Community Corner

Full Madison Episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Available Online

If you missed the show featuring Anaiah Rucker and her family on Sunday, there's still a way to see it.

Madison, Georgia was under a national spotlight Sunday when the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" episode featuring local hero on ABC.

The family was selected because of the bravery fifth-grader Anaiah demonstrated when the then-9-year-old pushed her little sister, Camry, out of the way of an oncoming truck, .  Anaiah lost a kidney, suffered a broken neck and spleen damage and had to have one leg amputated, her mother, Andrea Taylor, said on the show.

After being whisked away on a vacation to Walt Disney World, the family watched --with a little help from Phineas and Ferb -- "shrink" the original house and build a new one on a donated plot of land.

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In Orlando, Anaiah met Katie Holloway, a basketball and Team USA volleyball player with a prosthetic leg, and Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard.  Both athletes then traveled to Madison to help with the build.

The family cried tears of joy when the new home was unveiled. It is fully wheelchair accessible and features a circular "Wheel of Knowledge" bookcase and a water park in the back yard that Anaiah can enjoy in a donated waterproof wheelchair.

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"This new house is going to mean the world to us," Anaiah said on the show.  "I'd like to thank everyone who has been helping."

Before Extreme Makeover arrived, kids in Morgan County began making and selling bottle cap necklaces to raise money for the family.  With the help of the show, volunteers made an additional 10,000 bottle cap necklaces that will be sold under the Anaiah Rucker Foundation, which will benefit other kids in need.


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