was in their walk-out basement, which had French doors leading outside and a wall of windows, when she saw the tornado approaching, moving across the familys 15-acre plot. Stephanie Decker had already tied a blanket around both children and to herself, and she threw herself on top of the children.
When the tornado passed, Stephanie Decker called to the children. Reese, 5, answered immediately, but Dominic, 8, hesitated before saying he was OK. Decker said his son told him he couldnt hear his mother because of the roar of the storm.
who had taken refuge in a storm cellar, Decker said. One neighbor, realizing the severity of Stephanies injuries, ran for help and found a deputy sheriff traveling on a four-wheeler about a quarter of a mile away. The deputy applied tourniquets to Stephanie Deckers legs to halt her blood loss.
