With severe weather predicted for Henryville, Indiana, Stephanie Decker picked her two children up at school before things got bad. Once they arrived at home, Decker saw a tornado heading straight for her house and rushed with the kids into the basement. After wrapping her son and daughter in a comforter, she covered them with her body.
Decker told The Courier-Journal that when the tornado hit, debris began falling. A large steel beam that fell on her leg nearly severed it completely.
Just as the tornado finally moved on, a second one hit, forcing Decker to endure even more of a battering. When that tornado passed, the children were able to get help for their ailing mother who had lost 40 percent of her blood due to a severed artery. Decker endured multiple injuries including the amputation of parts of both her legs. Doctors say she’ll be able to walk with prostheses.
Decker’s husband calls her a “hero.” And she believes her injuries were worth it, saying, “I love my kids…I wanted to do anything I could to protect them.”
The Spirit helps us. (Romans 8:26)
Grant me the strength to protect my loved ones, Jesus.