Family
Meet the Martirez Family of Shrewsbury, Mo.!
Dawn Martirez was a beloved and dedicated pediatric cancer nurse who cared for terminally ill children all her life. Little did she know that her medical experience would prepare her for the care of her own children. She and her husband, Emmanuel, had their daughter Elle and then became pregnant again with twins Evan and Alec.
Evan has an extremely rare genetic condition called 9P minus, and Alec has another uncommon genetic disorder known as Crouzon Syndrome. Even though doctors warned of severe complications, Dawn refused to terminate the pregnancy. Both twins suffer from skeletal abnormalities that require extensive corrective facial and cranial surgeries, with Evan having physical handicaps and mental retardation and Alec being profoundly hearing impaired. Dawn also had to stop working as a nurse in order to take care of the twins full time. As the boys get older, the home's cramped, narrow hallways, steep stairs, crumbling driveway and single, handicapped inaccessible bathroom are posing great problems for them and slowing their development. Now it is up to Ty and his designers to equip the Martirez's home to accommodate the twins' special needs.
While Ty and the designers, local builders Callier Thompson Shea Construction & Design LLC and Consolidated Construction Group Inc. and hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the Martirez family will go on vacation to Disney World.
The Martirez home is located at 7329 Brunswick Ave.
