It would take nearly the first 16 years of her life for Jhyrve Sears to receive the kind of medical assistance she needed for a disease that restricted her to crutches for the past two years.
Then, events turned in Jhyrve’s favor not only once, but twice. After she underwent treatment at Duke University Medical Center, producers from ABC’s hit television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition picked her home to receive a complete renovation.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition chooses a different family each week that has overcome personal challenges. The show’s design team then remodels the family’s house during the span of one week. Jhyrve’s story will premier Sunday at 8 p.m.
“ABC entered Jhyrve’s life and became a part of her healing process,” said Karen Sears, Jhyrve’s mother. “She’s got a home now where she can be herself.”
Jhyrve spent seven weeks at DUMC with her mother by her side as she underwent chemotherapy for a rare genetic disorder, Krabbe Disease. The disease, which attacks the central and peripheral nervous systems, has plagued Jhyrve throughout her life but was only identified when she was 15 years old. Although current residents of Martinez, Calif., the Sears family packed up their belongings in early March after Jhyrve was admitted to Duke Hospital.
As a consequence of the disease and treatments, Jhyrve has a very weak immune system—one threatened by seemingly everything, even the state of her own home. Herb Ankrom, an Extreme Makeover associate producer, noted the team had to be particularly meticulous about cleanliness.
“When we demolished the house we saw more than that it was just old, it was covered in mold and bacteria that could make Jhyrve very sick,” Ankrom said.
Jhyrve required an extremely clean, bacteria-free household to stay healthy following her treatment, which her previous living situation did not provide.
It was here that the Sears’ longtime friends, Steve and Lisa Wallace, stepped in. The couple, along with Karen Sears, sent in video clips of both the Sears’ home and family to try to convince ABC to pick them for a home makeover.
“We were so excited and thrilled to learn that they had chosen us,” Karen Sears said. “Outside of the shock of being picked, we were just happy to know we had somewhere to go. I had been so busy with Jhyrve that I had not thought much ahead of what we might do after the hospital.”
The Sears home was soon razed and rebuilt within the span of one week and the help of 1,000 volunteers and production staff.
“In four hours we had demolished the house, and in about five and a half days later built her a completely new home,” said Chris Goettsche, a design producer for Extreme Makeover. “Everything was proofed to be medically approved.”
Jhyrve’s new home includes amenities such as multiple remote-controlled devices, a stair lift priced at more than $18,000 and television and computer equipment that cost more than $45,000 —all of which were donated primarily by local residents of the Sears’ community.
“Fate was looking out for us on this job,” Ankrom said. “We were getting down to the wire and missing the little things, but at the last minute people donated things, such as window treatments and wall accessories, to help us finish the home.”
Plans for a viewing party of the episode for Jhyrve’s family and volunteers is scheduled for later this week. It is at this party that Karen and Jhyrve will meet the volunteers who took time out to build their new home.
“Now that Jhyrve’s friends have all had their flu shots they can come visit her and her spirits have lifted 100-fold,” Karen Sears said. “It was an answer to our prayers and a dream come true.”
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