Oklahoma Hero
Dear readers,
My heart is broken for the victims of the tornado that ran through the suburbs of Oklahoma City yesterday. In the mist of darkness that came down yesterday in the homes of many families, there was a hero that saved lives at the local elementary school. Here is story that People.com reported on Rhonda Crosswhite.
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To be a teacher is already to be a hero, but during Monday's monstrous tornado in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, Rhonda Crosswhite put her life directly on the line after first seeing that several of her students had taken refuge only moments before the twister devastated their school.
"I was in a [bathroom] stall with some kids and it just started coming down, so I laid on top of them," the sixth-grade teacher at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, Okla., told Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday's Today show. "One of my little boys just kept saying, 'I love you, I love you, please don't die with me.' But we're okay. We made it out."
All of the children who were with her are now safe, there was one minor injury – a cut to the head, said Crosswhite – and she herself emerged with only some scrapes on her feet, which she called "irrelevant, considering what could have happened."
"I never thought I was going to die," she said. "The whole time I just kept screaming to them, 'Quit worrying, we're fine, we're fine.' And I'm very loud, so I just hoped they could hear me, because I could hear them screaming. One girl, she's in my homeroom, was sobbing, and I was like, 'We're going to be fine, we're going to be fine, I'm protecting you.' And then I said a few prayers. 'God please take care of my kids.' And we're fine."
Recalling the tornado and its 200-m.p.h. winds, Crosswhite said, "I don't remember what it sounded like, honestly. It was like a freight train, but I don't remember much about it,'' she said about the sound of the tornado. "It felt like someone was beating me up from behind. The stuff was just coming down on my back. I thought I was fine, [but] I have cuts everywhere that I didn't even realize I had."
After the interview, Damian Britton, one of Crosswhite's charges during the ordeal, had something to give her. A great big hug.
"I told you we were going to be okay," she told him, as he murmured "Thank you" and the two dissolved into tears.
My heart is broken for the victims of the tornado that ran through the suburbs of Oklahoma City yesterday. In the mist of darkness that came down yesterday in the homes of many families, there was a hero that saved lives at the local elementary school. Here is story that People.com reported on Rhonda Crosswhite.
-------
To be a teacher is already to be a hero, but during Monday's monstrous tornado in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, Rhonda Crosswhite put her life directly on the line after first seeing that several of her students had taken refuge only moments before the twister devastated their school.
"I was in a [bathroom] stall with some kids and it just started coming down, so I laid on top of them," the sixth-grade teacher at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, Okla., told Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday's Today show. "One of my little boys just kept saying, 'I love you, I love you, please don't die with me.' But we're okay. We made it out."
All of the children who were with her are now safe, there was one minor injury – a cut to the head, said Crosswhite – and she herself emerged with only some scrapes on her feet, which she called "irrelevant, considering what could have happened."
"I never thought I was going to die," she said. "The whole time I just kept screaming to them, 'Quit worrying, we're fine, we're fine.' And I'm very loud, so I just hoped they could hear me, because I could hear them screaming. One girl, she's in my homeroom, was sobbing, and I was like, 'We're going to be fine, we're going to be fine, I'm protecting you.' And then I said a few prayers. 'God please take care of my kids.' And we're fine."
Recalling the tornado and its 200-m.p.h. winds, Crosswhite said, "I don't remember what it sounded like, honestly. It was like a freight train, but I don't remember much about it,'' she said about the sound of the tornado. "It felt like someone was beating me up from behind. The stuff was just coming down on my back. I thought I was fine, [but] I have cuts everywhere that I didn't even realize I had."
After the interview, Damian Britton, one of Crosswhite's charges during the ordeal, had something to give her. A great big hug.
"I told you we were going to be okay," she told him, as he murmured "Thank you" and the two dissolved into tears.
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As friends, neighbors, families, and strangers are trying to pick up their lives and put their town back together, they need all the support and help they can receive. If you want to make a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief you can visit www.redcross.org or you can call 1-800-Red Cross or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make $10 donations. Those donations help provide food, shelter and emotional support to those affected by disasters.
When all is lost, it is easy to feel that hope is gone and there is no end to the suffering, but I know together we can help each other. Together we can make a difference. Together we can lift each other up and help build a new home. We can be the crying shoulder for a neighbor that lost a family member; we can be the helping hand to lay a new brick on a new foundation. Together we can pick up the pieces and together we can remember that hope is still there.
Love,
Megan
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