WOW! The stories just get more and more astounding!

This mom, who put herself between a tornado and her children, stands tall today. Her courage is simply breathtaking. Her husband is right when he said..she is alive and gets to see their children grow up. They in turn will show her endless love. It's a lesson in the nobility of the human spirit.

Motz - Perfectly said!

I can imagine the kids in class asked to write a paper on their "hero". Most kids will be writing about how the POTUS, movie star or athlete is their hero. Maybe some kids will talk about how a parent is their hero because the buy them ice cream or take them to movies or something. These kids get to talk about a mother who, as Motz put it, put herself between a tornado and them and suffered crippling injuries because she loved them more than she did herself. Just how awesome is that?

i wonder if they will set up a place to donate to the family ?

what a good mother !

At a time when Extreme Home Makeover is really needed, they are gone ... Not only did she almost lose her life, but she made a huge sacrifice for her children. God Bless Her ... Hopefully, they had insurance that will build her a home that meets her needs ...

This is a hero, not some guy who catches footballs and complains if he don't get it.

Someone should reward this mother. Hopefully she will get and learn to use prosthetics.

This kind of behavior is what you find in 99.999999....% of mothers, the fact that the other .000000000000001% who do harm like that get all the media attention has more to do with what sells than what happens. A woman can transform from whiny soccer mom to lioness in a millisecond when they see their kids in danger.

The greatest act of love is to give your love for another. This amazing woman was willing to give it all to save her children. You act of selflessness will not be forgotten and I pray for your healing today. God bless this amazing woman with a heart of pure gold.

@Grgrandma....even if they have home insurance, but have no health insurance, the hospital will put a lien on their home and it will become the hospitals asset. That happened to someone I know. Just because you own a home, if you have no health ins. it doesn't matter anymore....just sayin'

I digress, I hope she gets well very soon and everything works out in her favor.

@I'mnotconcerned....I would really hope someone with a huge 8,000 sq foot brick "dream home" is smart enough to have health insurace.

God Bless her!

People who can afford a new 8,000 square foot home should not need donations.. Isn't it funny that everyone that dies or is injured in an accident/disaster becomes good or saintly.. With that kind of money maybe a safe room or storm shelter would have made a difference..Could be the cell phone did not work in there so she was texting outside of it..

Roadrunnero: What the hell, how mean spirited can you be. Can you just once applaud the actions of a mother who just saved her children!!

*roadrunnero* Now you are the typical A--Ho-- of the year! Anyone who would make a crude statement like that should their a-- kicked out of town! You are the lowest form of vermin to say the least! This mother showed the love that is missing so much of today.May she have all the rehab help that she can get.May God bless her and her family with a complete life

the bad weather events are just starting...keep your weather alerts ready...they can be life savers...spend less on the house more on the storm cellar...i did...

Did you actually witness her save her children or are you just going by what someone said?? Can you provide proof that she is a loving mother or are you going by hear say yet again?? My scenario was hypothetical which included the word maybe and not a statement of fact because I was not there just as you were not there and based on the statement in the article that, 1 they have a very expensive home that should have had a safe room.. And 2 it states that she was on her phone and got cut off.. And 3 cell phones tend to not work at all in steel lined safe rooms.. Deducing through common reasonable logic comes to one conclusion.. Anyone else here ever seen a woman hammering away on the keyboard of her cell phone as she is driving 70 miles per hour down the freeway with 2 or 3 kids in the back seat?? If she cuts off a semi and wrecks killing her kids they blame the truck driver and call her a saintly good mother on the news.. Then all the bleeding hearts want to praise her and lynch the trucker.. The same reasoning is why pretty people get better jobs and slick talking white collar criminals become politicians..

We do not live in a major storm event area and we have a concrete block shelter that is underground in the basement.. It was here when we bought the modest country house and the house was built in the 1950s..

According to the article, she was texting her husband. When she realized she and her children were in danger of dying, it was only natural for her to reach out to him. Remember 9/11 when so many passengers on the doomed planes called their loved ones to say goodbye?

It's not common, reasonable, or logical to make up scenarios about someone to blame them for something they did not do. There's nothing in the article to say she was driving 70 miles an hour and cut off a semi. It does say that she lost both legs, but was able to shield her children.

There is only one word to describe someone so hate-filled that he/she needs to make up lies about a total stranger who acted in accordance with her beliefs in a crises-sad.

