One hammer and a little paint won't exactly change your life, but if 100 people pick up hammers and paintbrushes, well, that's a different story. On Extreme
by Lynn Peisner
Friday, October 1, 2004

One hammer and a little paint won't exactly change your life, but if 100 people pick up hammers and paintbrushes, well, that's a different story. On “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a reality TV show that airs on ABC, up to 100 workers along with a cast of architects, contractors and designers work around the clock to renovate a home completely in just seven days.

“It's really more like five-and-a-half,” says Executive Producer Tom Forman. Before one finger is lifted, he explains, the first day-and-a-half of the schedule is spent getting to know the home's family members and their needs.

During its first season, the show took on a challenging project: to adapt an existing, three-level home in Ventura, Calif., to be entirely maneuverable and livable for 22-year-old Robert Gil, paralyzed following a car accident in 2002.

While a multitude of options are available today to retrofit residential surroundings that will support independent lifestyles for HME users, there is little consumer awareness of such products. Show producers had to become overnight experts in what it takes to live productively with a disability. Members of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association were called in to train the show's staff in everything from the kind of language to use when talking to Robert to the turning radius of a wheelchair.

The show aims to provide home makeovers to deserving families (many of the homeowners on the series have faced death and disease), but this was the first time one of its episodes had featured a person with a disability.

“We're looking for families that desperately need a home renovation,” Forman says. “Not just because [the] house is a mess, but because [they're] dealing with difficult circumstances, struggling to keep a family together and a smile on [their] face.”

The Zitek family fit the profile. When Robert's accident left him paralyzed, his mother, Pat Zitek, gave up her career in real estate to take care of him full time. Sequestered to quarters in the basement where the home's rec room had been, Robert spent all his time living one floor below the rest of the family, using a separate entrance through which he had to be lifted and using a bathroom he could only shower in with assistance. He had not seen the top two floors of his house for two years.

Total Retrofit

As the Zitek family was shuttled away to a Disney cruise courtesy of the network, eight designers and 100 workmen tackled the home makeover. Although it was an ambitious idea, they decided immediately that Robert needed an elevator to reach all three floors so he could live in the entire house.

“The mission of the project was to get Robert to anywhere in the house,” Forman says. “It meant installing an elevator, but I don't think any of us knew what that meant. Every wall in the house had to be renovated to revamp the house around an elevator shaft that was never designed to be there. There was not one wall in that house that didn't move.”

The episode depicted each phase of the construction melee on the Zitek property. In addition to the installation of a three-story elevator, every hallway was widened; the kitchen was reconfigured with a new center island that Robert can access; ramps up to the front and back doors were built; the front door was fully automated so Robert can use his voice or a remote control to open it; and Robert's downstairs bathroom was made fully accessible. An Endless Pool, which allows users to swim stationary against an adjustable current, with a lift was also installed in the backyard for therapeutic exercise.

But the designers made sure the rest of the family had something to be excited about, too. They gave Lon Zitek his own office, and each of Robert's siblings got redone digs as well. The whole house was refurnished and the property was landscaped. At the end of the harrowing week, the family was reintroduced to their home, now fully wheelchair-accessible and with bells and whistles they hadn't even anticipated.

Robert's New Options

Robert received a new manual-assist iGlide wheelchair from Independence Technology, an electric bed from Invacare and remote-control door-opening systems from Open Sesame. Concord Elevator donated the elevator along with its installation, and Aquatic Access provided the pool lift.

A voice-activated Environmental Control Unit (ECU) from Quartet Technology enables Robert to perform daily tasks like controlling the lights, telephone, television, the adjustable bed, the stereo, the front door and other items — all by spoken command or with a switch. The unit's radio control accessory means Robert can be anywhere in the house or outside in the yard and still remain in control.

“It was a fantastic experience the way everyone [came] together,” says Gladys Garneau, Quartet's operations manager. “The networking was fantastic, and the cause is great.”

Coordinating the assistive technology was a team effort between Quartet and its distributors. Innovative Access helped set up the ECU technology during the home renovation, and after the show, Med-Assist integrated the ECU to operate home appliances and helped Robert set up switch commands and train the system to recognize his voice.

Not everyone with a disability can afford a complete home overhaul, but the show pointed out that such an adaptation is possible. “We know how lucky we were,” Forman says. “Our contractors worked nonstop and went without sleep. They ripped a house apart, which is something a regular person can't do. But we also learned about certain devices you can use [to adapt a home]. Even if you can't gut your house and start over, there are products out there that can make your life better.”

For more about the show (Season 1, Episode 7 - Zitek Family) and for a complete list of participating vendors, visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/.

Access 2004

Medtrade will present Access 2004, a conference for builders, contractors, architects, designers and providers involved in creating accessible homes and facilities for the disabled and aging population. For more information on the one-day session, to be held in Orlando Oct. 25, visit www.medtrade.com.

Participating HME Vendors