‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ duped by family’s sick claim

[KevinP73]

Ty Pennington and the philanthropic crew of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" have been giving families the houses of their dreams through sweeping seven-day renovations and reconstructions since the series premiered in 2004. The uplifting reality show brokers in hardest-luck cases that sometimes appear too sad to be true. And in some cases, as it turns out, they are: according to a recent trial in Oregon, it seems the would-be do-gooders were duped by a family falsely claiming two very sick young daughters.

"Extreme Makeover" recipients Chuck and Terri Cerda are the parents of Molly and Maggie, 10 and 8 respectively. Terri, in her appeal to the show, said she suffers from combined immunodeficiency disease, as do her daughters, who had to wear masks to guard against the toxins coursing through the air of their rundown, mold-filled Las Vegas house. You can watch a video of Terri and the two girls posted by the Immune Deficiency Foundation above.

That was before "Extreme Makeover" transformed their abode in March 2009 into "an opulent new home that included high-quality air filtration systems, an elevator, solar-heated swimming pool, gourmet kitchen and floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace," as The Oregonian's Steve Mays writes. But it turned out the Cerdas "couldn't afford the increased cost of operating the larger home. By fall 2009, the house was for sale and the family moved to Oregon."

Which is when their real troubles began. Mays reports:



Several doctors and a hospital social worker began to question Terri Cerda's insistence that her daughters had chronic health problems when tests and examinations indicated otherwise. In January, Dr. Thomas Valvano, an OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital pediatrician who specializes in suspected child abuse and neglect, reported the Cerdas to state child-welfare authorities, and in February, the state took temporary custody of the two girls.


The ensuing case in Clackamas County Circuit Court told a story much different from the one presented on television.


Six doctors testified that Molly, 10, and Maggie, 8, did not live in constant medical peril, as Terri Cerda claimed.


Valvano went further. The Cerda children, he told the judge, were victims of medical child abuse.

[Zeke]

This does seem weird to me. What kind of mold proliferates in Las Vegas? Hell, they don't even have termites there. It's too hot and too dry.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by milt

This does seem weird to me. What kind of mold proliferates in Las Vegas? Hell, they don't even have termites there. It's too hot and too dry.

. . . and ironically, they move to Oregon where mold is the state flower.

I've never liked the concept of that show, give some poor people a home they can't afford, (built in 7 days - can't help but think there aren't some corners being cut here, but I digress)

How do people who can't afford what they have now afford taxes on an elaborate dream home? Seems to me that this whole concept would just make matters worse in the long run.

[mossguy]

Anybody remember Queen for a Day on radio? Anyone here remember radio?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Actually, mold has been a problem with several homes that I personally know of here in AZ. My coworker had to have his entire kitchen/dining room gutted and rebuilt (the walls, specifically) about 9 months after the house was constructed. Fortunately the original builder caved to pressure and took care of it.

I don't know how it happens, either, but it does.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

. . . and ironically, they move to Oregon where mold is the state flower.

And the Banana slug is the state bird...

[KevinP73]

Originally Posted by mossguy

Anybody remember Queen for a Day on radio? Anyone here remember radio?

Sure do......................... how old does that make me?

[fingpilot]

Originally Posted by KevinP73

Sure do......................... how old does that make me?

That makes you old enough to know what a brand new Corvair looks like on a showroom floor.



Music in the background......


"See the U S A..... in your Chevrolet...."

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by milt

This does seem weird to me. What kind of mold proliferates in Las Vegas? Hell, they don't even have termites there. It's too hot and too dry.

That was my first thought. Mold in Las Vegas? You can't get hair to grow there without watering it.

Sounds like Munchausen by Proxy.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

How do people who can't afford what they have now afford taxes on an elaborate dream home? Seems to me that this whole concept would just make matters worse in the long run.

The episodes I've seen have included whatever mortgage/lien is on the current property being bought out.

So there is a savings there which I assume should at least get them to break even or on the positive cash flow side. In theory.

But yeah, it's a bit odd.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Incidentally, termites also happen in the desert SW.

[Rikao4]

there was another one..
but really down & almost out..
got a new home..
they get loan against home...
then lost it all in 'investments'...

Rika

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by Rikao4

there was another one..
but really down & almost out..
got a new home..
they get loan against home...
then lost it all in 'investments'...

Rika

The 'Harper Family!!"

Took out a $450K HELOC against the free home that was built for them,

to start a "Construction business." No experience. during the housing slump.

“Extreme Makeover” Family, Milton & Patricia Harper, Have Lost Their Home » HicktownPress - We present breaking news stories and interesting tidbits from a conservative point of view

[asphaltgambler]

yes - i remember that one!! - proves that eventually people will find their way back down to poverty regardless of help - financial or other wise

[KevinP73]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

yes - i remember that one!! - proves that eventually people will find their way back down to poverty regardless of help - financial or other wise

Too often very true. Lottery winners included

[asphaltgambler]

also reminds me a an older, wealthy guy once told me that if every working American adult received one million dollars; tax free - say from.......................some entity .....that 95% would not only be broke by the end of the year, they would likely be deeper in debt than prior to their "winnings"

[Superman]

Originally Posted by red-beard

And the Banana slug is the state bird...

In Washington State, it is the Tower Crane.

[URY914]

I really don't like that show. What makes a family more deserving of a house than another family? Who decides? A bunch of producers around a table saying which family story is good for thier ratings? F'd up in my book.