No kidding there was nothing about driving.. It was an example of how the media and people twist things to become feel good BS..

Roadrunner0: So according to you there are no heros in this world unless you personally witnessed it. So if this woman just made the news because she lost 2 legs in a tornado you would still show no compassion because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe someone just made up the whole tornado thing. Come on down I'll show it to you it's just down the road. Audi Murphy didn't become the most decorated American of WW2, because you weren't there. You're just typing because you like the sound of the keys. Did you hear that the baby they found in a field whose parents and siblings died, also died maybe that was made up too to sell newspapers. You must have a horrible life, because it's made you a horrible person.

xvet

@roadrunner...There is this common saying, man how does it go???................................ Oh yeah, actions speak louder than words.................. Your actions and words let the whole world know how utterly idiotic, incompetent and just plain stupid you f**king are. Please do us a favor, stop speaking and wasting your breath and our air. You obviously don't use it. That would be the only logical reason for the lack of oxygen going to your brain. (.)<------- Actual size of you brain!!!

@roadrunner. I am actually feeling sorry for you because you are getting blasted on here. When my daughter was younger, we had a tornado in our area. I put my young daughter in the hallway (she was about 4-5 at the time), told her that mommy would take care of her, and went around the inside of the house to check the windows. I wasn't aware until it was over (the tornado skipped our house and jumped to the other side of the street), that I had said that or placed myself in danger when getting my child into a safe spot, but you don't think of these things. You most definitely do what it takes to save your children.

Tornados are so weird because they will attack one house and not the one next door. Yet they are devastating. People just don't know. We had one in Pittsburgh,which everyone considered unthinkable because of the mountains. Yet the neighborhood of the highest altitude suffered the worst. I only had minor damage and I live where it's flat.

Women are unique in that we grow families from the inside out.

Some of us adopt our children...but we love them just as much as if we had grown them from the inside out...which I guess makes us just like dad's...who also love their children as much as mother's do.

*why can't I leave stuff alone*

Does this mean that men love their wives "from the inside out"?

Since men cannot grow their families from the "inside out", could it be said that they "plant their love to grow'?

Sorry, but making it out that all mothers love their children more than all fathers rankles me a bit. How many men have protected and fought to protect their children AND their wives?

K. Snider, nice post.

Amazing story. Makes me rethink how safe my basement is. I suppose we should all look for something strong to get under - even in the basement.

@TonyInDallas - thanks, and ditto. That post annoyed me as well. My husband is a wonderful and loving father and drives over four hours every other week to pick up his daughter from his previous marriage and calls her several times during the week. He's always talking about how much he misses her and gets quiet and sad on the day she goes home. To have his love judged less than a mother's is an insult.

I'm not certain, but I imagine that NC Open Heart meant no disrespect to adoptive parents. In this day and age, I think we all get that "adoptive parents" are the same as, well, just "parents." :) Well, hopefully, anyway.

@geegeeburr, I'm she didn't intentionally mean to disrespect adoptive parents or fathers - but she did. She insinuated that because she grew her children in her belly that she loves them more than we love our children. Obviously she didn't have an immaculate birth, so what does that say about her children's father?

I'm sure she's a very nice person and I hope that she will understand that this is a sensitive subject for mothers and fathers who weren't able to grow their children from the inside out.

can you prove she didn? I'm almost sure the hospital was very clean,

I'm sure she didn't mean any offense.She didn't insinuate at all that biological moms love their kids more than fathers or adopted parents.She said women are unique in that we grow families from the inside out. And some of us do.It doesn't mean you love your child any less than she loves hers.I think most people tend to think of adoptive parents as just parents,just like the rest of us.No need to get all super defensive,and start insulting and disrespecting her on purpose,going as far as to talk about her children's father.What does that say about you?You sound like a really mean and unhappy person.If you can't handle sensitive subjects,you shouldn't be on the internet.People have their own opinions,and they are going to differ from yours sometimes.And how would you know she "obviously didn't have an immaculate birth" based on her comment?

@Saraos: There is only one post on this particular threat that is rude and it is your own. It is filled with anger and frustration where mine only points out that we all love our children the same. No one insulted her, no one disrespected her, no one told her not to be on the internet, or called her names like "mean" or insinuate that she was unhappy...in fact, I believe I specifically stated that I was sure she was a very nice person (#3.6)... contrary to your post which is filled with negativity and ugliness and seems to be written with the intent of starting an argument.

