GERTON, N.C. (WGHP) -- On Sept. 27, 2024, Tarin Truluck's backyard went from a green paradise for her family with a small stream to an apocalyptic wasteland in just a few hours. "It was so pretty. I spent so many hours on this property," Truluck said. "It will never be the same, ever. It's impos sible." After narrowly escaping the morning Helene hit and getting off the mountain, she and a friend chain-sawed their way back up to find half of her home washed down the creek. "Got up here and saw what was left of my house, which was jarring. Kind of put me in to shock mode," Truluck said. Appliances, clothing and photos were all hidden in the dirt, and rocks, water and trees were all piled up around her home. The two things she wishes she had back are her kitchen and her apron, which were the heart of her home, but she didn't pack up and leave. Gerton is Truluck's home. It's where she was raised and where her three kids grew up. "I always said I would have a beach house and a mountain house. I just didn't think they would be in the same place because of a hurricane," Truluck said. She got to work, and what followed was a logistical nightmare. "FEMA did not do this. Insurance did not do this. Between volunteers and just friends that I know, I've gotten this far," Truluck said. Due to a mix-up with her insurance company, Truluck wasn't sure she was covered, so when FEMA came by, she applied and got some money.   Mennonite Disaster Services and a nonprofit called Savage Freedom helped to bulldoze the shell of her house. After it was bulldozed, she realized her insurance was reinstated, but now there's a back-and-forth with the company to get coverage for a house that's no longer standing. "It's never been in my nature to let someone just tell me, 'No and OK. Good talk,'" Truluck said. "This whole process I'm like, 'No. No. No.' Unless I want you to tell me 'no,' we're not doing that." The new plan for her house is a little smaller, and the back half will be on stilts where her basement was. She's hoping to be back cooking in her kitchen again by Thanksgiving. "It was my home that I loved, and ... everything is sheer destruction ... Mother Nature just has a way of doing her own thing," Truluck said. Mother Nature also has her own signs, letting Truluck and others know that after so much destruction, there's also hope. "I never thought I would go through something like this," Truluck said. "I'm going to be so much stronger when I come out of it." ...read more read less