In order to get to the man who was in a diabetic coma, emergency personnel had to park at his neighbor's house and hike to his property.
It took them three hours, all because he didn't have a bridge emergency services could drive across.
According to West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, by the end of July last year, there were more than 300 homes without a bridge to provide vehicle access across a creek, leaving them without access to their homes.
Now WV VOAD is trying to solve that problem by building bridges across Southern West Virginia.
"We wanted to help these families because we were their only hope," said Jenny Gannaway, state director of WV VOAD.
The project, which centers around Lincoln, Mingo, Boone, Logan and Wayne counties, has resulted in six bridges so far, with around 188 more to go.
Volunteer organizations take charge of the bridges, which sometimes cost as much as $20,000.
"If you're living on a fixed income, or you're unemployed, you can't afford to build a bridge like that," Gannaway said.
Before, many of these people built their own culverts to get across the water. But when the flood waters rose, those culverts came apart, sometimes stopping the creek and flooding houses nearby.
WV VOAD goes in and make new bridges using concrete piers on both ends of the creek bank. They use steel beams to stabilize the bridges and put wood on top.
"If bridges are built properly and safe, we're not going to have the problem with flooding that we have in the past," Gannaway said.
So far, all of the bridges have been built by the Mennonite Disaster Service, but the Church of the Brethren and American Baptist plan on helping out as well.
WV VOAD accepts checks from people who want to adopt a bridge. Most of the bridges cost $16,000, but WV VOAD takes any amount.
The people who are waiting on bridges could use them. Some people just drive through the water, which could be a problem once flood season starts. Some park a mile away and use a footbridge to cross the creek and get to their property. Others park at their neighbor's house and walk the distance needed.
"People are really hurting," Gannaway said. "And you don't really think about how much a bridge means to you."
Reach Daniel Desrochers at
dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4886 or follow
@drdesrochers on Twitter.