And how do I know that she didn't have an immaculate birth? My statement doesn't need to be based on anything in her comment...I'm confident that only the Virgin Mary has been able to pull off that miraculous feat.

A check can be made out to Joe Decker and posted to the Sheriff's Department, in Louisville.

Thanks MrCool.

Also, people who want to, PLEASE DONATE $10 to the Salvation Army by texting “HOOSIER” to 80888. This is NOT an ad. I do not advertise and I understand the rules of this board. This is a special plea for this large disaster area for donations. Please to not collapse or remove my post. And thanks to anyone who can or will help, from a Southern Indiana Hoosier. All of the families in the area appreciate the warm thoughts, prayers (if you pray), and money (if you can) that are being sent!!!!

They lived in an 8000 SF house - I would hope they do not need donations. Save your money for those that really need it.

mushypea. Seriously? Not everyone down here has that large a house. The Salvation Army is set up to help EVERYONE! Don't dissuade people from helping because YOU have a hard of stone. A lot of people here REALLY NEED IT.

Plus, YOU have absolutely NO IDEA what their actual situation is. Her medical bills are going to be sky high, even with insurance. Their house is now sticks and stones, even with insurance. So they too, need help. Their family will need serious crisis counseling. But I'm sure they will GLADly take anything from anyone OTHER than snotty people like you! Thanks! Geesh.

@Daisy70 - well said! The reason they could afford this house is because they worked their butts off and saved to make their dream home a reality. This mother has lost body parts...their children have gone through a horrifying experience...their home...no matter what size is gone - completely gone! They are just as much in need as someone who was living in 1200 square foot house that is no longer standing.

I would also like to donate if possible. Hoepfully MSN will post an address where we can help. God bless this family and all the other families devasted by these storms!

So, the dude who lost a trailer house deserves more help than the 8000 square foot brick home owner, because he has less?

Or, does the 8000 square foot brick home owner deserve more help than the trailer house owner, because he "obviously" worked harder?

I think you guys have lost a lot of perspective. Insurance aside, both these people are pretty much at the same level right now.

Yes Mushypea, they lived in an 8000 square foot house, so what? They deserve the same consideration as anyone else, even those who lived in 900 square foot houses. Her loss is just as devastating. You don't know the circumstances either. It was their dream home. They probably built it themselves, saving and spending as they went along and maybe it is already paid for, maybe not. You're not suggesting that people who are well off (they may be) don't deserve to be given donations, etc., because, well "they lived in a 8000 square foot house." You sound like an Obama lover. If someone has more than you, then let's take some of theirs away and give it to you so you both are even. That's know as Socialism-Communism. Think about what you say before you open your trap.

Stephanie's employer has set up a fund:

Hello Everyone,

Please forward to your friends and colleagues.

As you have probably heard tornadoes ripped through Indiana last evening. Directly in the path of the storm was The Decker family, in Henryville Indiana. Stephanie was with their children, and while she was able to keep them safe, she was severely injured, At this point we only know that she is in the Trauma Center at University Hospital, and has suffered what will be life altering injuries. Joe is by her side but they will need the support of their friends and family.

Stephanie has worked for PAS (Physicians Ancillary Services) for 3 years. She is among the finest professionals you will find in the Sleep/Medical community.

For those of you who are reading this and do not know this family, I can tell you they are some of the hardest working, giving people you could ever want to meet. They would never ask for help but would be there to give it to others in a second. So today I ask that you give what you can to help, no amount is too small, They have lost EVERYTHING. & Stephanie’s recovery will be a long one. We are establishing “ The Stephanie Decker Recovery Fund”

We have set up a formal trust fund account under the name “ The Stephanie Decker Recovery Fund” which the accounting of will be handled by the company law firm.

Please send any donations to “ The Stephanie Decker Recovery Fund” C/O PAS 10 Higgins Highway Suite 5 Mansfield Center, CT 06250

Please forward this to any Friend or Friend of Friend and ask for help for Stephanie & Joe

Also Friend the Stephanie Decker Fund on Facebook

Thank You,

Carl J. Tyler
Chief Executive Officer
Physicians Ancillary Services, LLC

This does seem legit as there are numerous web pages listed for this company at this address on Google. I hate to be so cynical but...

Mushypea - REALLY??? Do you realize how expensive good prosthetics are? Do you realize that after an amputation, your nerves and bone try to regrow, which may mean more than one surgery after the original amputation?

