TEMPLE, Texas — Misty Slack and her husband, Jose Villafranco, watched from their front porch as funnel clouds formed in the sky Tuesday afternoon. Then the wind picked up. The family knew there was a tornado warning and went to the bedroom closet for cover. They wouldn't have cover for long.
Slack recounted the events to 6 News Thursday afternoon.
The family was taking shelter in that closet when it was suddenly quiet. Slack went back to her front door wondering what was happening. She said her screen door was suddenly ripped from the house.
"The tornado just swooped off my screen door and debris was flying," Slack said. "I ran back to my husband and son as fast as I could and flopped down and held on tight."
Slack's husband had wrapped their son, Adrian, in a blanket. He had Adrian in a bear-hug and Slack threw herself on top of both of them. They heard a roar that sounded like a train. Slack said they prayed, though those prayers turned to screams.
"The house was shaking and we started having stuff fall on top of us. It felt like a lifetime that this storm was going on," Slack said. "We just prayed and cried and screamed and... finally it was over."
Slack said she didn't know how they survived. She simply remembers eventually being able to stand up and pull debris off of her son and husband. They were scratched up and her husband had an injured foot, but they were able to get out of the rubble that used to be their house.
Rain and hail continued to come down as they got clear of their destroyed home. They say emergency personnel from the sheriff's office and fire department flew down the road. She said even more people stopped and volunteered to help.
"Finally my sister got a hold of me (on the phone) and I just hollered 'help us, help us,'" Slack said. "But I'm thankful we're alive. That's the most important part."
Eventually, paramedics took her husband to be evaluated and their family and friends were able to take them to Seton Medical Center.
Walking back across the property Thursday afternoon, it wasn't clear what belongings had survived. The home looked as if its roof had been pulled off and the rest of the structure had been put in a blender. It wasn't safe yet to go through the debris.
The family still has one truck to drive, but only because it was at the repair shop when tornado hit.
Despite everything the family has lost, Slack said her family was grateful to still be alive and still wonders how they made it out.
"I ask myself all the time, 'Is this a miracle?' God must have bigger and better plans for every one of us out here. Not just my family but every family involved. There was no deaths and the one's that are still in the hospital... we pray for them."
A friend of the Villafranco family has created a GoFundMe page to help them recover.
Photos: Damage caused by tornado in Salado
