Van Vleck, Texas - February 14, 2017
Ashlie Ovesny watched the tornado approach through her window. Then the roar began.
The Storm
An EF-1 tornado was bearing down on Van Vleck, a small town about 70 miles southwest of Houston. Ashlie was home with her two children - 3-year-old Aurea and 1-year-old Jace.
There was no time to run. No time to find shelter. There was only time to act.
"I just watched it and the roar started," Ashlie said. "I slammed the door, threw my phone and grabbed the kids and the floor lifted out from underneath me."
The Mommy Shield
As the tornado tore into their mobile home, Ashlie grabbed both children and pulled them to her chest. She wrapped herself around them completely.
Then everything went dark.
The house began to move. To tumble. To flip upside down.
"She grabbed the kids as the house started to move, and she held them to her chest as the house tumbled," her husband Anthony explained. "She took the brunt of everything. She ended up on top of the kids, but everything hit her and her back. All the TVs, the cabinets, couch - everything flipped on top of her."
The Price
Something struck Ashlie in the back. She blacked out. When she regained consciousness minutes later, she found herself on top of her children in a destroyed home turned upside down.
Her spine was fractured. But Aurea and Jace were alive beneath her, protected. They had only scratches.
Escape
Ashlie screamed for help. Neighbors came running. She handed her two children through broken glass and boards to safety.
She was airlifted to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center for surgery on her spine. Before she went into the operating room, she gave a thumbs-up.
The Aftermath
The tornado that hit Van Vleck injured six people with winds of 86 to 110 mph. It left the Ovesny mobile home upside down, destroyed.
Doctors said Ashlie's prognosis was good. Her children were almost entirely unharmed.
Because when the world turned upside down, their mother became the shield that held it back.