[nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home Makeover - blindcouple in OH

[Sherri]

Thank you for the description of the program, as I did not watch it. I'm 
sure that Home Makeover exaggerates the problems of people with other 
disabilities as well. Again, I appreciate the review of the show.
Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rovig, Lorraine" <LRovig at nfb.org>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] [NFB-talk] Here We Go Again: Home Makeover - 
blindcouple in OH


> Here We Go Again: Home Makeover Extreme Edition - blind couple in OH
>
> Well, I watched it. It was pretty bad and it could have been worse. It
> could have been a lot better too.
>
> Their original bathroom -- a sink fell off the wall once when Jasmine
> washed her hands so they had no bathroom sink; the old toilet would
> swivel left and right about 20 degrees either way if your toe pushed it.
> Other parts of the old home and front porch were dangerous.  The part of
> the old house facing the street appeared to be two-rooms wide, small
> rooms, and I do not remember if it was two-story.  They were given a
> two-story, large, modern home with all new appliances in the kitchen,
> laundry room, every other room, and etcetera.
>
> This is an African-American family, the Andersons of Maple Heights, Ohio
> (near Cleveland). I do not know if either one has a job; both appear to
> be in their early 40s.  The mother, Jasmine, states she is visually
> impaired. She uses a folding cane with a fat white tip that I think is a
> marshmallow tip.  Husband, Andre, pronounced the French way, is totally
> blind and uses a guide dog named Valentine. The show gave the dog a
> heart-shaped bed.
>
> Jasmine gave a tiny monologue stating she lost enough sight to be
> visually impaired and was depressed for awhile but then she became
> "courageous" like she is now. They never charge for their [untrained]
> counseling and encouragement of other people with disabilities. They
> give lots of speeches to educate the community how to make life easier
> for blind people and people with other disabilities.
>
> The couple told us they are in danger every time they cross a street and
> the camera mike was held close to trucks and cars as vehicles zoomed by
> on a city street. Jasmine said she was hit in the shoulder by a moving
> car one time. Ty Pennington, the shows' big-hearted hero,
> furniture-designer and designer of his own line of linens and other
> goods for the home, excellent carpenter and TV show leader, went on
> about how dangerous it is for blind people every day when they are
> outside the home. He got installed for the Andersons a fancy talking
> device at the single crossing nearest to their home at their bus stop.
> Jasmine told us "we're not the only blind people living here, you know"
> and, she said, this will help people with other disabilities that live
> in their neighborhood too.
>
> The show gave her a CCTV rigged to a lady's dressing table so she can
> see to put on her make-up and not have to ask her son if she did it
> okay. She got choked up that she can see her nails now and can paint
> them as she could not see to do before, and for the first time she
> exclaims, as we watch her look at it, she can see the beautiful ring her
> husband gave her.
>
> In the old house, Jasmine shoved up the sleeves on her dress to show Ty
> and us the many burns on her arms that she got from using her
> conventional electric 4-burner stove and oven.  The show gave her
> "induction heating" which does not give out any heat except to a metal
> pot placed on the burner, and she got a wall oven so her oven is at a
> better height for her to use. The house got a talking temperature gauge.
> On the plus side, so the two wouldn't get lost, nothing odd was built
> into the kitchen or the walls and floors.  Also on the plus side, except
> for the induction oven, normal if fancy Sears's appliances were placed
> in the home for the kitchen and the baths.
>
> Both Andre and Jasmine got computers that I think had JAWS installed on
> them. They got a home theatre room with one "Sound Dome" over both their
> heads that directs the sound directly only to them, and lets them hear
> the SAP channel along with the show. They have two very helpful,
> respectful sons (one may be age 12 and the other is a young teenager).
> Ty stated the older son got a vacation from verbalizing what is on
> screen plus he got the SAP thing with words running below the screen
> when folks talked (which he needed but I missed the part that said why
> he did). The younger son is sure he wants to grow up to be an eye doctor
> so he can cure blindness, beginning with his mother's visual impairment.
>
> Both Jasmine and Andre got brand new, fat-bodied, folding canes that
> have built-in sensors to inform them of obstacles by their head and at
> their feet, and, said Ty, "these aren't even on the market yet." Andre
> expressed their gratitude.
>
> They got a huge main room that runs from a living room grouping through
> an empty space of floor to a dining room grouping to a kitchen with no
> barriers or changes in floor, so they do not have to worry anymore about
> running into posts or walls, as they did run into in their cramped
> original home.  I noticed they are both bulky overweight people and the
> original house doorways were older and appeared smallish, plus a post
> was inconveniently placed, especially for any overweight people trying
> to get past it to the bedrooms and bathroom.
>
> The mortgage company paid off and tore up their mortgage; the local
> branch of the state college gave them 2 college scholarships for the
> boys; Sears gave the four of them enough clothes and shoes to fill some
> of their new closets; the local basketball team called The Cavaliers,
> gave the teen-aged son a closet-full of their clothes plus 3-shelves of
> their basketballs with its metal rack. The building company gave them
> $50,000 to a fund to handle their home maintenance.
>
> Braille got a "shout out" as the modern lingo has it. Ty added palm-size
> wooden "dots" to their bed's headboard to spell out in grade one, "Love
> is Blind."  Large print got a "shout out" too, with their top bed quilt
> decorated with "Love is Blind" sewn on as stuffed, raised-up
> hand-writing.
>
> (For me, I keep wondering how they and other Ty Pennington-show
> homeowners can afford their new taxes on their giant gifts of money,
> goods, and a huge new home.)
>
> The Andersons were so very grateful for all they received from Ty and
> Sears Company and ABC. Tears all around.
>
> You can view the entire episode on the Anderson Family via computer,
> here:
> http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition
> Anderson Family
>  | Full Episode
> A visually impaired couple devoted to helping the community receives a
> home makeover, complete with technologies that help people with
> disabilities;
> EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION - "Anderson Family" - Andre and Jasmine
> Anderson have never allowed their visual impairment to slow them down,
> but rather have faced it head on, and established the Disability
> Awareness Center in Maple Heights, Ohio, to help others who are
> struggling with sight loss. The couple and their sons learned they would
> be recipients of a home makeover while aboard the public bus that they
> ride every day. The "EM: HE" team surprised them on the bus and revealed
> plans to give them a new "smart" home, equipped with technologies that
> support people with disabilities. This episode of "Extreme Makeover:
> Home Edition" airs SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC
> Television Network. (ABC/MIKE CROUCH) ANDERSON FAMILY HOME - AFTER -
> BEDROOM
>
>
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