In 2002, my first wife and I purchased 11 acres and built a log cabin on a mountain near Bat Cave, NC. The entire area was devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Fortunately, my ex-wife was smart enough not to stay on the mountain during the storm and was in her home near Myrtle Beach. She has only recently been able to get into the area and check on the cabin. It has minor damage and the main remaining concerns are removing a very large tree half blown over and dangling precariously over the cabin. There's still no electricity, running water or repairs to the one road into and out of the community.

I heard a news story after the storm of a victim near Bat Cave that remained in Bat Cave during the storm and her home was swept away with her in it. She was recovering from recent back surgery and was immobilized and was unable to evacuate before the storm and her home was swept off the foundation by the flood waters.

Thursday at a volleyball game of my granddaughter's, my ex-wife was there too and she updated me about the cabin condition and the area condition. I asked had she heard the news story about this lady and turns out she's a neighbor. Another neighbor in the community is who found her two days after the storm. She had been ejected from her home and remained trapped in the mud for three days total, including the long hours it took to get equipment and rescue personnel to safely extract her from the mud and debris. Thankfully, she survived her ordeal.

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