Status: UNKNOWN
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition veteran builds have gotten complicated with all the different military family outcomes flying around. As someone who’s researched every veteran episode the show ever produced, I learned everything there is to know about Gene Westbrook and his family’s story. Today, I will share it all with you.
Gene Westbrook’s Service
Gene Westbrook was a father of three who volunteered for Operation Iraqi Freedom. I want to emphasize the word “volunteered” here, because that tells you something about the kind of man he was before any of this happened. He stepped up when his country asked, he went overseas, and he came home paralyzed. The military awarded him the Purple Heart, which is the recognition given to service members wounded in combat. It’s one of those honors that nobody actually wants to earn, if you think about it.
After being medically discharged, Gene didn’t retreat from the world. He devoted his time to speaking about his experiences and helping other veterans navigate the transition back to civilian life. A guy who can’t walk anymore, and he’s spending his days making sure other vets don’t fall through the cracks. That’s the kind of person the show was built to help.
The Build
Probably should have led with this section, honestly, because the accessibility features are what made this build matter so much.
The Extreme Makeover team built a fully accessible home for Gene and his family. That might sound straightforward, but designing a house for someone in a wheelchair involves rethinking literally everything. Doorway widths, counter heights, bathroom layouts, floor surfaces, ramp grades, hallway turning radii — every single element of a standard house needs to be reconsidered when the person living there can’t stand up.
The goal was to let Gene maintain his independence, and from what I’ve seen of the build, they took that seriously. This wasn’t just about slapping a ramp on the front door and calling it accessible. The house was designed so Gene could move through every room, use every space, and live his daily life without constantly needing someone’s help. For a man who’d been an active, independent person before his injury, that kind of design philosophy isn’t a luxury — it’s dignity.
Behind the Scenes: The Ed Sanders Incident
That’s what makes the Westbrook episode endearing to us long-time viewers — there’s a behind-the-scenes detail that most people don’t know about. During the build, designer Ed Sanders accidentally cut his hand with a wood grinder badly enough that he had to miss part of the construction. On a show where every hour counts and the seven-day deadline is real, losing one of your key team members is a genuine problem.
But the crew rallied. They covered for Sanders and kept the project on track, which honestly makes for a better story than if everything had gone smoothly. There’s something fitting about a team pushing through their own setback to finish a home for a man who’d pushed through far worse. Sanders eventually came back to help finish the build, but the fact that the rest of the crew stepped up without missing a beat says a lot about how much this particular family meant to everyone involved.
Where Are They Now?
I haven’t been able to verify the current status of Gene Westbrook or the family home. The accessibility builds present unique long-term questions that standard Extreme Makeover houses don’t face. Specialized equipment like wheelchair lifts and medical fixtures require ongoing maintenance and occasional replacement, and those costs aren’t covered by the original build. Gene’s medical needs may have evolved over the years too, potentially requiring modifications that the original design didn’t anticipate.
What I do know is that Gene Westbrook gave his mobility for his country and then used whatever he had left to help other veterans. If the show’s build gave him even a few years of comfortable, independent living with his three kids, that’s a success worth celebrating. I hope he’s doing well, and if anyone has information about the Westbrook family, I’d be glad to update this piece.
Status pending verification – January 2026
Leave a Reply