GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A veteran found her happy place in Greeneville—a quaint home on the banks of the Nolichucky River. It helped her find peace and joy, even using the plants on her property to start a new business.
"So, I found this space as soon as I pulled in—I knew. I heard the water and I felt peace. That was something I hadn't felt for a long time," Rachel Sumja said. "I immediately said 'I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get this place.'"
It was paradise until Helene's rains came in fast and furious at the end of September.
Helene's relentless rainfall caused the Nolichucky River to rise with officials sending out code red warnings about a possible dam failure. That didn't happen, but the damage from Helene was very real for Sumja.
"So we're watching it and I'm starting to realize that we are in trouble. If we don't get out, we're going to be stuck. And so we grabbed our important papers and the clothes that I had. I grabbed a hoodie and some extra jeans and we left," Sumja said.
When Sumja finally returned, she was shocked. "There was mud everywhere—everywhere. Mud up to probably our shins. It was in the house. It looked apocalyptic."
Sumja made this property her home and her livelihood. "I had no idea what all this stuff was popping up in my yard. There were so many different kinds of flowers and beautiful plants," she said. "Everything was like, this is edible, this is medicinal, this was used in folk medicine. This was used in Native American medicine."
Sumja started making tinctures from the plants and sold them on her Etsy shop Tennessee Herbal Company. Now, mud and silt cover every square inch of her yard and all of her plants are gone.
"All of the trees on the other side of the river were so high and so big. They've been there for years and years and they just—the river pushed them over," Sumja said.
The inside of her home is also gutted. "It was really nice. I had plants everywhere and it was just a really cozy space," she said.
The water, still trapped in her sliding glass door, leaves yet another reminder of how high the water rose.
Sumja said this place was more than a home to her. It's where she and her daughter found peace after spending years moving from military base to military base all over the world.
"I had just bought this home three years ago, moved out of a bad situation. But my daughter and I bought my first home at 48 years old. I was in the military. So, we moved every two years and it was kind of our safe place," Sumja said.
The second floor, where her daughter's room is located, somehow weathered the storm.
Now Rachel is dealing with things like insurance claims and FEMA. "Once I got my (insurance) denial letter, I did apply for FEMA," Sumja said.
FEMA offered her $38,000 for home repairs. The estimate she received for the rebuild was $150,000. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I try not to think too far ahead because that—that's a very scary thought," Sumja said.
Community support has gotten her through so far.
"It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. That's the reason I'm here and I'm ok. And I can see like a hope and rebuild. These people showed up and there was a church that showed up," Sumja said. "I would never have these blessings from this community had I not been in this situation."
Another thing that has gotten Rachel through this hardship is her fiancé, Steve Ruder. She met him right after moving to Greenville. Now she and her daughter are living with him in his Knoxville home.
"Steve provided such a safe place for her to come in. He's got four daughters of his own and it was just such a welcoming place for her to be able to heal and to bring her things that were not touched," Sumja said.
"It's been a blessing as well just to be able to reground our relationship and be able to support Rachel and [her daughter] through this and I think I'll be reflecting on it for many years to come," Ruder said.
Ruder is the one who posted a TikTok video that went viral.
"The first video I put out has I think 8.5 million views and it shows the before and after because the view here is just incredible And the view afterwards was just something I could never imagine. It looked like a bomb went off. That video just flourished. I mean, it just went crazy. In 48 hours, it was over 6 million views and just exploded," Ruder said.
The video helped spread the word about Sumja's home.
"The TikTok also was a way for us to showcase Rachel's financial situation and I created a GoFundMe," Ruder said. "We're just really grateful for that, which we wouldn't have that opportunity if it wasn't for the TikTok video going viral."
"I'm a big believer in everything happening for a reason and the flood was a test of that because this was the home I was like, this is the most amazing place I've ever found," Sumja said.
To help Sumja with her recovery efforts, you can donate here.
