Parents always say they'd do anything to save their kids' lives and on Friday one Indiana mom proved it when she lost her legs while covering her two children with her body as a tornado pulverized their home. Both children survived without a scratch. The super mom, Stephanie Decker, 36, had to have one leg amputated above the knee and the other just below it.
She had arrived home just a few minutes before the monster tornado hit them and had rushed to the basement with her kids to take cover. Stephanie said she saw a huge piece of debris collapsing on her and pulled her daughter out of the way right before it hit her. Talk about one amazing and heroic mom!
I can only imagine what was going through Stephanie's mind as she huddled in the basement with her 8-year-old son and her 5-year-old daughter. What was being said in that room as the house was disintegrating in front of their very own eyes? Where do you even get the strength to assure your children that they will survive in the face of such devastation?
As a mom, I guess you just do what you have to do. I'm not sure there's too much reasoning going on. Your kids' lives are in danger and you just know you have to do whatever's in your power to make sure they are safe–even if that means losing your life in the process.
Miraculously, Stephanie is alive and in stable condition, even if she's missing parts of both her legs, seven of her ribs are broken and she also suffered a punctured lung. On Monday, she told the ABC News that she knew her leg was gone and that if she didn't get help she would probably die. Even so, "I stayed conscious the whole time. I couldn't afford [to pass out]. They needed me. They had to have me, so I had to figure out what to do," she added from her hospital bed.
And apparently the heroics run in the family because as soon as he could, Stephanie's son ran out for help in the blinding hail. Several neighbors came to the rescue and she was later taken to the hospital.
Their three-level, 8,000-square-foot dream home, which they said took nine months to build, was destroyed in just a few seconds, but thanks to Stephanie's heroism, the family remains intact.
What's the most heroic thing you've done for your children?
Image via CNN
