Cleveland County family will receive 'extreme' new home

Lexington family will have a new home in one week

By Christian Potts

LEXINGTON -- This week of Brian and Audra Skaggs' life will be a whirlwind, even if they're not physically here to see most of it happen.

The Lexington couple and their two young children were chosen Monday as the recipients of a new home, courtesy of the ABC television show "Extreme Makeover Home Edition." Ideal Homes of Norman and a team of hundreds of local volunteers began physically building the couple's new home Monday.

The Skaggs have a daughter, Merit, who is 5, and a 3-year-old son Jhett. His story has been one of survival, as he struggled from birth with various physical problems before the couple found out he would need a heart transplant to survive.

Jhett got his new heart in November 2007 at 10 months old, and he has reacted well to it, his mother said.

But he still has setbacks. Aside from the daily medication he takes and the regular visits the family makes with him to a specialist in Houston for check-ups, Jhett also has a harder time with what might seem like less serious illnesses.

"Something where a normal kid might get over it in 24 to 48 hours takes him a lot longer," Audra said Monday afternoon.

And the financial toll for a family living modestly -- Brian, 38, works as a cattle rancher while Audra, 27, is a preschool teacher -- has been tough as well.

"If we have to do without some thing we do it, just to make sure he gets the best care possible," she said.

The Skaggses were nominated for the show by Brian's mother and several of her co-workers. The show did not announce their selection until Monday morning, although recruitment of volunteers began a couple of weeks ago with the announcement the show would be coming to the Oklahoma City area.

Show host Ty Pennington was filmed knocking on the couple's door Monday morning, bringing them the official news that their life would be changing. Pennington will be joined on the project by a pair of celebrity guest designers -- Jillian Harris of ABC's "The Bachelorette" and music artist Xzibit.

Not long after Pennington's "knock," volunteers who had been selected by Ideal Homes began to fill the gymnasium at Lexington's First Baptist Church, passing out white hard hats and getting ready to take on their building assignments.

The family has been living in a rent house a few miles east of the church, at the corner of State Highway 39 and 120th Avenue SE. The house, a small building with light blue paint, has termite problems and also problems with mold, which is especially a problem given Jhett's weakened immune system.

"It's got some age on it and it needs quite a few repairs," Brian said. "It's kind of created an issue with him as far as his health after the heart transplant."

The family's new home actually will be constructed at the site of their barn approximately two miles north of their existing house and on the southeast side of Slaughterville.

The barn was torn down Monday afternoon in an event filmed for the eventual broadcast of the show. That then turns the stage over to Ideal Homes and its volunteers to get the new structure built in less than a week, and in less than perfect conditions after the winter storm that hit the region last Thursday and Friday.

"It would have been tough enough to do it in 106 hours if it was 70 degrees and dry," said Todd Booze, Ideal Homes' president of construction. "This is going to add some challenges for us."

The biggest of those initially will be the ground becoming saturated by melting snow, he said. About six inches of snow fell in the area of the build Friday.

By late Monday afternoon, the crew of volunteers had turned the property into a whirlwind of activity. Among the goals Monday after the barn's demolition were to pour foundation footers, install an in-ground storm shelter and dig a water well.

Work will go quickly. By the end of the day Tuesday, the exterior walls, roof, windows, doors and exterior siding are expected to be in place. A new barn also was planned to be started and finished Tuesday.

Work is due to be finished Saturday so the interior design team can move furniture into the house. The family will see the house for the first time Sunday afternoon.

Audra said she had a little explaining to the children to get them quite as excited as she and her husband were about the project.

"They were worried about their toys, whether they would still be there when we got back," she said. "I think when they see the new home they will be really happy."

Since Jhett's transplant, the couple said they have been overwhelmed by the support they have gotten not just from family but people all around them.

"Our community has just showered us with love and prayers," she said. "We have been completely grateful for everything they have done for us. We know that God has a purpose for our son and our family."

Text Only