An Oak Park, Michigan home is made safe and communication-friendly for the deaf parents of a blind and autistic son on back-to-back episodes of ABCs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Starkey Hearing Foundation founder, William F. Austin and Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin are among the well-wishers who welcome the Vardon family home.
When Stefan Vardon, 14, wrote a heartwarming school essay about his deaf parents and his blind and autistic 12-year-old brother, he had no idea that it would lead to the team from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showing up at his family's home. The design team transformed the Vardons' ordinary 980-square-foot house into a dream home outfitted with the latest communications and safety devices for people with hearing loss.
In the second hour, the family returns from a week-long vacation to a completely remodeled home equipped with the latest in assisted-living technology. During this segment, Austin and Matlin present Stefan with a $50,000 college scholarship check from the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
Matlin also sat with Stefans mother, Judy, while she had her hearing tested for the first time in 20 years. Amazingly, Judy discovered she has residual hearing and is a candidate for hearing instruments. Austin and his Foundation team plan on fitting Judy in the near future with ABC airing a follow-up episode in late December. Stay tuned for dates and times.
The episodes air this Sunday, November 7 from 6:00-7:00 and 7:00-8:00 p.m. (CST) on ABC. To learn more about the Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.sotheworldmayhear.org.
