CEDAR FALLS, N.C. (WFMY) – “It was an eyesore.”
That’s what Jerry Henley says his neighbors thought of his property on 1139 Whites Memorial Road in Cedar Falls before he moved into it to it about two years ago.
“I’ve scratched and scrounged and saved and did everything I could to try and make this place,” Henley said.
All that, he says, while disabled.
But in the early hours of Monday, mother nature threatened Henley’s hard work and dedication to making his home his own when Deep River overflooded.
Henley says something woke him up and he noticed blinking red lights from his window.
It was the local fire department checking on the status of his neighborhood.
“Everything it’s all underwater, everywhere,” Henley remembers. “They said, “You need to get out, you need to get out.””
He evacuated to his son’s house, but as the sun began to rise, he returned constantly to check on his property.
“The water [was] all the way up to my floors,” he said.
PHOTOS: Flooding From Deep River In Randolph County
His brand new heating and air system, the duct work, the insulation and his water heater were all damaged by the flood.
Another concern, mildew and mold in his home’s foundation and flooring once the water begins to dry up.
“I don’t know what I’m doing to do,” Henley said in tears.
We see all the destruction flooding can do to streets, cars and homes, but we don't really dive into what it does to a person and for Jerry Henley this recent flooding came close to breaking him.
Jerry Henley has been through a rough patch.
He says he comes from a family with an abusive father, separated from his wife and mother of his children after 25 years, and lost nearly all the mobility in his legs from an unknown disease doctors believe comes from an insect bite.
When a friend offered to give him the house on Whites Memorial Road as long as he repaired it, Henley thought this would be a fresh start and a chance at a new beginning.
“Every time an obstacle has been in my life, somehow someway something gives me the power to overcome it,” Henley said.
But this hard hit will be tough.
“Now I don’t know about this,” the man said. “I’m just tired.”
Luckily, many neighbors, friends and even strangers have lent a helping hand, bringing him and his three dogs food and supplies to lift his spirit.
“I really appreciate those people because they are really godsent people,” Henley said.
His property may yet again be an "eyesore," Henley says, but the thought of people even wanting to help him keeps him going.
“It may take me another two years or maybe longer, but I ain’t gonna quit, I’ll fight, I’ll do it, I’ll keep going, I’ve done it before.”
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