Reported by: Deb Silverman
Photographed by: 9News
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Tri-state families will gather Sunday night to watch as a local family is featured on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
When the Akers family of West Chester were selected by the show for a new home in July, there was a lot of attention on the two Akers' girls.
They are living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a disease that causes their muscles to deteriorate.
Their father Greg and their brother Christian also have health problems.
They have Crohn's disease. It's a painful, unpredictable bowel disease that attacks the digestive system.
"It's like having the flu for weeks, months," said Shellie Doub, a Liberty Township woman who has two children with Crohn's disease.
Parents of local children with Crohn's hope the show will help more people understand the disease.
"It really limits what they can do," said Shellie Doub of Liberty Township.
"If people could just extend those little kindnesses," said Doub, "to just come over and watch a video with them instead of be disappointed that they can't go out and play paintball or do the things other kids are doing."
Rachel Spradlin of the Cincinnati Area Crohn's and Colitis Foundation says 1.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with Crohn's or colitis. The two diseases are similar.
Spradlin said when the diseases are in remission you can live a normal life.
Medicine can reduce symptoms or the time between attacks but there is no cure.
She said people don't know much about Crohn's and colitis because it's not something people feel comfortable talking about.
"It's very personal," said Spradlin. "People don't go around saying they've been in the bathroom 30 times that day."
Be sure to tune into a WCPO special "Extreme Tri-State Dream" at 7 p.m. Sunday night. The Extreme Makeover Home Edition show begins at 8 p.m.
The Akers family also invites the community to watch the show Sunday night at their church, Princeton Church of God, on Millikin Road in Liberty Township.
There will be six large screens for viewing and room for thousands.
You can also watch both shows on the big jumbotron TV downtown on Fountain Square.