Pain medication and physical therapy are not cheap either. Don't think that just because the limb is gone, that the stump heals and you feel fine again - that's not the way it works. There can be severe lifelong pain associated with an amputation.

Educate yourself before deciding who is worthy of donations and who isn't.

Maybe they wouldn't have survived in a smaller home.

I'm not sure waht the size of house even has to do with this tragedy, except in the sense of proving that moeny can't buy what really matters.

I think that there might be some thought that large brick homes are better to withstand a tornado than a mobile home, just as another person who lost his life trying to rescue people thought that a larger mobile home would be safer than a small one.

you'd only think that with that budget they'd of included a storm shelter....Indiana is known for some bad storms. Oh well, I'm sure the next one will include it! best of luck to them

Really???? Criticizing them for the size of their house? Give me a break.

ElkMeadow, that young man didn't die. He survived the tornado with broken bones. It was the family he was trying to save that died.

Hey folks, this woman is a hero I am taking nothing away, she deserves every good thing that can come to her. Her children and husband should all but worship her for her sacrifice.

As far as the 8000 square foot house, that is enormous! Being that size, it is modern construction and most construction (i thought) in tornado prone areas have a safe room requirement, basically a concrete fortress that normally is a bathroom. But still 8000 square feet? who is going to pay to rebuild it? Insurance I'm sure will pay some (will our insurance rates rise because the insurance will lose their profits?), State and Fed emergency funds (i.e. tax dollars)... Don't get me wrong this woman deserves a house that now meets her physical need and if that is 10,000 sq ft, I'm OK with that but how many house in all the towns hit are this big that will have to be rebuilt? I'd rather rebuilt their $250,000 2,000 sq ft house then their $2.5 million.

No. A house that size, even here, does not REQUIRE a safe room. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. And when they rebuild, they may well put one in. But it's not a code requirement at all. They had a basement. And even THAT, believe it or not, is not a requirement. I grew up in a very large, ranch house and used to run across a huge field to a neighbor's basement to ride out storms/tornados. To give my parents some credit, they were transplanted New Yorkers who had NO CLUE what they were getting into and our next house had a solid basement complete with a seperate sewage/water/radio system.

These folks built their dream home. It was demolished. They are incredibly grateful to be alive. I'm sure when they rebuild, with whatever funds, it will be with different priorities, given Mom's new limitations. And I'll bet they built a tornado shelter too.

Regardless, the point is, she's a hero. And I'm glad they are ok. So many down here are not.

Who are you to say how big a person's house should be??? It is absolutely none of your business & it certainly has nothing to do with her current situation.

Ditto!

wow...does it hurt being that stupid? it should

Gee, kyle. Glad to see your parents taught you some manners. alex is right; the article is written poorly. What it should have said was the leg was amputated above the ankle/knee.

But hey, it's more fun to put down other people. Makes you feel superior and we all want that.

Alex, anal-izing a bit much, are we? All the humans I've seen have only feet below their ankles. Anyone can make a mistake, I suppose.

it is an accurate medical term. it describes the site of the amputation. below the ankle means the malleoli (ankle bones) were preserved, above means they could not be. AKA=above knee amputation means knee joint lost, BKA=below knee amputation means knee joint preserved. source: i am an M.D. hope this helps. AKA is a lot more debilitating, keeping yr knee gives you a lot more function (natural bending of knee, you get the picture).

incredibly brave woman, so sorry for her injuries, but glad her injuries were not more severe and glad her children were saved.

If you lose a leg "above the knee", then the knee is lost (as well as all lower parts). If you lose a leg "below the knee" then the knee is intact (possibly damaged). The same for "above the ankle" and "below the ankle". These distinctions are critical as they determin what types of artificial limbs (or other alternatives) will be viable.

How petty.

Thanks to the MD for clearing that up. I, too was confused, and was trying to figure out exactly what "above" meant, because the way it was written made it sound like the bottom of the leg was still there. (no laughing, it really made no sense to me!) I've learned something new today.

This was not a petty post. I didn't understand the reference, either. It would have been better if the author had clarified. But the important thing, of course, is that the woman protected her children.

Thanks to the doc for clarification. I too learned something.

