Indiana Tornado: Stephanie Decker Loses Legs Saving Kids From Tornado

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana woman who saved her two children by binding them together with a blanket and shielding them with her body as a tornado ripped apart their house lost parts of both her legs, which were crushed by the falling debris, her husband says.

Stephanie Decker, a 36-year-old sleep specialist, lost one leg above the knee and the other above the ankle, her husband said Monday. She was in serious but stable condition at a Kentucky hospital. The couple's 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter survived Friday's storm unscathed.

"I told her, `They're here because of you,'" Joe Decker said by telephone from the University of Louisville Hospital. "I let her know that nothing else matters. I said, `You're going to be here for your kids, and you get to see them grow up.'"

Decker, 42, was at Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg, where he teaches algebra, when the tornado hit. With storms expected, the school had been locked down, and he was debating whether to try to race home. Decker exchanged a series of texts with his wife, urging her to get herself and their children into the basement of their sprawling, three-story brick and stone home in Marysville, Ind.

"Then she sent me a text saying the whole house was shaking, and I texted her back and asked her if everything was OK," he said. "I asked her about six or seven times and got no response. That kind of freaked me out."

He said his wife told him later that she 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 family's 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.

"She said she felt the whole house start to go, and then she felt like it moved them about before it kind of wedged her in there, but she was able to keep the kids from moving away," Decker said.

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 couldn't hear his mother because of the roar of the storm.

Dominic, however, soon ran across the street to seek help from neighbors, who had taken refuge in a storm cellar, Decker said. One neighbor, realizing the severity of Stephanie's 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 Decker's legs to halt her blood loss.

She has been scheduled to undergo surgery on her legs again Thursday, hospital spokeswoman Holly Hinson said.

"The house is gone. It's pretty amazing that she's alive," Hinson said.

With trees blocking the road after the storm, Decker said he ran part of the way home before two men gave him a ride. He found his house gone and his children with a family friend. His wife had been taken to a hospital 10 miles away, and the men drove him there, allowing him to see Stephanie briefly before she was airlifted to the Louisville hospital.

"I was afraid I might never see her again," Decker said.

Photos of the destruction:

