Twin Daughters With Leukemia are Helped on Next Extreme Makeover Home Edition  2/13/06

TWIN DAUGHTERS WHO ARE BOTH STRICKEN WITH LEUKEMIA AND LIVE IN A TRAILER WILL HAVE THEIR HOME REMOVED AND RECEIVE A SPACIOUS NEW HOUSE, ON ABC'S "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION"

John and Monica Kubena and their seven-year-old identical twin daughters, Tara and Sara, who both suffer from leukemia and currently live in a trailer, will move into a brand new, spacious home that will be built in a remarkable seven days thanks to "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The odds of identical twins developing the same form of childhood leukemia at the same time are so astronomical that even the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society don't have statistics on it, but that's exactly what happened to the Kubena family of East Bernard, TX. Since they were two years old, Tara and Sara have undergone several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation before they were both declared to be in remission. After years of being in isolation from their peers in order to protect their fragile immune systems, the twins were finally able to go to school and play with other children, which was something they had always dreamed of. However, recently Tara's leukemia relapsed. Her best chance at survival was a bone marrow transplant, which she received in October of 2005.

In order for Tara to fully recover, she must live under certain strict conditions, one of which is to be completely separated from her other siblings -- Sara, as well as nine-year-old sister Kelley and 17-year-old half-brother Brady. Children carry many germs, and at this point in her recovery, this could kill Tara. Unfortunately the Kubenas live in a cramped, single-wide trailer where Tara shares a room with Sara and Kelley. Nor can the Kubenas afford to add anything on to their tiny home to accommodate their sick daughter's needs.

In this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," the design team will demo their very first trailer and make room in a brand new house for Tara to recover. And the Kubenas, who have endured a double dose of pain and financial hardship, will get it all back ten-fold!

While the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team, local builder Royce Builders, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers are building a new house for the Kubena family, the family will stay in a beautiful Houston hotel so they can be near to Tara, who is staying at the Ronald McDonald House until her new home is completed.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington, Preston Sharp, Eduardo Xol, Ed Sanders and Tracy Hutson. The series is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Tom Forman and co-executive produced by Denise Cramsey.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. These programs carry a TV-PG parental guideline.

Source: ABC Press Release