How do they choose?
I got a call this morning from Taylor.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition contacted us to come to town to work their magic.
Look at this email…..
Scott,
I listen to your show every morning as I commute from Rochester to Wayland. I am a teacher and have a great family for your Extreme Home Makeover. I have gone through the application process but I wanted to pass on Taylor’s inspiring story to you. I have attached my reasons for nominating her. I thought she’d be excited to hear her story made it to you or maybe even your listeners. 
Thanks so much.
I wrote…
Life as Taylor Kirin knows it is limited to the four walls of her home. Taylor was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a disabling and eventually disfiguring skin disease. Her skin lacks the anchoring fibers to hold it in place, thus her skin tears, scabs, and blisters at the slightest of touches. Bandages prevent serious infection or the fusing of fingers and toes, allowing Taylor to walk most days. Taylor is beating the odds and surpassing the typical life expectancy for a child with this condition! All the while, Taylor is spending 24 hours a day in a home that is not handicapped accessible or conducive to a life spent at home.
The Kirin home is a modest, middle-class home. There is not enough living space for all family members let alone enough space for a homebound child to live and prosper. It is not equipped to hold the medical supplies and nursing staff that are necessary with such a condition. Taylor’s physical therapy and recreation space is limited to the communal living room; the room where she also gets most of her treatments. She does not have the space or privacy necessary for a girl entering her middle school years. Taylor certainly does not have the space for any state of the art recreation equipment that would keep her flexible and mobile as her flesh starts to callus. Taylor lies side by side with her teachers; tutoring is done on her bedroom floor!
Despite her cramped quarters and dreary daily schedule, Taylor remains upbeat. She dreams of a cure for EB and to living a life filled with friends and dating. Some days, her outlook becomes gray. On those down days, we talk about Extreme Makeover Home Edition and to her dream of having a home that meets her needs and her dreams.
Taylor Kirin is the most deserving child I know! Even if her family is not selected, the application process alone has given her something to look forward to when there isn’t much hope left in her. Thank you for considering this little girl with the fragile body but the strength of a rhinoceros. She faithfully watches your show every week and awaits the day you wake her up with your bullhorn.
Thanks again, Scott.
Anne Packer
6th grade teacher/tutor
WCCS Middle School
HOW DO THEY CHOOSE? THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF STORIES LIKE THAT OUT THERE! MY HEART BREAKS FOR ALL
send your nomination to: This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 9:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Thank you for letting me be part of your morning program. It was nice to talk to you.
Here is what I sent to extreme makeover:
This is important Please read!
My name is Taylor Kirin. I am 10 and from Wayland NY. If you pick us, we live at 201 Third Avenue. My phone number is 728-5743
I have a family of five. I have a step sister and a step dad. I also have a sister. My step sister’s name is Paige Quinlan. She is 12. My sister’s name is Sarah Kirin. She is 13. My step dad’s name is John Quinlan. My mom’s name is Sandi Kirin.
I would like to nominate my family for an Extreme Home Makeover. I have a skin disorder called Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. If you want to see what I go though go to http://www.http://www.ebinfoworld.com/clinicalpics_d.htm
also go to http://www.ebinfoworld.com/childrenrd6.htm.I
Since I have so much to take care of it is hard for my family to have a life of their own.
My mom is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She takes care of everyone but herself. I would really appreciate it if I could have my mom’s room be the biggest one in the house. I don’t want to be greedy, I am a very thankful person. My mom should get her dream room because she doesn’t have time to herself or to do what she needs to do. My mom has a lot of clutter because our house is so small and crowded. We have a ranch. With five people and a nurse, we never have any room.
I am tutored at home because of my disease. I might get hurt if I went to school and I get sick very easy. I would love to have more room for my books and a better work area.
Our lives would change with your help. First, I would have more space. Right now I do my dressings on the living room floor and my school on my bedroom floor. My nurses have to sit by my bed and there isn’t a lot of room at night. My bathroom is not insulated so it is very cold in the winter. My sister does not get a lot of time with my mom because of my disease. My mom has to put me to bed every night and watch me until the night nurse comes because I will itch and cause damage to my skin. I would love to be able to give my family a dream house to show them how much I appreciate every thing they do for me.
