David Beckham makes surprise visit on Extreme Makeover

Lucky family get new home and meet the soccer star

Saturday, 3 November 2007

As if getting a new home weren't enough, the family featured on this Sunday's episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition also got something extra – a meeting with their favorite soccer player, David Beckham.

But wait, there's more. Not only did the Los Angeles Galaxy player take time to meet the Millers of Cheyenne, Wyo., on their recent visit to New York (where the show sent them on vacation while their new residence was being built), but Becks gave their 10-year-old son, Dakota, the treat of his young life – a scholarship to Beckham's Los Angeles-based soccer academy.

The youngster had been forced to quit the sport due to the fact that Radon, the poisonous gas that had infected the family's original house, had caused him to wheeze severely.

In fact, the entire family had been suffering from respiratory illnesses as a result of Radon levels that were the equivalent to what four people would produce if they all smoked 12 cigarettes a day.

According to ABC, sports isn't the Millers' only passion. As pet lovers, the family had hoped to create a safe haven for abused and unwanted animals before the toxins threatened them. To that end, they were presented with a new dog and cat-care space, to go along with their new house.

Fellow animal lover, country music superstar Wynonna, was also on hand to welcome them to their new home, after performing for the hundreds of hard-working volunteers.

By Karen Salkin