A Loris family has been selected as the focus of the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” being filmed this week.
Amanda and Derrick Suggs and their children will see the house they inherited from Derrick’s grandfather rebuilt into a stronger, safer home in only a week, as the crew from the show along with area builders and other volunteers converge on their property beginning today.
The show’s producers said they chose the Suggs after hearing the story of how they adopted Amanda’s younger siblings to keep them out of foster care, and how Derrick Suggs, a police officer, was nominated as an officer of the year last year for his role in helping save an infant who had stopped breathing while his mother was driving down the highway.
A press release from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce says Amanda Suggs had dropped out of school after seventh grade because her family had moved around so often in search of work, she had missed too much school. She said her parents had often left her and her younger siblings alone for weeks at a time, and she took on a maternal role for them.
She moved in with a relative and earned her high school equivalency, and enrolled in community college classes.
When she turned 18, she moved to Myrtle Beach to continue college and met Derrick Suggs, whom she soon married. When her younger brothers told her they were being taken from their parents, the couple took them in, even though they had already begun their own family.
The press release says the Suggs’ helped the boys catch up with their school work and now all three are on track to graduate on time.
Now 26 and 28, Amanda and Derrick need some help, too. Their home was built in 1953, and has a long list of needed repairs, including a leaking roof, outdated and exposed electrical wiring, a rotting foundation and cracked asbestos siding.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” host Ty Pennington, the show’s design team and many others will repair and rebuild the home while the Suggs family is treated to a vacation courtesy of the show.
In days to come, The Sun News will follow the progress of the build, as well as tell the stories of some of those participating and viewing. For more details, stay with www.thesunnews.com.
