...You, Oh Lord, are my refuge in the day of disaster.....
Jeremiah 17:17b NIV
What do you do when all you have is nothing but a pile of rubble?
Friday was a day of disaster for our little hometown.
On Thursday evening the National Weather service issued a Tor-con level of 9
for our area.
Which means there is a 90% chance of a tornado.
For me; that was enough reason
to make preparations for the worst.
My husband had to work on Friday, so I was at home alone.
My daughter and her husband decided to drive up from Knoxville
to weather the storm with me.
There were so many alerts and warning for this area,
we decided to
head to my in-laws home
to weather the upcoming storm in the basement.
I am so glad we did!
There were two tornado's that hit our area.
Both of those were within 1-2 miles of my home.
The aftermath of the storm revealed many homes were completely destroyed.
Leaving so many homeless.
We soon heard several were dead.
Many were critically injured.
It was a devastating storm.
One of those critically injured was a 23 year old girl who was very close to us.
Her name is Amy.
Her Mother's name is Carolyn.
Amy was at her boyfriends home during
the tornado. His name is Eric
.
This is her Mother's story:
I called Amy who was at her boyfriends home.
I told her the weather was getting really bad.
I felt she needed to come home now.
Eric's home is a double-wide mobile home.
Not the safest place to be during a severe storm.
I felt she would be safer here in our home.
Amy said she would be okay and wanted to stay where she was.
I was still on the phone with Amy when I could hear a loud commotion in
the background.
I heard Eric's Mother yelling, "get in the hallway now!"
She screamed this out several times.
It was just a few seconds later that Amy's cell phone went dead.
I knew something was seriously wrong.
Carolyn quickly headed in the direction of Eric's home.
When they arrived there was nothing but rubble
and debris everywhere.
There was nothing left of the home.
The rescue teams would not let allow me to enter the area.
I explained that my daughter was in that home.
When they heard this, I was allowed to enter.
Eric's Mom and Dad were found
lying in the midst of the rubble.
They were both dead.
I reasoned in my heart that Amy was dead too.
After searching through the rubble of the home
they did not find Amy.
I thought I would never see my daughter again.
She was later found several feet away from the home.
Amy's body was covered in blood.
It was then I saw her leg.
It was horrible.
looked as if a 2x4 had blown through it.
She was critically injured,
but still breathing.
The make a long story short.
Due to her injuries,
Amy was air lifted immediately
to the University of Kentucky hospital.
Her leg was amputated.
One of her arms was broken and damaged seriously.
It required several hours of surgery.
They could not find Eric at first.
Eventually he was found and is also in UK hospital
He has many broken bones and internal injuries.
He is currently still in ICU.
Everything in the path of the tornado is gone!
Nothing but rubble......
I am blessed and thankful today.
Our home was spared.
We are all safe and unharmed.
Please pray for all those who have suffered much as a result of this storm.
Be thankful for what you have today
for tomorrow it could be gone!
Blessings!
Patty