Thank you,
Taylor
May 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
How do I even begin to comment on this? When I have tears in my eyes. Scott, I also sent you a couple emails today from work, letting you know, that if this precious little girl is not chosen for the Extreme Make Over home, then I would love to be on a team to do something to help this family. We have so much talent & creativity here in Rochester, and we truly are a giving community. I hope that Taylor is selected for the home, and I anxiously await information on how I can help. Last fall, the company I work for sponsored a Habitat Home, and I helped build a basement, so I will say that I am up for the challenge to help with this home. I know there are many people who will want to help. Thank you so much for sharing Taylors story on the air today, and I shared it with my kids tonight. : )
May 8th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I also have the pleasure of knowing Taylor Kirin. She is my hero. She inspires me daily. For a young girl with such a devistating disease she expresses a true concern for everyone. I have never seen a girl that was so dedicated to helping other. Last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer and Taylor was a inspiration to me. She encouraged me to continue fighting and to think positive. She prayed for me and for a cure for cancer daily. Taylor also expressed many times that if there was anything I needed just to let her know. Taylor has participated every year in the relay for life event here in Dansville, NY. She raised over $1000.00 last year. She wanted to come up with a way for her to raise money in my honor, to show her dedication to me. She went to our pharmacy and sold bracelets for this event. I just could not believe that this little girl could care so much. To think of her situation and how she lives daily and to see how much she wanted to help me and other. I just wish there was just something I could do for her. I believe Taylor is a great example of a hero. The fight she fights everyday and the pain she feels everyday and she still sets it aside to think of others. This is just one story of the many.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
My name is Stacey Campbell, better known to Taylor as Miss Stacey since I have been her dance teacher now for the past 3 years. Taylor can be best described in one word…PASSION! She has a passion for music and dance that is contagious! Seeing her in the studio always made me smile because I knew that she truly loved dancing and apprecitated being there. Unfortunately, Taylor had to stop dancing in the middle of this season due to her feet hurting her. I think that if the Kirin’s do get a new home, Taylor definitly deserves a room built for a superstar because that is what she is and I’ll always be inspired by her passion for dance and for life! I love you Taylor!
May 10th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I know Taylor, all of her relatives and friends. She is a wonderful child and she deserves the very best.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Taylor Kirin is a HERO!
Taylor is my niece and in my 41 years on earth no one has influenced me more. Even though I have a very strong faith in God I spent days, months, years asking how this could possibly happen to any child. In time my answer came. Taylor inspires all people. She lives life in pain, but remains positive, strong, and most importantly filled with love.
Taylor has taught me patience, appreciation, and to enjoy each and every day.
If Taylor was selected for Extreme Makeover the entire country would meet this angel sent from above to teach us all how to live life, and never give up hope.
One look in her big brown eyes and America will fall in love with her beauty as well as her spirit. Don’t miss this chance to meet the most remarkable person I know.
PS I love you Taylor and good luck with the contest! Aunt Sue
If Taylor was selected for Extreme Makeover the entire country would meet this angel sent from above to teach us all how to live life, and never give up hope. One look in her big brown eyes and evryone will fall in love with her too.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:20 am
I am amazed about how articulate this young lady is. I use the word young lady because if it wasn’t for knowing her age i would swear she was older then she is. I have heard stories along the way in my 17 years of healthcare of courageous endeavors. I will have to say this ranks right up there as one of the if not the best true testiment to total commitment to make the best out of a not so deserving situation. I think that if anyone from Extreme Home Makeover sees this testimonial, that they would find it hard to find any others so deserving. I also heard Taylor on the morning show on my long commute from Syracuse to Farmington each day, and will say she has to be an inspiration for anyone who happened to be listening including myself. Keep up your focus Taylor, and I’m sure one way or another you will get what you so rightfully deserve.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:25 am
I listened to the show the morning Taylor was on the air. It’s amazing to me that I am only a year older than she is, yet she deals with so much more. I watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition each week, and I don’t think I’ve seen a child so deserving. Taylor, I know that everyone who knows you is extremely luck to know such a inspiring, strong girl. If Taylor does get the new house, I want to be able to help be a part of building the house she truly deserves.