Best TV Show of the Week
Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition on ABC
By catherine nailog
The episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on
Sunday, June 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET, is an hour of family-friendly viewing and is
our Best TV Show of the Week. The team of Ty, Paul, Ed and Tracy
headed to Savannah, Georgia to honor the Simpson family with a new home. The
Simpson family consists of Carmen and Jim, and their children Isaac, Katelyn and
Zo. Zo was born prematurely, with the condition called hydrops fetalis
in which his body swelled up in order to survive. Due to the swelling, his
retinas detached and he became blind. He wasn’t expected to live more than
twenty-four hours. He became known as “the Miracle Baby” when he was taken off
the respirator and breathed on his own. Zo’s swelling also subsided and his
retinas reattached, which gave him the ability to see. Initially, the Simpson
family was housed at the Ronald McDonald house located near Zo’s hospital. They
eventually purchased a home near the hospital, but the home was in desperate
need of repair. Carmen washed the dishes in the upstairs bathroom because of
the lack of plumbing on the first floor. To top it off, their only vehicle, a
van, no longer worked. The Simpsons couldn’t afford to fix their home, much
less purchase a new car. With the help of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
team and special guests, their worries were over. Paula Deen honored volunteers
of the Ronald McDonald House at her restaurant. It was there that Ty and
company informed the Simpsons that they were going to get a new home while they
vacationed on a Disney Cruise Line to the Bahamas.
Savannah community members Tripp Turner and J.T. Construction helped build the
new home. The Simpsons also received a 2011 Ford Explorer. Paula Deen helped
design the kitchen. Ty designed the master bedroom. Paul designed Katelyn’s
princess-themed bedroom. Tracy designed Isaac’s skateboard-themed bedroom with
assistance from extreme athlete Shaun White and his brother Jesse. Ed and Paul
designed Zoe’s brain-stimulating bedroom.
Carmen and Jim also had big dreams for others, such as helping their friend,
Brian, purchase an engagement ring for his girlfriend and organizing a coat and
blanket drive for Savannah. While they were on vacation, their dreams were
fulfilled. Tracy provided Brian an engagement ring for his girlfriend and he
immediately proposed after receiving it. The Savannah community brought coats
and blankets to a drive. And Paula Deen provided twenty-five thousand pounds of
ham to feed the community. Also, the Simpsons love cruises, and Disney granted
them another traveling opportunity to visit Europe while on a Mediterranean
cruise.
The giving never ends. When the Simpsons returned home, they found a beautiful
new home in which the mortgage had been paid off. Additionally, CVS Pharmacy
provided a therapy room filled with toys and a walker for Zo, a $25,000 medical
fund for his needs and an elevator in the home for his mobility. Carmen and Jim
were elated to see Zo take his first steps in his walker. All that was left was
to eat a home-cooked meal made by Paula Deen.
This episode
deserves to be the Best Television Show of the Week because of the
couple’s love and faith in their children, especially Zo. Even with all the
emotional and financial struggles they’ve endured, they still found the time to
look beyond their needs as a family and examined the needs of their friends and
community. They were truly grateful for what they had even prior to the gifts
bestowed upon them in this episode. Jim and his family believed in the
responsibility to change lives, and his community in turn thanked them for it.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
