Joe Sherwood sits on his front porch, "canjo" in hand. He does it with a smile and in high spirits.

"Grandpa Sherwood got ran over by a piano, and it will be played to the music of 'Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer,'" Sherwood said.

What You Need To Know

  • A Watauga County man is recovering after he was pinned by a piano

  • A landslide hit his house during Hurricane Helene last month

  • His house was knocked off its foundation

Sherwood lived in this house for the past 55 years and says just weeks ago he heard a noise he will never forget. Inside his house is a story to be told. The house is now tilted, his belongings are everywhere.

When a landslide hit, a piano came bursting in from his garage and into his bedroom, pinning him.

"All the way down to the end of the bed and then crushed me. I couldn't move. I could move my toes, so I knew I wasn't paralyzed. I said this is it," he said.

Three hours later after his son spotted a volunteer firefighter, help arrived. The fire department took him to get checked out. Sherwood says he's grateful for the help. He has a fractured knee and a bruised rib, but he says he's OK.

"People have worked together. It's better than anything I have seen," he said.

His house suffered more, but he says in the end, it's just material things, and he's happy to be here.

"I got no other choice. I'm at ground zero now and all I got to do is go back," Sherwood said.