I thought I was at the moment of death. As a nurse I’d been with patients in their final moments but now found myself preparing to face my own probable death. Late one evening, I was trying desperately to get home amidst severe weather warnings. Thunderstorm warnings were in effect with strong likelihood for development of a tornado. We live near a lake in Louisiana experiencing frequent tornado activity, so bad weather is always a concern. I was within a mile of home when the worst of the storm hit, stranding me on an overpass over the interstate. I was caught between cars, visibility so low I couldn’t even see the tail lights of the car ahead of me. Rain and straight lines winds buffeted the car, moving it and rocking it side to side. I waited, terrified, not knowing if I was going to be swept from my high point by a tornado or killed by impact from a vehicle behind. Though, I couldn’t see it, I learned later the tornado touched down about two hundred feet behind me, destroying everything in its path.
Once I determined death was inevitable, my fear left me. I felt gratitude for the life I’d been given and was grateful that my husband was there to finish raising the children. In a minute or so the skies cleared as I headed home to my worried family who was hiding in a closet from the tornado I’d just escaped! I’ve never felt a dread of death since that day.
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