VALLEY VIEW, Texas — From the hospital room, Veronica Bowers feels pain with every breath. She suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and a small blood clot after a tornado tore through her home in Valley View, Texas.
Her memories from Saturday night have gaps, but Veronica is slowly remembering as she sees photos of her family property and workplace destroyed.
Her clearest memory is the fear she had as she shielded her 10-month-old daughter, Zolabelle, from the storm.
Before the tornado hit, she was home, which is two miles away from her store. Veronica is the general manager of the Shell gas station and AP Travel Center off of I-35 on Lone Oak Road in Valley View.
Veronica was on the phone with her employees while holding Zolabelle. She said, "My cashiers at my store called and asked what he should do with people if [a tornado] does happen."
She told them to file people into the freezers, coolers, hallways and bathrooms to get them to safety.
"While I was on the phone, the tornado hit my house," she said as she took a deep breath between her words. Several times during the interview, Veronica paused during unbearable shocks of pain on the left side of her body.
"Once it started picking the house up, that's when I knew we were in trouble. It picked up and flew 20 feet over trees, over cars, into a pond with everything in it," Veronica said. Everything included her, Zolabelle and four other people.
Watch the full interview with Veronica Bowers here:
Right after the tornado hit her home, it also tore through her store. Officials say around 125 people survived the tornado inside the travel center. Many exited the highway during the tornado warning and took refuge at the store. Because of Veronica's warning, her two employees were able to get people to safe spaces in the building.
After the tornado lifted, her family climbed out of the rubble, but Veronica and Zolabelle were still trapped.
From the moment Veronica pulled her baby out of the crib, she didn't let go through winds twisting at 135 miles per hour. "I held onto her," she said bringing her arms to her chest. "I just held, like squeezed her as tight as I could."
She describes it as the scariest thing she's ever experienced. Her biggest fear was losing Zolabelle.
While screaming for help, Vernoica said, "I didn't want to move because I didn't know if she was okay, but once they pulled her out and she started crying, I knew everything was okay. They got her."
Her roommate, sister, niece, and her niece's boyfriend rescued them, first pulling out Zolabelle, then getting Veronica.
Zolabelle had a small bruise on her head, but was otherwise uninjured.
Veronica was transported to the trauma center at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. She is improving, but it is unclear when she will be discharged from the hospital.
Veronica's family has brought Zolabelle to visit her at the hospital. It makes her smile, healing her emotionally as her medical team heals her physically.
"I am very grateful. I'm very thankful. I could not imagine not being able to see her ever again," said Veronica.
A fundraiser has been set up for Veronica and her family, you can visit here for more information.
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