AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina man spoke out from his hospital bed after flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Helene took his wife's life.
In Avery County, moments on a mountain flipped Jamie Guinn's world upside down.
"I mean, within an hour, my entire life changed," he said.
Guinn talked to WRAL from a hospital bed. His back is fractured, and his heart is broken.
"Love you who got because you really don't know when they're gone," he said.
For Guinn, that's his wife, Melissa. On Friday, Sept. 27, Guinn said he was home with Melissa and their 8-year-old son when they heard a large "boom" outside. When Guinn went to check, he saw a mudslide hit the back of their house.
"I just remember being like, I guess crushed by the house falling all around me," he said. "And I can remember thinking in my head, 'I guess this is how I'm going to die.'"
A mudslide took their home off a cliff and into the river below. Guinn said he heard his wife screaming. It was enough warning to grab their son before another mudslide.
"When I got right behind my little boy I started screaming for my wife because I couldn't hear her anymore," Guinn said. "Then he turned and looked and me said, 'Dad, I think mommy's gone.'"
Guinn and his son eventually made it to a neighbor's house where they got help. And while his body is hurt, it doesn't compare to the pain of losing his wife. Countless other families are experiencing the same pain as loved ones remain missing after the storm.
"No matter how much money you've got, clothes you collect, anything, it won't bring them back," he said.