‘Fixer Upper’ Stars Chip and Joanna Gaines Step up to Help Paralyzed Firefighter

On their hit HGTV show Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines help create dream homes, but they help make dreams come true off-screen as well.

As Waco, Texas’ KWTX reports, the Fixer Upper stars have quietly stepped in to help ensure work can begin on a handicap-accessible home for a paralyzed Waco firefighter.

“Chip and Joanna have offered to pick up the last big-ticket item,” contractor Wes Waller said. “They’re going to pay for the cost of the lumber.”

Waller is working with local firefighters and the Waco community to build a home for Garth Goodwin.

When off-duty, Goodwin helped assemble rolling billboards used by the Gaines as part of the big reveals on Fixer Upper. Unfortunately, he was injured when his tools came into contact with a power line while working on a billboard, causing him to fall 13 feet from the billboard’s platform.

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The fall left Goodwin paralyzed from the chest down. Goodwin feared he would be a burden to his family who is already caring for his only child, 19-year-old Cutter, who was born without a portion of his brain.

The community quickly rallied to help build an accessible home, but when the Gaines learned there was one major hurdle left the stepped in to resolve it. The stars had an employee contact and offered to purchase the lumber for the project.

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“It’s just like that picture in the restaurant when you’re working to connect the dots. Chip and Joanna connected the dots for us,” Waller said.

They hope to have Goodwin and his family in their new home in time for the holidays.