Maynard may be the second smallest city in all of Massachusetts. But when it comes to the size of its heart, this tiny mill town is second to none.
Which is why — when Maynard residents learned about the plight of the Giunta family (The father — Paul Giunta Jr. — was injured back in March of 2006 while driving home from the hospital where his wife, Renee, had just given birth to their daughter, Brianna. Because his airbag didn’t deploy, Paul suffered severe head trauma in this automobile accident and then had to endure 16 months of physical therapy. Now mostly confined to a wheelchair, he couldn’t return home because the family’s ranch house wasn’t handicap-accessible. Which is why Paul was then forced to move in with his elderly parents, unable to live under the same roof with his wife, two young sons and brand-new baby daughter) … Well, they knew that they had to do something.
Which is why — back in August of 2007 — the community came together to create an audition tape for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” They made a direct appeal to the production team behind this popular ABC reality series, asking them to please come to Maynard to help build a handicap-accessible home for the Giunta family. This tape then ended with a shot of hundreds of town residents chanting “Extreme Makeover” ‘s well-known catch phrase: “Move that bus ! Move that bus!”
Well, the folks at ABC must have really liked what they saw on that audition tape. For last Friday morning, Ty Pennington appeared in front of 13 Elm Court. And after yelling “Good morning, Giunta family!” through his bullhorn, Ty then had Paul, Renee and their family whisked off on a Disney World vacation.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And once the Giuntas had left town, that’s when the work began. First all of their belongings were cleared out of that modest brick ranch house. Then on Saturday, the building itself was leveled and then the construction site was cleared of all rubble. As to what’s been going on since then … Well, here. Let’s grab a bus over to the “Extreme Makeover” worksite and take a look for ourselves.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Mind you, it’s a bit of a hike. The bus only takes you to the outermost edge of the set. You then have to make your way down into this mostly middle class neighborhood, snaking around a series of barriers …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… until you then reach this veritable beehive of activity.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
The Giunta’s old 2000-square-foot house is gone. In its place is a brand-new 3200-square-foot home that’s completely handicap-accessible. There isn’t a single transition point in the entire house. More to the point, with its 36-inch wide front door and all hardwood floors, this building is extremely wheelchair-friendly. So it will be a breeze for Paul to get around in.
However, the folks behind this “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project dream of the day when Mr. Giunta won’t need that chair at all. Which is why they added a gym to this house so that Paul (Who’s a former triathlete and has run in six different Boston Marathons) can continue his therapy.
As for Renee … With the hope that this addition would make life a whole lot easier for this hard-working hairdresser, Ty & his team built a brand-new two-chair salon right at the back of the house. And for the Giunta’s two young boys, Cameron and Dylan … Would you believe a custom-made bunk bed that’s shaped like a dinosaur?
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Yesterday afternoon, dozens of volunteers swarmed over the worksite as they rushed to add the finishing touches to this house. Doing everything from adding edging to that new paving stone-lined driveway …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… to planting full-grown shrubs in the front yard. So that — even though it’s still February in New England — the place will still look festive & green when the Giuntas get back from Central Florida.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
By mid-afternoon, construction of the house itself was finally complete and the project could then be handed over to “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” ‘s decorating team. Who then backed up trailer after trailer to the entrance of this building, as they unloaded all of the Giunta’s new furniture.
Speaking of Paul, Renee and the kids … They return today from their well-deserved WDW vacation. And when the Giuntas make that turn onto Elm Court, they’re going to be greeted by 5,000 of their friends & neighbors. People who worked through three separate snowstorms and in 20 degree temperatures, just so Paul could then finally come home and live under the same roof with his brand-new daughter, Brianna.
And having been to the worksite yesterday and seen the excitement on all the faces there, I can tell you that the residents of Maynard are dying to say that chant that they practiced last August (i.e. “Move that bus ! Move that bus !”) …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Only this time, for real.
Welcome home, Giunta family.