CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Garcia family came home to a big Christmas surprise Saturday evening: a renovated, decorated house.
"There are a lot of families out there that face all kinds of obstacles." Catherine Albert, with Extreme Christmas Makeover, said.
"One of the greatest I think difficulties that people face is having a child that is sick in some way."
10-year-old, Crystal Garcia, was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago.
For a single father, his seven children, and their grandparents, it has been a difficult year.
"We can't take away the pain and anguish that the parents feel or the grandparents in the suffering of their child. But one thing we can do is we can make sure this is better for them." Albert said.
Catherine Albert has been heading up the Extreme Christmas Makeovers for around a decade now. She works with Driscoll Children's Hospital each year to select a family.
"We want a livable space for everyone. We don't want that burden on them." Albert said. "They have enough to deal with in their life right now."
The home makeover is a surprise. The family only knows a little about what is happening.
"I thought we were just getting new furniture." Crystal Garcia said.
But it's a full home makeover with a redone kitchen, fresh paint, a deck, Christmas decor, a freshly landscaped yard and more.
To pull off this big project in only two days, it took a lot of people.
Volunteers and a local church community joined forces to make it happen.
"You know, we have all kinds of suppliers that give furniture, time, decking, you name it." Albert said.
"What a great Christmas to all be together, serving one another and being good neighbors to each other."
Crystal and her family look forward to creating new memories in their beautiful home.
The best moment for crystal Saturday night, was walking into her new and improved bedroom.
And one of her favorite things about her new room: "Bed. Bunk bed."
To learn more about the Extreme Christmas Makeover visit https://www.extremechristmasmakeover.com/.
