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EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
Air Date: Sunday, May 11, 2008
Time Slot: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: (#525) "Giunta Family"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

"EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" HELPS A DISPLACED FAMILY WHO HAVE TO LIVE APART BECAUSE THEIR CURRENT HOME ISN'T HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE

"Giunta Family" -- The Giunta family from Maynard, MA received the good news that Ty and the gang will reunite them and build them a new, renovated home in just seven days, on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, MAY 11 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

March 26, 2006 began as a day of joy for Paul and Renee Giunta when, at two in the morning, baby girl Brianna was born. Nine hours later tragedy struck. On his way home with their young sons, Dylan and Cameron, in the backseat, Paul was involved in a serious, single-car accident. The boys were fine, but Paul wasn't so lucky; doctors didn't think he'd last the night. When he did survive, they then told Renee that Paul would never walk, talk or eat on his own again. Renee knew her husband -- a former triathlete � well, and replied that Paul would never accept that diagnosis, that he'd pull through. She was right, but it hasn't been easy.

Paul has had four major brain surgeries since the accident and can't walk fully on his own, requiring the assistance of a wheelchair and a walker. Although he has made great strides with his therapies, he still has a long way to go. He spent sixteen months living and doing rehab in the hospital in Boston. But now, because their current home isn't handicapped accessible, Paul and the family are separated; he lives with his parents in a retirement development which is handicapped accessible. Besides accessibility problems, their home also has broken water pipes, bad electricity, unsafe floors and a roof that needs major repair work. Paul desperately wants to come home and be with his family. Because the accident occurred the day his daughter was born, the two of them have never been able to live in the same home.

Now it's up to Ty and the gang to reunite this father with the family he loves and misses so much, and to give them a home where they can all be together under one roof.

While Ty and the designers, local builder Jeanson Homes Inc. & Son and the hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the Giunta family will go on vacation to Disney World.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington and designers Paige Hemmis, Paul DiMeo, Michael Moloney and Tanya McQueen. The series is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Denise Cramsey. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

This episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

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