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Shopping Mall in Harrisburg Before Storms
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Shopping Mall In Harrisburg After Storms
Credit: Caleb Cattivera
From AP: Residents ride past a tree that was downed by severe storms that destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: A stop sign, that was bent over by severe storms, stands on a street corner in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Furniture and walls are what is left of a home the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Residents gather the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Volunteer fireman Jeff Woodyard recovers golf clubs from his father-in-law's home in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to the small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: A stuffed toy lies in a ditch the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to the small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Luke Russell clears debris from a storm-damaged home, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harveyville, Kan. A tornado that damaged at least half of the tiny eastern Kansas town of Harveyville on Tuesday night was an EF-2 with wind speeds of 120 to 130 mph, state emergency management officials said Wednesday. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
From AP: An unidentified man enters Riggin's Market and Deli in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The business was closed due to severe storms that destroyed several homes and businesses in town. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to the small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: An unidentified man clears storm damage the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste the small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: A tornado-damaged home sits amid debris along Main Street, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harveyville, Kan. The small eastern Kansas town of Harveyville took a direct hit from an apparent tornado late Tuesday, injuring at least 11 people and reducing much of the town to ruins. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
From AP: Volunteers walk past storm damage in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to the small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Tammy Woodyard, center, talks to neighbor Grant Hill, right, and his daughter, Talla, about the tornado damage to her father's home behind her, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harveyville, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
From AP: Residents walk the streets the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Tammy Woodyard, of Harveyville, surveys the wreckage of her father's home the morning after a tornado hit the town, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harveyville, Kan. Her father was unhurt. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
From AP: Residents talk in front of a home after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Residents and volunteers line up for food and drink, the morning after severe storms destroyed several homes and businesses in Harveyville, Kan., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
From AP: Margaret Shimkus, 61, talks with an emergency responder about her condition Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, at her home in Harrisburg, Ill., after an early morning tornado ripped through the town. Shimkus, who took refuge in her bathtub, sustained a minor cut from the early morning storm, but Dorothy Hill, her neighbor in the duplex home, was taken to a hospital with injuries. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
From AP: In this image made with a cell phone, a residential area is heavily damaged in Harrisburg, Ill., after a severe storm swept through the area early Wednesday morning, Feb. 29, 2012. A hospital administrator in Harrisburg says at least three people were killed in the storm that swept through the region. (AP Photo/The Southern, Paul Newton)
From AP: In this image made with a cell phone, damage is seen to a strip mall in Harrisburg, Ill., after a severe storm swept through the area early Wednesday morning, Feb. 29, 2012. A hospital administrator in Harrisburg says at least three people were killed in the storm that swept through the region. (AP Photo/The Southern, Paul Newton)
From AP: In this image made with a cell phone, a residential area is seen severely damaged in Harrisburg, Ill., after a severe storm swept through the area early Wednesday morning, Feb. 29, 2012. At least three people are confirmed dead in Harrisburg, said Harrisburg Medical Center CEO Vince Ashley, and the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured. (AP Photo/The Southern, Paul Newton)
From AP: A residential area in Harrisburg, Ill. is damaged after a storm passed, Wednesday , Feb. 29, 2012. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/ Stephen Lance Dennee)
From AP: Emergency crews comb through some of the damage after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Keith Hucke, left, and Devyn Byrd, 14, survey the damage sustained to Hucke's house after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. Hucke said he was in his bed when the wall right next to him collapsed during the storm. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Residents take in some of the damage after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Emergency crews comb through some of the damage after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Emergency crews comb through some of the damage after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Roy Mauney of Harrisburg, Ill., collects clothes from a dresser in what remains of his parents house after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Saline County city. Mauney said his parents survived the storm by taking cover in a bathtub before their house blew off its foundation and across the street. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Emergency crews comb through some of the damage after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Gene Byrd pauses for a moment while he and his son Devyn Byrd, 14, look over some of the damage sustained to a friends house after a severe storm hit in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisrbug, Ill. A severe pre-dawn storm pounded portions of southern Illinois on Wednesday. Several deaths have been reported in Harrisburg and left the city's medical center scrambling to treat an influx of injured, the hospital's top administrator said. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan,Paul Newton )
From AP: Emergency responders work to clear debris in a neighborhood in Harrisburg, Ill., after an early morning tornado Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. At least six people died in Harrisburg in the pre-dawn tornado. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
From AP: Paul Johnson with Larry's Electric, works on the electrical system at Harrisburg Medical Center after an early morning tornado damaged the hospital Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. At least six people died in Harrisburg in the pre-dawn tornado. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
From AP: Debris lies on the ground outside Nell Cox's Harrisburg, Ill. home Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, where a tornado ripped through earlier in the day. Cox, a cancer survivor who lives alone, awoke during the tornado, shined a flashlight out her window and saw her neighbor, who was ejected from her bed and out a window, lying in a ditch. Cox, who is in her seventies, went outside and brought the woman to safety until emergency services came. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
From AP: A prosthetic leg found among the debris caused by a tornado that ripped through Harrisburg, Ill. leans against a damaged home Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The tornado that blasted Harrisburg, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 200 yards wide with winds up to 170 mph. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
From AP: Family members and friends try to salvage what they can after a tornado destroyed their neighborhood homes Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. The tornado that blasted Harrisburg, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 200 yards wide with winds up to 170 mph. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
From AP: People try to salvage what they can after a tornado destroyed homes in their neighborhood Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. The tornado that blasted Harrisburg, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 200 yards wide with winds up to 170 mph. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
From AP: Jeff Rann, 29, right, pauses while sifting for possessions in the remains of their parents' duplex trying to salvage what he can after a tornado destroyed their parents home Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. Their parents were cancer survivors Randy Rann, 65, and Donna Rann. Randy died at the scene and his wife died later at a hospital. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
From AP: Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg talks about the destruction from a tornado as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn listens during a news conference in Harrisburg, Ill., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The tornado that blasted Harrisburg in southern Illinois, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 200 yards wide with winds up to 170 mph. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
From AP: A utility worker tries to free storm debris suspended in a power line in Branson, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. An apparent tornado hopscotched through the city's main tourist district overnight, causing damage for miles. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: Tim Thress, left, of Branson, and Wake Williams of Omaha, Ark., help carry merchandise out of a friend's storm-damaged store in Branson, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Powerful storms that produced reports of multiple tornadoes and killed at least nine people elsewhere in the Midwest tore through the music resort town early this morning, injuring more than three dozen people. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: A gas station is damaged and power lines are down in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: A toppled sign lies in a street Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Branson, Mo. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/The News-Leader, Valerie Mosley)
From AP: Storm debris is piled near the entrance to the Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: Residents walk amid downed power lines in their neighborhood in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: Metal debris is wrapped around trees and windows are shattered at the Ozark Mountain Inn in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: Debris lies around the Midtown Cafe Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Branson, Mo. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/The News-Leader, Valerie Mosley)
From AP: Debris lies around the Legends Theater Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Branson, Mo. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/The News-Leader, Valerie Mosley)
From AP: Power lines lie on the ground Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Branson, Mo. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas.(AP Photo/The News-Leader, Valerie Mosley)
From AP: Windows and doors blown out of their frames rest against railings at a hotel in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system that produced multiple reports of tornadoes lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
From AP: Sherry Cousins and her brother Bruce Wallace of Hollister, Mo., sit in the wreckage of their secondhand store in Branson, Mo, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A powerful storm system that produced multiple reports of tornadoes lashed the Midwest early Wednesday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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crystal clear 919

