MADISON, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the sun came up, Deborah Sharpe could finally get her bearings around what happened to her house.
She was getting out of the shower in her house on Nesbitt Lane in Madison when a tornado hit her home. She lives in the same neighborhood where three people were killed including a toddler.
She had been watching the weather but thought the storm would miss her neighborhood.
"When you get a warning from the TV station, don't be like me," she said. "It's very important to take shelter and have that place to go to."
Before she could get her clothes on and get back downstairs, the tornado was already on her doorstep.
"It all happened within five seconds. It blew out my window and blew everything to the back. It blew me down the steps. It took me a minute to get up and put some clothes on to come out and see what exactly had happened."
In the aftermath, another television station showed a video of her home. Her family saw it and worried she had been injured.
"I want my friends and family to know I am all right," she told NewsChannel 5 this morning. "Because another TV station was putting my house on there and they thought I was dead. I'm OK. I'm alive. All is well. It's just stuff, and you can replace stuff. God gives it to you and God can take it away to give you something better. I see the devastation. I could use some help over here. "
We know these tornadoes are heartbreaking. Here's how you can help
The loss created by these storms is heartbreaking. Our NewsChannel 5 team wants to help, and we know that you do too.
That is why we are partnering with United Way and Community Foundation to raise money for tornado victims. Through the emergency response fund, you can designate whether you want your money to go to Davidson County or the surrounding counties.
Everything you give will go to help victims of the storm.
NewsChannel 5 is also providing $5,000 in matching money to get donations started in both funds.
Donations can be made here
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Small gestures can have such a big impact. This story is proof. Sports Anchor Steve Layman shows how Vanderbilt Head Baseball Coach Tim Corbin, and his entire team, provided a much needed distraction for a young man and his family — facing an unthinkable tragedy. Yes, it’s just baseball. But on this day, it was so much more for everyone involved. Kudos to the Commodores!
-Rhori Johnston
