OAK PARK, Mich. -- Several thousand dollars have rolled in for an Oak Park family who feared they were going to lose the home whose renovation was viewed by millions of TV viewers in 2004.

Judy and Larry Vardon said the money should help them avoid foreclosure on the Oakland County home that was refurbished to better accommodate their blind, autistic son. The deaf couple was featured on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

The Macomb Daily and The Daily Tribune reported Sunday the couple didn't request money, but donations started coming after media outlets this month reported on their plight.

The Vardons said they were weighed down by a mortgage payment that almost doubled since the makeover and medical insurance that hasn't covered autism treatment for 16-year-old Lance.

Adding to their insecurity, Larry Vardon, 50, works at Chrysler LLC's Sterling Heights stamping plant. The company is on the brink of bankruptcy as it and the other Detroit automakers lost their appeal to Congress for emergency loans.

"I'm afraid I'm going to lose my house now," Judy Vardon, using sign language through an interpreter, told The Macomb Daily. "This house really belongs to Lance. This is his environment. He can't speak out for himself, and I hope we can save this house."

ABC said 20.5 million viewers saw a crew led by host Ty Pennington rehabilitate the Vardons' 980-square-foot house in suburban Detroit from the inside out, including installing cameras and flat-screen monitors allowing the Vardons to monitor Lance.

The couple is working with Lighthouse of Oakland County, a nonprofit group that aids families in crisis. Also, last month, the group helped the Vardons link up with Seth Cohen, manager of Mortgage Access in Birmingham.

Lighthouse has set up a fund to help the family. To donate, contact the Friends of the Vardon Family Fund, P.O. Box 721084, Berkley, MI 48072-0084.

Also, radio station 95.5 FM gave the family $5,000 last week.