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Nine Years Ago Today...:A Tornado Survivor Remembers May 3, 1999. by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Rated "PG" by the Author.
A survivor of the devastating F-5 tornado that decimated Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pauses and remembers the events of that unforgettable day.
I don't think I'll ever forget what transpired nine years ago today. I still have nightmares, flashbacks, as a direct result of it; my life hasn't been the same since.
Name's Trotter. Trotter Raymond Elgin. I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with my wife, Ellen, and two children, ten-year-old Wesley Paine and fourteen-year-old Meggin Elisabeth. We did have a four-year-old son, Parker Thomas, but he died in that tornado. I saw him being ripped from my wife's arms that day, and there was no way we could have ever saved him. The winds took him, smashed him against a tree, and our hearts/minds have been destroyed.
Saw it happen right in front of us, we did, and now we miss him terribly, every single day. If he were alive now, he'd be our middle son; he'd be twelve now.
The others (Wes and Meg) were just babies back then: only one and five. In addition, there was four-year-old Parker, stuck in the middle. They loved each other dearly; when Parker was killed, they lost the joy from their hearts, their innocence. They learned that the world is a cruel, unforgiving place, and that there are no guarantees of having a happy, carefree life.
Now because of what happened to our baby boy Parker, we no longer trust the weather. When skies turn green, when the wind picks up, and when there's even a remote mention of tornadoes/severe weather, we huddle in our safe room that we had built inside of our basement (double protection, I guess), and we just hope/pray for the best, pray that we never see another tornado like the one that changed our world as we once knew it.
I now draw full disability as a result of the mental anguish I still suffer. My wife is now the chief breadwinner of our family, and she tries her best to care for our kids while I try to sit back, forget the pain of the past; however I can't. I see Parker in the faces of his older siblings, and I see his room, his pictures, his things, and I'm broken up again, inside as well as outside. I still can't let go of him, and I still can't get over his death.
You don't expect to outlive your children; however that's exactly what happened to us, and now we no longer have a son. He's now in Heaven, with Jesus, and all we're left with is the painful memories, the painful realization that he's never coming back.
Now Oklahoma City is paying rememberance to the tornado victims, and now once again, old wounds have been reopened; once again we face the horrors of that day. Later, the city will hold a community wide prayer service/vigil for the tornado victims, and we will once again remember Parker, and all the joys he brought us in his four years on this planet.
I new a woman who lost a five year old not to a tornado but to a heart condition, I never got to meet the little girl but the Mother was a sweet woman, who still grieved as she told me of what had happened to her daughter. There were times she would turn to drink to try and forget, but of course that never worked
God Bless
Michelle~
Sorry about that, and more sorry for the twenty four tornadoes already touching down.
Maybe the government should use the Iraq money finding a solution to minimize the human cost every year from natural disasters.
Hi Karen,
I am so sorry for this man. My son is a tornado chaser. He chased that tornado that day from a baby cell and was only a few yards away from it when it hit the ground. They lost all communication and I did not know if he was dead or alive for about 8 hours. I was speaking with him on his cell when it came down and then just nothing. He followed behind this munster as best they could all the way to Norman, He has 8 hours of video and when I saw it I cried all the way through it, (plus, I wanted to pull his head off for placing him self in such severe danger. LOL) But he said someone had to do it to help keep others safe. The twister came to the groud an F-5. He still chases and I still pray for him to stay safe. I have not been in such a twister but his videos scared me just watching them and devastation was horrible. I really feel in my heart for Mr. Elgin and his family there is no other pain then losing your child. My sister lives in Oaklahoma city and every time the sky turns she calls me and we talk until the danger has passed. Thank you for sharing.
Patricia Smith
http://www.freewebs.com/blessedbeps
Explore the mystery of how nature makes unexpected gifts of creative wonders to an unsuspecting caregiver one late night and early morning in southeastern Georgia, USA.
Explore the mystery of how nature makes unexpected gifts of creative wonders to an unsuspecting caregiver one late night and early morning in southeastern Georgia, USA.
