Rib Hillis, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: The Bell Family
This week, we're in Tucson, Arizona, building a home for the Bell family - Mike and Kathy with their two girls, Lizzie and Alicia.
Seven weeks after Lizzie was born, the doctors diagnosed her with Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA). DBA is a rare blood condition, present at birth, which is characterized by a failure of the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Less than 700 kids in the world are stricken with this disease and Lizzie is one of them. The only thing that has kept Lizzie alive for the past 14 years of her life are the routine blood transfusions she has every two to three weeks. When Lizzie was 5, she and her mother decided to visit the blood bank where Lizzie gets her blood. They walked in and learned that the refrigerators that should have been full of blood weren't. This scared both Lizzie and her mom. They didn't realize until that day just how desperate the nation is for donated blood. Lizzie and Kathy left the hospital with a goal, to get people to donate blood.
Lizzie is an amazing, amazing girl. She's had condition her whole life and, working with the Red Cross, has become a champion and an advocate for raising awareness about blood donation. She really doesn't think about herself and her condition, you know, and in my eyes that is the example of a true, true hero.
Because of Lizzie's condition, the family has to spend all of their money, resources and time trying to keep her alive, paying her medical bills, taking her to and from the hospitals. But even when they're not doing that, they're out there raising awareness about blood drives. They're out there putting themselves out for other people, and so the house has really fallen into a state of disrepair, and it's actually become unhealthy for Lizzie to live there. Cracks in the foundation, Termites have destroyed the walls, it's freezing cold in there, and because of her compromised immune system, if she gets sick, it could be devastating.
This week, I'm in charge of sister Alicia's room. As I get to talk to her and know her a little bit, she really, really is into sports. But she's also, you know, very girly. So somehow, I'm going to combine her two interests into a sporty, glamorous room. I think I got the sports side down. I played some sports, but the glam side ... that might be a little bit tougher for me.
Alicia's amazing. She's there for her sister, her whole family, very, very selfless. This week I'm gonna make sure that she gets something special.
The community really came together this week with our great builder John Wesley Miller. Whether building this home, or coming out to give blood, we have really rallied behind the great spirit and sense of community here in Arizona and for that I want to thank John and his neighbors for making this happen. Allowing Lizzie and the Bell¹s to concentrate on her health and the health of countless others through their advocacy.
This issue is very personal to me because a near and dear friend of mine named Bob was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. And he inspired me to make a difference by donating blood and signing-up to donate marrow.
Behind the scenes, on every episode I visit Red Cross Blood Drives to encourage blood donation. In fact, I personally give blood every 56 days.
It's very easy and does not take much time. If you have given blood, thank you for doing it and keep making a difference! But, its never too late to sign up to give the gift of life.
Call 1-800-GIVE.LIFE or go to www.givelife.org to find out how you can help.
Also, I have joined forces with the Hendrick Marrow Program & the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). They may be able to help a patient just like my friend Bob to find a match. I am hoping to spread the word on this unbiased disease. I would like to give back and hopefully motivate or inspire someone else to do the same.
Go to http://www.marrow.org/ to learn more.
Every week we build an amazing home for an amazing, deserving family, and this week is absolutely no exception, but, we also did something more. You know, this is gonna carry on, not just today, but into the future because Lizzie and her efforts has been able to raise awareness about the blood supply shortage in this country.
