OKLAHOMA CITY – OKC Thunder`s Rumble the Bison paid a special visit to a little girl recovering from El Reno`s deadly tornado.
“Wow, wow it’s awesome… I just can’t believe that they would actually do this for my grandbaby,” said grandmother Norene Starr.
All smiles for 7-year-old Carisma, after she got a surprise visit from the Thunder mascot, Rumble.
She’s been in the hospital at OU Children’s for almost three weeks now after that deadly El Reno tornado destroyed her home.
“You know she seems to be doing ok .. even with all the physical trauma that she received,” said Starr.
Her mom Marnita, also severely injured in the storm.
“I didn’t know we was gonna be here this long. I didn’t realize until time went on that her recovery was gonna be it was gonna be a long road,” said Marnita Guerrero.
The family says the surprise was just what Carisma needed.
They’re in awe of the massive amount of support.
“She went from basically lifeless to full of life,” said Guerrero.
“Just the fact that Oklahoma cares so much, it cares about the tornado victims it cares about Carisma,” added Starr.
As far as Carisma’s health, her road to recovery is looking better and better each day.
“It’s been a blessing for sure cause most of all just seeing her happy you know like I said from the beginning… it didn’t look good,” said Guerrero.
“She’s yackin’ and telling jokes and stuff like that… most of the time when she’s in pain she just doesn’t wanna be bothered- other than that, she’s a pretty cool chick,” said Starr.
The Thunder gained one special fan.
“Go Thunder!” said Carisma.
The family wanted to especially thank the staff and OU Children’s saying they’ve never felt more supported.
The Thunder organization also threw an event for the City of El Reno Friday, offering free food, games, and snow cones.
Thunder staff said they wanted to bring some light to the city after everything they’ve been through.
