Stephanie Decker, Tornado Survivor, Loses Legs After Heroically Saving kids

Stephanie Decker, a mom from Marysville who saved her children’s lives by shielding them from a collapsing house ripped apart by a tornado, has lost parts of both her legs.

The 36-year-old sleep specialist binded her two children together with a blanket and heroically shielded them with her body as the three of them were crushed by falling debris. Decker has lost one leg above the knee and the other above the ankle, her husband confirmed Monday. She is now in stable condition at a Kentucky hospital, while her 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter survived Friday’s storm unhurt.

Speaking by telephone from the University of Louisville Hospital, husband Joe Decker said:

“I told her, ‘They’re here because of you.’ 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.'”

Joe Decker was teaching at Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg when the tornado hit. While his school was locked down, Decker traded text messages with his wife, urging her and the kids to retreat to the basement of their Marysville home. He revealed:

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

He later learned that Stephanie had seen the tornado approaching across the family’s 15-acre property, and wrapped her kids in a blanket before lying on top of them. Decker continues:

“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.”

Stephanie has been scheduled for more surgery on her legs again this Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed. Good luck to her and the family – and talk about one brave mom.