66 Fans

10:30 AM on 03/10/2012

I'd bet that most Moms wouldn't even consider this a sacrifice. It's just one of those things that any good mother would do! Such an inspiring story.

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GandenT

848 Fans

04:53 PM on 03/07/2012

How inspiring and sad; I wish that brave and selfless woman and her family a speedy recovery. As an aside I wonder if these townships build public shelters designed to survive these storms? It seems that for whatever reasons private homes are not up to the job.

Toni Martin-Williams

0 Fans

11:49 PM on 03/07/2012

I used to work with Stephanie in Louisville about 5 years ago. I sincerely hope she is doing OK and I am thankful that her children survived the storm. She is a very strong person and I know we will be seeing her up and around much sooner than any of us thought possible!

sweetcarolineofatlanta

10:37 AM on 03/07/2012

What an amazingly brave and selfless person/mother this is !!! Wish I knew Casey Anthony's e-mail address so that I could forward the story to her. Talk about extreme opposites!!!!!

rjgx

09:20 AM on 03/07/2012

Forget about "The Bachelor" and the other reality driven relationship shows. You want to witness a true love story... this is the real deal!

Minnielee

44 Fans

07:01 AM on 03/07/2012

This lady was willing to give the ultiimate gift, her life, to save her children. It is heartbreaking that she lost part of each leg but she saved her childrens' lives as a result of her courage. She has the fortitude to overcome her loss as she still has her children to help her through the upcoming therapy and small bumps in the road on her way to recovery. She is one hell of a woman!

flknights

104 Fans

05:36 AM on 03/07/2012

She loves her kids more than life itself! What a great story..sad sad that Stephanie has lost her legs savingher kids but a mommy is like a mommy bear..nothing will stop us from protecting our kids and she gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep her kids alive....thank god she lived through this but I AM SO SORRY she lost her legs in doing so. She is a hero!

average joe U812

2 Fans

04:56 AM on 03/07/2012

No greater love. I pray I would have the same courage and faith.

Sandi K H H

149 Fans

04:52 AM on 03/07/2012

This is the definition of a mother. I wish her a swift recovery and an easy adjustment to prosthetics. You'll be a hard act to follow in the hero department Mrs. Decker.

christidw

04:02 AM on 03/07/2012

God Bless the Deckers and all the familys touched by this horrific tornado outbreak. What a wonderful testament to a mothers love, protect the children.

Jade Tiger

93 Fans

03:14 AM on 03/07/2012

A true hero. For once a story about someone saving a child's life rather then take it. Just sucks she had to lose so much over it. Bless her and her family.

anitafeeney

no matter where you go there you are

1826 Fans

04:08 AM on 03/07/2012

a true hero and a true mother

ART ALCALA

50 Fans

04:26 AM on 03/07/2012

she's got a big Fan here.

yathome

58 Fans

02:36 AM on 03/07/2012

God bless this family. When it is all said and done, they are all alive and together and that is awesome!!

Tiffany Tinney

89 Fans

02:27 AM on 03/07/2012

What a wonderful woman...

lillyroses4o

I waited patiently for the Lord.....40

231 Fans

02:07 AM on 03/07/2012

This story choked me up. This is just one definition of what a parent does and is. She wanted to make sure her children weren't blown away and killed and yes, she was hurt in the process, but she and her children are here. We comment on so many stories of parents have done so many hideous things to their children, that I won't even comment on. I know many people comment on doing charitiable things and I feel, even if their are not in your community they are still your neighbors. Maybe we can all, if moved do one more small thing by donating to this family for her medical costs, rehabilitation and for their home.

Cheryl in AZ

01:13 AM on 03/07/2012

Amazing. God bless them and all those who go through such trying times.

GOODDOC1

"civil war" is an oxymoron

859 Fans

01:03 AM on 03/07/2012

Stephanie Decker's picture is also in the dictionary, right next to the word hero. And she'd do it again in a heartbeat! May God bless her, and her whole family.