From the
Dayton Daily News. In the picture, Ty Pennington and other designers surprise James and Shannon Terpenning with a knock on the door from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" July 30.
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio — Surprise, wonder, joy and gratitude are the emotions James Terpenning and his family are experiencing as they anticipate a new home courtesy of the ABC TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
Terpenning, a civilian computer specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, learned his family would be on the hit show after getting a knock on the door July 30, from “Extreme Makeover” host Ty Pennington.
Nominated by a three-star general, Terpenning, 40, said he’s thrilled by the prospect of a home that will make life easier for his seven-member family, including his four small children, wife Shannon, 33, and his brother Peter.
The family lives in a 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom house with a basement on Carthage Drive.
Terpenning, who has won top medals in the Paralympic Games and acts as a mentor to disabled Iraqi vets, uses a wheelchair following a bout with polio as an infant in Vietnam. James is the son of a G.I. who abandoned him. He was later adopted by an Ohio family.
Peter, 42, also uses a wheelchair, and in the tight confines of their home, it’s no easy task to get around. Peter has cerebral palsy.
Their current home will be bulldozed, and the new one will be revealed to them next week after the family returns from a paid weeklong vacation at Disney World.
The demolition is expected to be on Saturday.
“I’m hoping it will be more wheelchair-accessible and with more open space, not stepping on each other’s toes,” James said.
The production crew flooded the Terpennings’ quiet Beavercreek neighborhood on Thursday with security details, television trucks, producers and countless volunteers.
In addition to Pennington, fans, neighbors, city officials and community members caught a glimpse of country singer Kellie Pickler and the “Extreme Makeover” crew as they shot scenes for the episode that’s set to air this fall.
Local home builder Coventry Fine Homes will construct the house, along with roughly 1,500 volunteers, in about 106 hours.
From the Dayton Daily News. In the picture, Ty Pennington and other designers surprise James and Shannon Terpenning with a knock on the door from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" July 30.