OKLAHOMA – One week ago, our state was shaken by a deadly EF-3 tornado that touched down in El Reno.
Two people were killed; many others were injured.
A week later, the community is still recovering.
One woman who survived the twister shared her story with News 4 even as her daughter who was hurt by the storm continues to fight for her life.
“Nothing was left,” said Marnita Ramos-Guerrero, an El Reno tornado survivor. “You could just see the path that it left.”
Ramos-Guerrero and her family were one of the many caught in the path of destruction in the El Reno tornado.
“I put my babies to bed,” said Ramos-Guerrero. “I kind of looked up at the ceiling, the trailer started going back and forth.”
She tried to save her kids.
“I didn’t quite make it to them,” said Ramos-Guerrero. “All I had time to scream was ‘get up.’ It just blew us over. The wind just took them and threw her against the wall.”
She suffered a broken neck, an injury to her leg and ribs.
But, her 7-year-old daughter, Carisma Soto is still fighting for her life.
“She had a brain bleed and then she had two different breaks in one arm,” said Ramos-Guerrero. “This one was completely opened. I felt like I was paralyzed.”
A neighbor found Ramos-Guerrero and waited with her until fire crews rescued her and her kids.
“It’s rough,” she told News 4. “It’s rough. We’re still alive. That’s all that matters.”
She’s trying to stay strong as she waits for her daughter to heal, but she reminds folks to hold your family close.
“My baby, she could possibly lose her arm and I think about the days she was able to hug me with both arms,” said Ramos-Guerrero. “Just small things, don’t take them for granted.”
Click here for more information on how to help Ramos-Guerrero and her family with medical expenses.
There will also be a concert benefitting the El Reno tornado victims and their families on June 16.
