The Daily Breeze printed the following story in its paper (I am including some photos from the media page of the official project website):

'Extreme Makeover' rebuilds injured police officer's home
ABC show comes to Redondo Beach to fulfill pledge.
By Kristin S. Agostoni
DAILY BREEZE
Since leaving the hospital this summer, Kristina Ripatti's life has been confined to a tiny house in north Redondo Beach.


A ramp positioned out front has helped the paralyzed Los Angeles police officer wheel through the front door, but so many other parts of the small single-story home are simply inaccessible.
Sword Medical

With a wheelchair too wide for most doorways, Ripatti sleeps in the living area and needs someone to help her to the shower. Her mother- in-law stays over often, but the two-bedroom home Ripatti shares with her husband and young daughter doesn't leave much space for guests.

A popular ABC television show has promised all that will change in a week.

Producers with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" pulled their signature white bus into Redondo Beach on Wednesday to tell Ripatti and her husband, LAPD officer Tim Pearce, they're next on the list.

While the Ripattis vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico, their home will be knocked down, redesigned and built up again by the show's designers and a crew of volunteers.

"They came out the door crying, knowing this really bad year is about to get a little bit better," senior producer Diane Korman said Wednesday morning. "Our main goal is to create a house that doesn't need a ramp in the front."

Producers couldn't find a couple more deserving of a remodel than Pearce and Ripatti, former police partners who fell in love and married. They are the parents of a 20-month-old baby girl, Jordan.

Their lives changed June 3, when Ripatti came across James Fenton McNeal while patrolling the Exposition Park area. He was suspected of robbing a gas station.

She chased him and caught up with him, when he pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking her twice.

The 10-year department veteran was left paralyzed from the chest down.

Today, Ripatti's weeks are filled with physical therapy sessions and workouts, to the point that her mother asked recently if she was pushing herself too hard.

"She said, 'No, I can do more,' " said Margaret McConnell of Apple Valley, as her daughter and son-in-law stayed inside the home Wednesday, discussing plans and remodel preferences with designers.

"She's attacking therapy," McConnell said. "She's doing everything possible."

For the time being, however, builders are intent on making the house wheelchair-accessible. And while the show's producers wouldn't divulge many secrets, some on the team dropped a few hints.

"They wouldn't be happy with a fancy house. They're true beach people," said Michael Moloney, the show's interior designer and a South Bay native.

"I don't think it's going to be a beach house," he said, "but a low-key, Southern California (look)."

And considering the family's decent-size yard, Moloney added, count on designers "utilizing outdoor space."

The building team will be headed up by Redondo Beach's Cornerstone Construction Group, which has donated supplies and expertise and lined up the subcontractors in a short amount of time.

Because the makeover is supposed to be a surprise and the network wanted to avoid leaks, the company was forced to work fast, said owner Linda Braden. But she didn't mind.

"You know that people like Kristina go out every day and put their lives on the line," Braden said. "We feel that it's important to let her know that we appreciate it."

Producers expect to spend most of their time today moving the family's belongings and preparing for the big demolition.

Friday morning around 9 a.m., scores of neighbors are expected to watch as Los Angeles police officers crush the old walls with a battering ram, reducing the home to rubble.

The couple will return to their new home Wednesday.

Labels: Extreme Home Makeover, Volunteerism