On February 5th, 2008, my hometown was destroyed in just a few hours. I can remember being in the third grade and noticing the weather was unusually hot that day. It was a very ordinary day but everyone no doubt had this weird feeling that something was about to happen that would change our lives.
It was a Tuesday night, and I had an early bedtime so not thinking anything about tornados, I went to my room upstairs and slept just like any other night. Later in the night, I heard the phone beside my bed ring and my parents ran upstairs. This was our first warning that a tornado had hit and another one was on its way. Maybe 30 minutes later, I heard one clap of thunder, and my sister and I ran downstairs to my parent’s room.
The next morning when we woke up, the power was out, and all the roads were shut down, but other than that it seemed to be a normal day yet again. The tornado had gone over my house, taking off only a few shingles. While I may not have much of a personal story to tell, some very strange events happened that night that others experienced.
Many people have reported hearing what sounded like a train whistling which let them know the tornado was on its way while others noticed a fire from a gas pipeline that busted due to the storm. My high school Precalculus teacher and Beta club sponsor were affected by the tornado and no doubt it is a miracle she survived.
Myself along with so many other students couldn’t be more thankful for God allowing her to push on and survive such a deadly event….years later, her story makes me even more thankful to be alive on this earth and without her, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard.
Here is a shortened version of her life-changing story:
“Tuesday, February 5, 2008, was just an ordinary day except it was extremely hot. Supercell storms were moving across the US and some time that evening the TV had gone to all weather. About the time our electricity went out, Phillip suggested that we go to the bathroom because it sounded rough outside. Phillip, Rocco and I went down the hall to our master bath. Just as Phillip was shutting the door, it hit. We were all three sucked up into this massive tornado that had just hit Columbia Gulf.
Our house took a direct hit. Something hit me in the head and I was knocked unconscious. Phillip was conscious the entire time. When the tornado was finished with us it, threw us out on the spot on the concrete slab where our garage had been behind our house. Philip came over to try and pick me up (if he had, it would have killed me because my neck was broken), but because his shoulder had been hurt, he couldn't.
As we were jogging down our driveway, I looked at Phillip, he was covered in blood. I looked behind me and saw Columbia Gulf on fire. Then I looked at my left arm and hand. It looked like something out of a horror movie. We ran to a neighbor’s and rode in a damaged car to the hospital.
I sat down on the examination table and the nurse started to treat me. I can remember flatlining at one time because my blood pressure got so low. I was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks. Vanderbilt sent an infectious disease doctor every other day to help, but even he would tell you that the medicine didn't make me better - God did. I am a living example of the power of prayer. My neck was broken at the 2nd and 5th vertebrae and none of my many doctors had an explanation for why I wasn't dead. I lost my ring finger and all the other fingers are crippled up and stiff.
The injuries to my spine also affected my right hand because I don't have any grip in it either. For the next week, everyone that came to our place asked what they could do, the boys would tell them - look for Rocco. Rocco was a very unusual looking dog - a solid white bull terrier. That 6th night, Phillip lay on his cot in my hospital room praying. He had been called to preach for almost 14 years and hadn't done it because he didn't feel like he was good enough to do this important job.
That night as he lay there praying, he told God if he would bring Rocco back to me and him be OK that he would preach. The next day, which was a full week after the tornado, Phillip's phone rang. It was our neighbor across the street. He told him our dog was sitting where our house used to be.
Rocco was thin and had some injuries, but he was OK. Like me, Rocco shouldn’t have survived. Those of us that believe know why we both did - God wasn't finished with us. Philip believes that this is why all of this happened to us in the first place.”
When the tornado struck, many people were injured and lost their homes. President Bush flew to our town to help and everyone did all they possibly could to come together and repair all that had been lost. I almost lost my best friend that night…her and seven of her family members crowded into a tiny closet when they heard the tornado coming. The tornado took every wall in their house except the four keeping them sheltered from the storm.
A decade has passed since so much was lost, but to this day I believe that a single storm brought our town closer and reminded us to never take any day for granted. Even the single most ordinary day can turn into a day you’ll never forget.
