Anytime a hero is asked, “Why, or for that matter, how they made the choice to be heroic”, they typically respond in a humble manner, simply stating, “They did what needed to be done.”
As two tornadoes came barreling toward Decker’s Henryville, Indiana home, instinctively she knew she had to protect her children. In a matter of seconds, she swooped up her children up, ran to the basement, covered them in a comforter and braced for the tornado to hit. Stephanie placed herself over her children taking the full hit of the debris and as the home collapsed all around her, and a steel beam partially severed her legs, she continued to shield her children from the tornado’s wrath.
This brave decision ultimately cost her portions of both her legs — but saved her children from harm. Future surgeries are likely, but she is determined to walk again with the assistance of prosthetics.
In every sense of the word, Stephanie Decker is the ultimate survivalist and in her children’s eyes, a true hero. And, like every hero, she is reluctant to call herself one.
“I call myself a mom,” she said. “I love my kids. … I wanted to do anything I could to protect them. I think any parent would.”
To hear Stephanie discuss her account of the traumatic incident, click here [1].
No one knows how they will act until an emergency situation presents itself; but we should all hope that each of us possess an ounce of the courage this woman had to do what was necessary to protect her family.