How about for non-medical readers that Ms. Decker lost one of her feet and most of the other leg? Maybe the original authors asked medical personnel to describe her injuries, and printed just what they were told. The MD and CPUWizard introduced important points about the amount of debility and rehab needed. Amputation is removal of a body part. Naming at, above or below an anatomical area lets us know how much of the affected part remains, clarifying the severity of injury. This also determines insurance policy & permanent disability benefits. It lets me plan, as a nurse, what equipment and help I need before assisting a patient to get out of bed, walk, eat, bathe, etc. A person with one intact leg can walk with crutches, while a person with both feet missing requires a wheelchair, a ramp instead of stairs to enter a building, and so on. I wish the entire Decker family all the help and support they need.

This is about as egotistical as it gets. Love, Dad.

I agree with attyboy.

So, god who could of prevented the tornado in the first place is now to be thanked for 'sustaining her'.

I believe the trained paramedics and surgeons are to thank, not an imaginary skyman.

THANK YOU ALL PARAMEDICS AND SURGEONS WHO HELPED THESE PEOPLE.

Little Bobby,

What I find most amusing about people like you is this: in your 'hypothetical' examples where God does exist, you attribute all negative aspects to Him and none of the positive.

You clearly have limited understanding and a very feeble mind to limit the scope of your analysis on your own hypothetical scenarios.

Cheers.

Remember Bob, God [pick one] "works in mysterious ways" or "it is all a part of Gods plan" and all good things come from God and well the bad things are from the other guy..

you attribute all negative aspects to Him and none of the positive.

You attribute all positive aspects to HIM and none of the negative... which is "feeble minded to limit the scope of your analysis" due to your own mythical hypothetical scenarios. You clearly have a limited understanding as well. Anemoi did create the storm but also should be thanked for sparing the family.

Cheers.

Blaming God for tornados in states that are famous for having tornados is like blaming God for putting tigers in the jungle. You live in the jungle, you have to deal with the tigers; you live in these states, it's tornados. I live in South Florida, we have hurricanes-and no basements because of our high water table.

God is not Santa Claus. He's not going to run in and give you wonderful things because you wrote Him a nice letter about how good you think you are. God lets you run your own show according to your own conscience. He writes some rules and you get to decide which ones, if any, you choose to follow. And, in the end, you stand on the choices you made.

As the nun said when someone told her, "Sister, do you realize that, if there is no God, you have wasted your entire life?" Sister said, "Well, at least I'll never know I've been had!"

Ambrosia~

'You attribute all positive aspects to HIM and none of the negative'

Please show me how you came to this conclusion. Just because I took note of Bob's perspective and commented on it, you cannot directly conclude that my perspective is the complete opposite...I know the natural tendency is to make that assumption, however if you are going to attempt to dispatch me, please enter my conversations with a logical and unassuming mind.

Thanks and have a nice day.

I cannot believe my above post was considered spam! What a JOKE!

I know. I've gotten Recaptchas for the most inane comments. It's like "Really? That's not spam! How is that spam?!"

Donations to people who are I would bet millionaires, only in America, Gotta laugh.. She probably has better insurance than you could ever hope to.. Still sad that people get hurt but it is a fact of life rich or poor.. And all rich people are not hard working some are lucky and some are takers..

Who says she is a hero?? Maybe she was outside the panic room because the cell phone does not work in there..

@Billy: Uh,what? Try the politics section; NOT HERE!

I think I would be more upset about my legs than a house. just saying. Houses can be replaced.

EXACTLY! Thank you! My sentiments exactly. Haters. It's very sad.

I'll bet it was a foreclosure special. The people across the way here bought their house for 50% of the market price 5 years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if the home was built back in a time where 2 or 3 generations of family lived under the same roof and the house was built by those people living in it.

ElkMeadow: I think you (and some others) are missing the point of the story. It doesn't matter how or when they got the house. It doesn't matter what their mortgage payments are or the square footage is. The point is a woman lost limbs saving her children when their house fell on them.

The next story will be how their insurance and any federal assistance won't come close to replacing the home or providing the medical care and assistance this family will need.

I agree with you, except I'm totally DISAPPOINTED by those particular commenters. Usually I laugh at the pathetic tries at aiming low on these boards. But as a Southern Indiana native, and a HUMAN BEING, this hits too close to home. And I'm ashamed of them. Pathetic.

I hear you, Daisy - I am posting from Jefferson Co. Indiana myself (where we lost four to this same storm).

Bohica - Thanks - {{Hoosier Hug}}