"GOOD FRIDAY 2011"

   Good Friday , April 2011, a tornado hit the St. Louis area, at the airport, and several surrounding municipalities. I'll never forget that day, and the event that took place. It continuously rained all day, and when night time came it was darker than usual. The tornado sirens were going off back to back. I started standing in the doorway watching the sky, and noticed the lightning in the sky was an reddish orange color. Something kept feeling odd, so I opened the blinds to the window to keep an eye on the outside. "The basement steps were located in the kitchen and the living room entrance was next to the kitchen." While cooking,  I stood in the doorway of the kitchen  and dining room looking out of the window. The lights flickered off for a second, so I grabbed my then 4 year old daughter, and told her dad "lets get to the basement" since the lights came right back on, he didn't really see the need. After standing there looking at him crazy, the lights flickered a second time, and what I saw after that scared the shit out of me. When the lights flickered on and off my blinds were open so I could see the outside. I saw were appeared to be grey smoke, and it happened so fast. It sounded like trains, and lion roars. While running to the basement steps, my daughter broke away from me, running back towards the living room screaming. Her dad had to turn around and get her. None of us ever made to the basement before the tornado ended. I made it as far as the third basement step and they  made it to the kitchen. I could hear rumbling, and things falling while still trying to make it to the basement. I immediately got on my knees  holding my daughter, praying. The basement windows were gone, so I could here the neighbors yelling, and kids screaming. My sister, and mom lived directly in back of us, and I could hear my sister screaming my name from her back yard. She said something was sticking out the roof of our house. It's ironic the tornado didn't damage their house. The next day I walked the block and inspected the damage to the house, and it was unbelievable. I couldn't believe that I'd actually survived something that caused so much damage. We had a tree in our backyard that was huge and the branches hung over the house. I was always afraid that the right storm would break those branches and destroy the roof. That tree no longer existed after that tornado, it split in two, and took down our neighbors fence on both sides. All electrical wires including the box was snatched from our house, and we were the only one's only block to not have power for  5 days. Our house shifted which caused basement leaks, we had to replace all siding, build a new deck, get a new roof, replace windows, all screen doors, fix cracks in the walls, paint, repair plumbing etc. The insurance company estimated over 20,000 worth of damage. After that I was never the same because I lived in constant fear of thunderstorms, and tornadoes. My tornado/thunderstorm phobia  became so bad that I wouldn't even drive if it was sprinkling rainy. One time it started thunder storming before I got home, and my hands literally started shaking. My mom, or sister will call me when sirens go off because the know how I feel about storms. A couple years ago, I was at someone's home sitting on the porch, and it started thunder storming. I went into my usual tornado paranoia, and a older guy sitting on the porch said "God said fear him, don't be scared of him". Those word helped me tremendously, and over time I began to realize surviving was a blessing, and a testimony. I can now drive when it's raining, and I'm not as paranoid during storms anymore. I've  always wondered if there are other's who've experienced phobia's and the similar symptoms I suffered after being in a natural disaster. Natural disasters are serious, and people should always take warnings and sirens seriously, because you never know, anything can happen.