Visit to 'Ellen' show proves a blessing for Minneapolis couple

A Minneapolis couple on the verge of losing their home to foreclosure may have gotten a reprieve, thanks to their appearance last week on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

"It still feels like a dream," said Carrie Agnew of the surprise $25,000 she and her partner, Rebecca Johnson, received while appearing on a segment of the show that aired Friday. DeGeneres presented the funds on behalf of Fujifilm Medical Systems.

Agnew said she and Johnson had no clue they were going to be on camera. The show had offered to fly them out to Los Angeles to watch a taping after she wrote to its website explaining the couple's history and their plight.

They were in the audience when DeGeneres called to them and their 4-year-old daughter, Ruby, to come on stage. Agnew declined to say how the show compiled a video and photo montage, including a portion that dealt with serious medical complications for Johnson and Ruby when she was born.

"I'm surprised I didn't pass out," said Agnew of the moment when DeGeneres presented the couple with two gigantic cardboard checks.

The first check, for $10,000, is meant to cover what they owe on the mortgage of the south Minneapolis house they have owned since 2006. Even though Johnson had been out of work for a time, Agnew said they had managed to make their mortgage payments until last summer. Then they fell behind when Agnew had to quit her job in order to complete out-of-state training to earn a degree to work as a radiology technician.

The second check, for $15,000, is to give them a financial cushion until Agnew can get a job. She said it's been a difficult search because the market for radiology technicians is extremely competitive. Johnson has two jobs -- as a laboratory manager at a suburban clinic and also as a paramedical examiner.

Agnew said she and Johnson have gotten numerous phone calls, e-mails and messages on their Facebook page since the show aired. A YouTube video of the segment has more than 100,000 hits.

"It's such a relief," Agnew said of the money. "Our lives are changing."

Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723