Kentucky couple ‘holding each other’ lose arms as tornado strikes
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A Kentucky couple each lost an arm while hunkering down inside their home that was devastated by a tornado last week.
Family members walked through what was left of the home of their uncle and aunt, Paul and Gail Cline.
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“The doctors said that they lost opposite arms is because they were holding each other,” Brandy Bowman told WLEX about the couple in their 60s from Laurel County.
Bowman said they were in their bedroom when the twister touched down Friday.
A neighbour heard the couple screaming for help, and ran to the house and pulled them into a hallway, she recounted.
Someone said they heard Gail’s screams while scouring the neighbourhood for survivors.
“She said, ‘I need help. I see an arm down the hallway,’” Bowman recalled, explaining it turned out to be Gail’s limb.
“The doctors said where they lost opposite arms is because they were holding each other.”
Gail also suffered from fragments in her ribs puncturing her lungs. She is on life support after being placed in a medically induced coma, the outlet reported.
A GoFundMe has been launched by niece Taylor Baker to help the family.
“Their home and vehicles and everything they’ve worked for is gone,” Baker wrote on the page, which also included photos of the couple and what is left of their home.
“They are two of the best people you could ever find,” the message continued.
“My aunt’s daughter also has stage 4 cancer so they were already battling that before this hit. They need all the help and prayers they can get.”
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Paul’s condition has improved, though Baker says her uncle has dementia and is struggling to process what happened.
“All I can’t get out of my head is just how terrified they both were,” Baker told the outlet.
“I cannot imagine the fear that was going through their minds, but there’s one thing about them, they are godly people.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
About 19 people were killed in the state following the storm that raged Friday evening, with most of the victims from Laurel County.
Baker took to Facebook to thank the community for their help and support, and provided an update on her aunt and uncle.
“My uncle Paul is stable but did have to have an arm amputated,” she wrote.
“My aunt Gail is on life support still and also had an arm taken off. She needs all the prayers she can get.”
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