When Howie and Jessica met, they each felt they'd found a true partner, someone who valued hard work and community involvement. They bought a dilapidated farmhouse, figuring that Howie could fix it up within a few years, as he'd formerly worked in construction. Although they were struggling financially, Jessica, a nursing student, encouraged Howie to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter. Through long hours of hard work, and with as many as five jobs between them, the Hubers were able to both pay off their debt and see Howie established as the most ...
Growing up in the housing projects of Hartford, Connecticut, William and Catherine Hill both dreamed of a safe and happy home brimming with their passion for music and education. Hard work and persistence made their dream come true - until the nightmare of a fire in 1993 damaged their small ranch house well beyond what insurance money could repair. It is now up to "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to build the Hill family the home they truly deserve.
Carlton Marshall lost most of his mobility and all of his hearing after being shot while leading a Dallas Police Department SWAT team. Carlton and his wife, Susan, a homicide detective, learn that their home will be rebuilt in seven days - solving rampant structural and accessibility issues and enabling the Marshalls to continue their long-time volunteer work with horseback riding therapy for children and adults with mental and physical challenges.
Two years ago, Steve Mattingly was responding to a fire call at a neighborhood home, where he was asked to direct traffic around the site. Steve's wife, Melissa, was driving by the fire when disaster struck: Steve was hit full speed by a car that didn't see him. An EMT herself, Melissa immediately got out of her car and ran to her husband to give him care. Steve suffered multiple injuries, brain damage and amnesia. To date, he has had seven surgeries to try to repair the damage. Most of his problems with pain, balance and memory are irreparable, and he will probably ...
Celebrity volunteer Kellie Pickler travels to Beavercreek, Ohio, to tell James Terpenning, a wheelchair sports champion and mentor to disabled Iraqi War veterans, that he and his family will have a newly rebuilt home in seven days. James, a computer specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is known at work and in the community as an inspirational role model who always helps others but never asks for help himself.
Thanks to a bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor, Joey Stott miraculously survived leukemia and made a miraculous recovery. She and her family then pursued their dream of life on a self-sufficient organic farm that they'd fantasized about for years. But just as they'd made their dreams a reality, an electrical fire threatened to destroy them permanently: This past spring, Joey woke in the middle of the night to a series of electrical explosions that looked like a fireworks display. The farmhouse's ancient wiring was sparking and threatened the entire house. ...
Six years ago, Jay and Elena Marshall bought the perfect home, one that they could live in forever because they could easily expand as their family grew. But before they had a chance to build their first addition, an onslaught of problems from carbon monoxide leaks to mold and rotting wood brought their dreams for the home to a halt. Before they could begin tackling the growing list of problems, their nine-year-old son, Cameron, was diagnosed with leukemia. Despite the mounting medical bills and the fear of having to leave their home due to the dangers it presents to ...
Trina, 44, met her husband Dave while he was serving with U.S. Army Special Forces in Fort Bragg - and it was love at first sight. After his discharge, Dave became a Clarksville police officer. In 2002, he and his partner were on duty when their police car was violently struck by a truck. The car spun out of control, hit a guardrail, caught fire and killed both Dave and his partner almost instantly. Overwhelmed with grief, Trina turned to a group called Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (C.O.P.S.), which helps the surviving family members of officers killed in the ...
Having experienced a childhood of hardship, Clara vowed to make a difference for the next generation, and neither modest means nor the challenges of Myostenio Gradi, a degenerative muscular disease, have stopped her so far. For decades Clara has put her personal needs second to feeding, clothing and nurturing children in her home, organizing charitable drives, arranging field trips, tutoring, giving cooking lessons and much more. But the rampant disrepair of her crumbling two-story home -- including a cracked foundation, a leaky roof, peeling walls and a faulty sewage...