‘Take me, I’m ready’: West Virginia flood survivor recounts near-drowning and heroic rescue

TRIADELPHIA, W.Va. (WTRF) — As communities continue to rally together after the major flash flooding that swept through West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, one family shares their story of survival after a neighbor stepped in during a life-or-death moment. 

WBOY’s affiliate 7News sat down with Triadelphia resident Pam Pumpa, who says without their neighbors’ kindness, things would have taken a turn for the worse. 

Pam said it happened in minutes; one moment, she was on the porch with her husband, Dale, and the next, the water was waist-high.  

She said her neighbor, Chuck, shouted at her to move to the front of the house, where they could transport her to higher ground.  

Neighbors tried to pull her and her non-working power wheelchair, which weighs hundreds of pounds, through the mud when a wall of water carried them away.  

“Me and Chuck got hit by a big coffee table and we went down and I was underwater. I can’t swim; I can barely walk,” Pam said during an interview.

“She thought she was taking her last breath; she said to the Lord, ‘Go ahead and take me, I’m ready.’ She opened her mouth to let water in – at that moment, that’s when Chuck, our hero, got her,” Pam’s sister Pennie Narigon said.

As Pam began to slip away, Chuck reached out an arm, holding onto her as he rushed to a porch further down the street. Once the water receded, her husband and the neighbor returned to the house to grab another wheelchair. Amongst the wreckage, they waited for help to arrive. 

To see neighbors and to see the best in people coming out and risking their lives – he said he’d do it again. We talked to him yesterday, and he said he’d do it again.”

Pennie Narigon & Patdawn Palmer – Pam’s sisters

Their house, along with many others, is uninhabitable. Although they were able to salvage a few pictures, Dale says everything is gone. 

We went down and got some stuff. It was hard. You work for over 25 years to build something, and in a minute, it’s gone. It’s just washed away,” Dale said.

The family says although they have ways to go, they’re thankful for all the support they’ve received over the past week.
 
Pumpa was the National Easterseals Poster Child when she was five years old.  

As of right now, Blackburns has sent Pam a temporary chair after her previous one was destroyed.  

Dr. Kitts, her longtime physician at Easterseals, has spearheaded a fundraiser to help cover the gap that insurance doesn’t cover to replace her custom powered chair.