Mackey Family

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: How'd They Do That? • Season 1 • Episode 4

About this episode

After a 17-year-old girl underwent chemotherapy for a rare genetic disorder, she was unable to return to her Martinez, California home because of the mold and allergens at her family's house. When ""Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"" learned of her plight, the design team and hundreds of workers put in long days and nights so that Jhyrve Sears could come home. In February 2004, Jhyrve was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder Krabbe Disease (pronounced Crab-ay), which is caused by an enzyme deficiency. Her only chance of survival was to receive a new treatment in which she'd be given a cord blood transplant at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina. So in March 2004, Jhyrve relocated cross-country with her mother, Karen, to start treatment. After undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and then receiving her cord blood transplant, Jhyrve has spent the last several months recovering and rebuilding her immune system. Although the transplant was successful, the doctors at Duke would not let