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DIXON – Four-year-old Kody Currier was born with virtually no immune system.
Happy childhood places, like playgrounds and preschools, could kill him. His Dixon home, which is poorly insulated and contaminated with mold, is no a safe haven.
His parents, Kevin and Nicole Currier, battle fear constantly.
Kody’s sisters, Ashley and Shauna, both 14-year-old Reagan Middle School students (11 months apart), have problems of their own. Ashley has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, while Shauna is hearing impaired.
Putting aside their own problems, the girls are helping campaign to catch the eye of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” They want a new home, to improve Kody’s breathing.
Kody has hypogammaglobulinemia and a rare disorder called chromosome 4q-syndrome. He was born 3 months premature, and weighed in at 2 pounds, 13 ounces. In his short life, he has had pneumonia more than 24 times, and caught many long-lasting colds and flu viruses. He has endured numerous ear infections, had has had tubes put in his ears three times.
For Kody, such infections can be fatal.
“All it takes is one bad virus or one bad illness,” Kevin said.
Until last week, Kody went to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago once a month to receive gamma globulin treatment. Now gets his treatment weekly, but at home.
It’s a 3 1/2- hour process in which antibodies from other people are transfused into Kody’s body to boost his immunity.
Kody gets severe headaches before and after treatments. For 24 hours after treatment, he runs a high fever – up to 104 degrees – and vomits.
Ashley, a student at Reagan Middle School, hates seeing him suffer.
“It makes me miserable to watch him go through what he goes through,” she said.
Kody, however, accepts his shots with bravery.
“Even though they hurt me,” he said, “I don’t cry.”
That’s the kind of kid he is – despite his pain, Kody smiles all the time and makes friends with everyone, his parents say.
“On his sickest day, he’ll still want to get out and roughhouse and play,” his dad said.
Cindy M. Lightner, 50, is the Curriers’ neighbor.
“He’s always smiling and saying hi,” Lightner said. “I just love him. He’s so adorable.”
Each hospital treatment cost $4,600, $1,400 of which was not covered by their insurance. They don’t know yet what the in-home treatment will cost.
Kody also must take antibiotics daily. Then there’s Shauna’s hearing aids and molds, Ashley’s medication, eye drops for Nicole’s glaucoma, and counseling sessions.
Kevin works 14- to 15-hour days driving a truck driver for Dohrn Transfer Co. in Rock Falls to cover the family’s extensive medical bills, while Nicole assumes the duties of a stay-at-home mom for her three special-needs children.
She also helps take care of her grandmother, Patricia Stauffer of Dixon, who is in a nursing home.
The Curriers cannot afford repairs to their 990-square-foot, two-bedroom home. The kitchen is so tiny, only two people can squeeze in at a time, and one of the bathrooms used to be a closet.
Walls are cracking and the house’s foundation is crumbling. The house is literally sinking, turning their master bedroom floor into a slope.
Dust, dirt, and mold from the unfinished basement irritates Kody’s lungs, as does dander in the carpeting. They would like to install easier-to-clean wood floors, according to their post on the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Facebook page.
The lack of insulation results in a costly gas bill. The room Ashley shares with Shauna is so cold that she often sleeps on the living room couch.
The house also survived a fire, but the previous owners made minimum repairs, Kevin said. The eaves still are charred.
They also have battled snakes and critters, and the weak roof needs maintenance.
“We fear it might just collapse,” Kevin said.
The family is working on an application and video to submit to “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a show that provides new dream homes for families in need.
The Curriers are deserving, Lightner said. Kevin, 33, is hardworking – the 1996 Oregon High School grad is a volunteer firefighter for the Harmon Fire Department, and hopes to become an EMT.
Ashley, 29, helps take care of Lightner’s dog, she said.
Their home needs attention.
“It’s just so tiny, and it needs so much work,” Lightner said. “There’s just no way [Kevin] can keep up with it all.”
Many already have nominated the Curriers on the “Exteme Makeover: Home Edition” Facebook page discussion boards.
The Curriers are just hoping for a safer, warmer place for their children to call home.
“We expect the worst, but we really hope for the best,” Kevin said. “We’re looking for a break here.”
With his limited free time, Kevin, a 1996 graduate of Oregon High School, serves as a volunteer firefighter for the Harmon Fire Department, and hopes to become and EMT.
Kody said he wants to be a firefighter, just like his dad, someday.
Jordan M. Smith, 24, Harmon’s assistant fire chief, said he cannot think of anyone more deserving than Kevin and his family.
Although he works long hours and takes care of a sick child, “he still finds time to give back to the community,” Smith said.
There are bright spots. Thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, who grants wishes to children with life-threatening conditions, the Curriers are taking their first family vacation – they’re going to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., so Kody can meet Mickey Mouse and his other favorite cartoon characters.
Kevin is looking forward to a little worry-free family togetherness, and the chance to “forget about all the nonsense for a while,” he said.
Ashley realizes that other families, too, are struggling. She hopes to start a community special needs support group.
“We could all build off of each other,” she said.
Although Nicole, a Dixon native, gets discouraged at times, she refuses to let negative thoughts take over. The love of her family keeps her going, and their trials make them stronger, she said.
“You have to be a closer family to be able to make it through it all,” Nicole said.
“You have to hold each other up.”
To nominate the Curriers
To nominate the Currier family for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," email castingillinois@gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ExtremeMakeoverHomeEdition and click on "Discussions" then "Currier Family."
To make a donation to "Kody Currier's Fund," send checks to Sterling Federal Bank, 402 S. Galena Ave., Dixon, IL 61021, or visit any Sterling Federal Bank location.