Makeover Madness

Gladstone teen cancer survivor comes home to a new look

By Ellen Spitaleri

The Clackamas Review, Mar 24, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Frank DeSantis / Clackamas Review

Molly, left, and Marissa Huddleston gasp with shock as they enter their newly redecorated home. Their mother, Tracie Huddleston, is at far left, and Ragan Corliss, far right, is one of the women who brought the house makeover to fruition.

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Jaws dropped, tears flowed and cameras captured it all, when Marissa Huddleston and her family walked through the door of their completely renovated Gladstone home last Wednesday.

Last September two local women, Ragan Corliss and Jocelyn Webber, were so inspired by the story of Marissa Huddleston, who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenouse Leukemia (CML) a year ago, that they formed founded Oregon Dream Makeover, and told Huddleston that she and her family were to be the first recipients of that organization’s home makeover.

Over the course of the next six months, Huddleston received a bone marrow transplant from her sister Molly, and her cancer is now in remission, and the makeover came together, ultimately involving more than a 150 people.

Ten days before the “reveal” of the home makeover, the family was moved to a donated hotel room at the Hampton Inn, and remodeling efforts ramped up to a fever pitch.

Finally, on March 18, it was time for the Huddlestons to see the results — the repainted walls, the newly refinished floors, the new kitchen and bathroom cabinets, the built-in coffee maker, the renovated bedrooms, complete with bedding and decorative pillows, a landscaped backyard and more.

Marissa, Molly and their mother Tracy squealed with delight when they walked in the door.

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