It's been a month since a deadly EF-3 tornado tore through Valley View killing seven people and injuring many others. Dozens took shelter at the local Shell gas station which took a direct hit.
The manager of the gas station was off that night, but while she was on the phone with her colleagues advising them what to do in case of a tornado, her own home was hit.
"I was walking through my living room with my daughter and my phone rang. It was one of my cashiers and he was like, 'Hey, if it gets too bad, what do I do?' So you tell everybody to come in and get him in either the bathrooms, the coolers you know, like the freezers. And he was like, 'Okay,' and then all of a sudden, my floors started [moving]," described Veronica Bowers. “After that, I don't remember what my cashier said. He heard me scream, 'Save my baby' and then he said that's how he knew to get everybody inside."
Bowers, 35, was at home with her family on May 25th when the storms began to roll in. Bowers said her roommate, sister, niece, and niece's boyfriend were inside her mobile home that night.
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“It was the scariest thing I've ever been through, especially being with my sisters and my in our daughters too," said Abby Peters, Bower's older sister. "When it happened, we were watching a movie and then the electricity just shut off and the house started to lift. We took off running into my sister's room and we're able to jump into the closet just in time and then the house just like collapsed."
Bowers said her mobile home flew about 20 feet, flipped over and hit a tree.
She was holding onto her 11-month-old daughter, Zolabelle, at the time.
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“I wake up to her screaming because my roommate was pulling her out and then couldn't get me all the way up because the frame was on top of us, so I had to climb out," described Bowers.
Everyone else inside the home had bumps and bruises, but Bowers had the most severe injuries and was taken to the hospital by a friend in the neighborhood.
“Seven broken ribs, a punctured lung and a small blood clot. I was hit upside the head and had a bruise and a knot the size of this," said Bowers as she held up her fist.
She was in the hospital for five days. Bowers said she doesn't remember much of what happened and believes that's due to her head injury.
"I told people I was the wicked witch of the west because I flew around and the house was on top of me," joked Bowers who has remained in good spirits.
Once she left the hospital, she was able to see the gas station and the amount of damage it took.
She said she checks up on her colleagues and is glad no one inside the gas station was hurt.
“I was devastated because I love my job, I love my home, but there's got to be bigger, better that's how you got to think about it," said Bowers who believes this all is a blessing in disguise. “There's something bigger and better. There's got to be. I was not meant to have that house, I was not meant to have that job."
Bowers said she's looking for a new job since the gas station was destroyed. She plans to rebuild but is staying with family now, which is helpful because it's hard to lift up her daughter with her broken ribs.
“I'm sad because that was my first home, my daughter's first home, but you can't be sad. You got to feel it for a minute and then move on, you’ve got to or else you’ll just get stuck," said Bowers.
