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Stage One: The Reveal
Over 400 applications poured in from TriState residents,
all begging, all pleading for an Extreme Makeover. One
woman recounted how her husband had left her because of
physical changes due to repeated pregnancies. Another
described her body parts with animal-kingdom metaphors:
“My elephant ears, my hippopotamus bottom. . . “ Someone
spent $14 to Fed-Ex a thick portfolio. A husband arrived
at Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown’s office huffing and puffing
and then handed the receptionist a large, stuffed envelope.
“My wife will kill me,” he said, “if she learns I forgot
to deliver this. It’s been sitting in my car for days.”
Mandell-Brown, along with Drs. Gary and Tara Hardin and
their respective staffs, read every single application.
“Some of them nearly made us weep,” he admits. “We began
to wish we could spend several months on these kinds of
projects.” But finally, after intense consideration, they
declared their winner: Joyce Lieser of West Chester. Lieser
was told to come to Mitchell’s Salon and Day Spa on the
evening of December 14 for a final hair-and-skin evaluation.
But upon arrival she was escorted into a private reception
room and greeted by flowers, balloons, a frosted cake,
applause and cheers from her husband Ed, her daughter
Dawn, several close friends and her new Extreme Makeover
Team: Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown, Dr. Robert Benza of Eyecare
Associates, Drs. Gary and Tara Hardin of Hardin Dental,
their staffs, Jim Riggs, founder of Power 3 Fitness, Rachel
Clark, owner of Fetish, and several personnel from Mitchell’s,
including managing vice-president Vivian Moore. She’ll
also receive one-on-one nutrition counseling from Peachy
Seiden, MS, RN, owner of Cincinnati Nutrition Counseling.
Lieser stared openmouthed at the full house and then,
with her instant comedic timing, fired at Ed: “You are
such a liar. You said you were going Christmas shopping.”
And then to the crowd she extended her arms: “I need all
of you people! When do we start?”
The answer: almost immediately. “What makes Joyce such
a great candidate is not only her positive attitude,”
says Mandell-Brown, “but also that she can use everyone’s
services. We’ll likely do some laser resurfacing around
her mouth and lower eyelids. She’ll also benefit from
a facelift. As for bodywork, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“In our case, we’ll see some pretty immediate results,”
adds Dr. Gary Hardin. “We can change somebody’s life just
by changing their smile. With whitening and/or veneers,
that can happen in about two to four weeks.”
“We’ll eliminate Joyce’s need for distance glasses,”
nods Dr. Robert Benza. “Within 15 minutes she’ll be able
to read the clock on the wall—something she hasn’t been
able to do in decades.”
“Wow!” exclaims one close friend, listening in. “You’ll
be a trophy wife!” “First she has to get past me!” boasts
Jim Riggs, rubbing his hands together. “See that cake,
Joyce? That’s the last piece you’ll be eating for quite
a while.” “Wait a minute!” Dawn declares. “I don’t want
her looking younger than I do.”
“Well,” Riggs relents, “we might need some friends and
relatives to work out with her.” “Don’t look at me,” Ed
deadpans. “I travel a lot.” Dawn suddenly breaks down
in tears. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it together,”
she says, wiping her eyes. “No one deserves this more
than my mom does. They say what goes around comes around.
Well, it’s finally coming around.”
Stage Two: The Consultations
read about it here
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