After being swept 4 miles in Helene floodwaters, ‘Mattress Sisters’ get community help
By Taylor Thompson
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BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A community fundraiser is being organized in Arden to support Jackie Fenstermacher and Cynthia Dunn, known locally as the “Mattress Sisters,” as they work toward securing a permanent home after losing theirs during Helene.
According to organizers, the sisters’ Fairview home was destroyed when a mudslide and massive logs crashed into the house during the storm.
Jackie, 74, and Cynthia, 75, along with their small dog, were swept away on a mattress through floodwaters and carried four miles down Garren and Flat creeks.
The sisters remained stranded in debris for two days before volunteers found them and helped them get to safety.
Now, almost two years later, organizers said the sisters are still living in a donated shed.
When Helene hit Jackie Fenstermacher had lived on the Fairview property for 33 years and convinced her sister Cynthia Dunn to come live with her.
On Sept. 27, 2024, they watched conditions worsen as water from Flat Creek crept toward their home.
“The river behind us is called Flat Creek, like it was already coming into the backyard,” Fenstermacher said.
The sisters said they were moving cars and bringing plants inside when disaster struck.
“It happened so fast, like one moment we’re sitting here and the next moment something hits so hard it threw us in the floor,” Fenstermacher said.
She described the impact as feeling “literally like being bombed.”
As the home began collapsing around them, the sisters climbed onto a mattress with their dog.
“I pushed her onto the mattress and then I threw the little dog onto the mattress and we jumped on the mattress and then it hit again and just ripped the bedroom to shreds,” Fenstermacher said.
The mattress carried them away in the floodwaters.
“I’m holding onto the mattress for dear life and at one point she’s like, ‘What are we going to do?’ and I’m like, ‘Pray, pray like you’ve never prayed before,'” Fenstermacher said.
Moments later, they struck debris that snapped the mattress in half.
“I had no control, I was just bobbing there hoping she’d see me,” Dunn said.
Fenstermacher said she regained consciousness and found her sister in the debris.
“I saw little hands sticking up, so I reached in and grabbed her,” she said.
The dog also survived.
“The little dog’s head popped out of the squished mattress and he jumped from here to there on top of her,” Fenstermacher said.
The sisters eventually found stability on fallen logs, where they remained stranded for two days.
“We were snuggled up together and at one point I was like, ‘Daddy would be so proud we survived this.’ And she goes, ‘Daddy would be mad we lost the house,'” Fenstermacher said.
The two survived on bottles of water floating through the debris and leaned on humor to get through the ordeal.
“I told Cynthia I was like, ‘I’m so sorry, I have got to pee,’ And she goes, ‘I’ve been peeing on you all night,'” Fenstermacher said.
Then came a moment Jackie said she will never forget.
“I heard Jesus say, ‘You’re going to be okay.’ And two hours later, we were rescued,” she said.
The sisters said rescuers with chainsaws spent about 40 minutes cutting through debris to reach them.
“Two or three men with chainsaws, it took them about 40 minutes, cutting all this debris, they come down in there to get us and at one point the guy was standing there and the sun was shining behind him and he’s got black hair and Cynthia goes, ‘It’s Jesus, it’s Jesus,'” Jackie said.
When they returned to what remained of their property, they found only the front porch still standing.
“There was a bible open, my front porch is the only thing that remains and there’s a bible open,” Jackie said.
The fundraiser Despite surviving what they describe as a miracle, the sisters said they are still struggling to find a permanent place to live.
That’s where Sleep On It Mattress Outlet and Gallery in Arden is stepping in.
The store is hosting an event, Hope Floats, on June 28 to raise proceeds and collect donations to help the sisters establish a new home. There will be live music, food, drinks and raffles.
Organizers are seeking monetary contributions, gift cards, community sponsorships and items that could help Fenstermacher and Dunn continue rebuilding their lives.
“They’re trying to raise enough money to get us a house away from where we are now, that’s what our big dream is,” Fenstermacher said.
The goal of the fundraiser is to bring the community together to support the sisters and highlight the generosity of western North Carolina residents.
Looking back, the sisters said the mattress that carried them through the floodwaters ultimately saved their lives.
“If we were anywhere else in that house, we would have been killed; that mattress literally saved our lives. I never knew mattresses floated either,” Fenstermacher said.
The Hope Floats event is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Sleep On It Mattress Outlet and Gallery, located at 2200 Hendersonville Road in Arden.
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