The House That Love Built

When A TV Show Turned Down A Mother's Dying Wish, Her Community Stepped In

(CBS)  Although Sonya Barclay's breast cancer has now spread to just about every place …

"It's in my bones. It's all the way down my spine," she told CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman. "I have a spot here in my pelvis."

… this wife and mother says she'll still beat it.

"That's my answer and I'm sticking to it," Barclay said. "Because I have a will and I have a determination and I have four kids."

With that stand-strong attitude and a falling-down house - replete with crumbling chimney and holes in the floor - the Barclays really did seem like the perfect family for the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" TV show, where they build needy families brand new homes.

So the Barclay's sent in a tape showing their place, their personalities and their need. Sonya's husband Jeff told how the mill where he'd been working had been shut down. Sonya told how she just wanted her kids would have a safe place to live.

Unfortunately, the show gets a lot of tapes. The Barclays did not get picked.

Enter Lana Phillips and Jennifer Dudley - good friends of Sonya. They wondered if there was another way to get 'em a house.

"That sounds pretty bizarre doesn't it?" Phillips said.

"Yeah, you guys aren't a TV show!" Hartman said.

The city of Old Town, Maine, where the Barclays live, is not a wealthy community. But when word got out about what had happened, people started offering whatever they had.

And within just 22 days, a home appeared - after lots of help from the community.

"I was like, 'are you kidding me?'" Barclay said. "No, 'somebody pinch me, wake me up!'"

Tonight, the Barclay's are in a brand new four-bedroom home.

It was built not for publicity - or for ratings - but simply for the Barclays.

"This to me is more than a dream come true. And it didn't take a TV show to build this house," Barclay said. "It was built out of love, compassion, and they knew that we needed it and they went ahead and did it."

More than 400 people volunteered to build the house - many of whom have never met the Barclays.

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Send In Your Photos!

For next week's Assignment America, Steve Hartman is looking for your baby photos. If you've got an especially cute one, send Steve a picture. Or, better yet, if you can sent your parental bias aside and admit your child may not be so cute - he wants those pictures, too.

Just click here to send Steve an email.

[fstop100]

Thanks for real people. It is true TV shows are only in for ratings and money.

[grammawhamma]

What a nice story...I wish them well.

Extreme Home Makeover really is way to "extreme". I would rather see more families helped with less drama and liveable nice homes than major mansions being built for a select few!

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.

[noaanhc]

This is such a great story,all my best to this family
but I fear this is going to have a sad ending though
for the cancer that has spread through Mrs Barclays whole body is a sure death sentence.There is always hope for a miracle,but the odds of her survival are very slim.

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.

[chuggbags]

What a great story, caring people, a community that made that family so happy in such sad times. I made me smile and cry at the same time. Best Wishes to you and your family.