NBC Show Renovates Daler Home
This September marks the 10th season of NBC’s home improvement series George to the Rescue, and it might be the most special season yet as Farmingdale viewers will be in for quite the sweet surprise when the show features a Daler family.
Cailin Stryska, a 17-year-old living with cerebral palsy, was selected this summer to have her family’s home renovated by the George to the Rescue team. For five weeks, the Stryskas were relocated to a local hotel as their house, located just off of Conklin Street, was remodeled on the first floor to create an ADA-compliant bedroom and bathroom for Cailin.
Complete with a custom-built bed, light switches lower on the wall, an exceptionally spacious bathroom, a closet with a pull-down bar to access her clothes and nearly everything tied into her iPad to remotely control, Cailin’s new space is nothing short of an oasis for her.
“It means the absolute world, just to know that I’ll be able to be independent, because I was always a worry for my family,” expressed Cailin about her new bedroom suite. “I was shocked. I definitely cried. I knew it would be magical and I knew it would be great.”
For the Stryska family, having a new space for Cailin on the first floor means peace of mind and ease of access. Previously, the youngest of three struggled to fit her wheelchair through doorways, had to brush her teeth at the dining room table and needed assistance bathing.
“We are truly honored beyond any realm of words I have because we did not expect them to pick us,” said Jen Stryska, Cailin’s mother. “We sent in the submission on a whim and for them to pick us—we were just blessed. We have no other words but grateful and blessed. We’re so thankful.”
Last Thursday, the George to the Rescue crew held their big reveal at the Stryska home. Among the show’s team, family and friends gathered to surprise the Stryskas and offer their support.
“We always talk about Daler pride—in this case, Daler pride, Daler gumption, Daler leadership with Cailin,” said Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand of how the community came together for the Stryska family. “It’s a wonderful thing and it all comes down this, the construction company, to George’s crew, to everybody that helped. They all got together.”
George Oliphant, the man behind the show’s namesake, enlisted JRM Construction and TBG Architecture to help make Cailin’s new room a reality.
“Yeah, it starts as a rescue for Cailin and coming here because she’s living with cerebral palsy, but also because of who she is, how positive, outgoing and loving she is and not a complainer, and the way her parents and her family are, it becomes a family rescue,” Oliphant expressed. “I’m really proud of what we were able to do. You meet Cailin and you’re forever in love—she’s got that kind of spirit, she touches people. She’s got so much life ahead of her and for her to be able to go forward from here on out with the space that gives her that independence to start and end her day that every able-bodied person takes for granted, I’m happy we can give her a little bit more freedom.”
Matching her lavender-colored hair, Cailin’s new room is full of shades of purple—her favorite color—and comes with lights that can be controlled through her iPad to display any color she wishes.
“It’s huge for us because Farmingdale is the community we love, we wanted her to stay here, we didn’t want to move,” explained Jen, who commented that if it weren’t for George and his team, the Stryskas would have been given no choice but to leave their home, and Farmingdale, for somewhere better-suited for Cailin’s lifestyle. “When the timing came up and [George to the Rescue] called us, it was like ‘alright we can stay here, [Cailin] can graduate from here, Farmingdale is our home.’ And that meant the world to us. And for [Cailin] to be able to gain independence and stay here and grow from here is amazing for us.”
Watch the Stryska family receive the home renovation of a lifetime on the 10th season of NBC’s George to the Rescue, airing Saturdays beginning Sept. 21.
