just sickening every time I hear it. How much more can I puke.
There’s a soccer game to support the family on Saturday beginning at 1030am at the Soccer park… they’ll be filming for the show, as well! Special Olympics is playing a big role… Be a fan!! Come out and support!
A deserving family for sure, but…
…the reality is that this show has caused a lot of problems for the sake of ratings. After they are done, the value of the house skyrockets. Next year, the Martirez family will be looking at a tax bill that is likely to double or worse. There was a case in Atlanta this summer where the family had to move out of the makeover house because they could not afford the taxes.
The neighborhood sometimes suffers because the house no longer “fits in”, and that can devalue the neighborhood.
And in at least one case, the makeover family took out the expanded value of the house in a home equity loan, blew it all, then declared bankruptcy.
Like the lottery, sometimes people are better off not being “lucky”.
Yes, Habitat for Humanity is also another great organization. However, even though Extreme Home Makeover is yes, a TV show, they are able to do builds like this through DONATIONS from companies like Sears & Lowes, and the donations of TIME from professional laborers and construction companies - and the show requires ratings to do this expansive of projects.
This build is different in that its like Make-A-Wish Foundation meets Habitat for Humanity. They provide all the fun dreams and wishes for CHILDREN and adults too, along with the new home for very deserving families.
I am personally working on this build and happy to help make a difference in someone’s life. Congrats to the Martirez family!
To any of you, such as City, who only believe in charity for charity’s sake, perhaps you can make a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis (http://www.stjude.org/). This hospital treats the most rare diseases suffered by children throughout the world — and the patients’ families never see a bill. Best of all, City, you can even make the donation anonymously. That’s charity for charity’s sake.
You can make a donation to the family trust fund to help them pay for utilities and taxes. This is going to be a big shock for the family.
http://www.extremehomemakeoverstlouis.com/105/get-involved/donate-money.php
Do they really deserve it? I think it is great this family is getting a new home, BUT just think of another family that could have had this opportunity.
It was the family’s decision to keep the twins which they were told they were going to be greatly disabled. So she knew what she was getting herself into. Causing hardships on everyone.. including me who my insurance helps pays for her kids.
Now think of another family who had twins, or a single child. Perfect child, but something that the parents had NO control over and something terrible happened to the kid. I would think that family should get the house instead.