VIDEO 'We're 488 strong': Neighbors unite to survive, rebuild after tornado's wrath

Todd Fowler held the door to the storm shelter shut. His wife Tiffany and their five kids huddled in the dark along with other residents of the Mackinaw Lane trailer park off County Route 488.

“Jesus, don’t let it suck us up!” their four-year-old cried repeatedly as green lightning lit up the tumultuous sky.

The tornado hit only seconds after the shelter was shut. Todd used his full strength to keep the entryway closed as the tornado’s negative pressure attempted to gain access. He said his eardrums burned from the drop in pressure as the storm ripped through the park.

30 seconds later, it was all over.

“It felt like forever,” Tiffany expressed.

When the family emerged, their neighborhood and home were decimated. Tiffany’s great uncle Don Howery, 91 years old, was found hanging onto life more than 100 feet from where his home once stood, still in his recliner. According to neighbors Michael and Shauna Briney, Howery was covered in deep lacerations amid the wreckage.

Shauna described the nerve-wracking tale of taking shelter in their home while Michael was stuck at work.

“You can feel that pressure,” she added.

When Shauna emerged, the roof of their home was gone.

“My grandpa built that house in 1979 with his own hands,” Michael lamented.

Shauna could barely see the catastrophic damage to Howery’s trailer in the darkness. She sprang into action with a flashlight to find the elderly man. Michael said Howery would never take shelter during storms.

“There’s no way I thought he was alive,” Shauna recounted.

To her surprise, Howery was still breathing.

“All of a sudden, the light shined on his face,” she said.

Later, a group of residents from the park came rolling up in side-by-sides with EMTs to gather up the injured man.

“It was like the cavalry was coming,” she expressed. “Just to watch those people is unreal.”

Tiffany Fowler said the ambulance could not get any closer than the power lines at the outskirts of the park due to the fallen trees. Howery, who notably went to boot camp with Elvis Presley, according to the Brineys, is in critical condition at St. Bernards Hospital in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

“It’s God’s hand,” Michael asserted. “Just wasn’t his time yet.”

The Brineys are staying in a motel and relocated his grandmother to live with their daughter.

Back at the shelter, Tiffany and Todd recounted the string of hardships their family experienced in the lead up to the tornado. Only four weeks ago, Tiffany’s grandfather passed away. One week later, her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.

She was in the middle of her first treatment in Cape Girardeau as the Fowlers described their ordeal. Thankfully, her house was one of the few in the park unaffected.

“That’s God and Grandpa here with you,” Tiffany told her.

“We’re thankful the only thing lost was possessions,” Todd affirmed.

“They’re traumatized from it,” Tiffany said of her children.

When they emerged from the shelter, the Fowlers could not get to their home yet due to the blocked road. Tiffany described rising anxiety as they were able to navigate the debris to find their house.

“Not knowing, do I have a home?” she retold.

At last, they saw it. The trailer had been rotated on its foundation, barely hanging on except where it was anchored to an addition. The roof was gone and the structure leaned heavily down the hillside. The porch on the slope remained staunchly in place along with their shed and chicken coop.

“I cried,” Tiffany recalled when she saw their house. “What are we going to do?”

She said her children are in a state of shock at the events of last weekend.

Tiffany relayed her children keep telling her, “I just want to go home.”

Her 16-year-old daughter’s birthday party was supposed to be on Saturday.

Todd said he reminded his family of 1 John 4:4 amid the chaos which states God is greater than he who is in the world.

“Jesus is bigger than what that storm was,” he stated.

Back up the road, Tiffany’s uncle Robbie Hanner and his girlfriend took refuge in the basement of a shop building built into a hillside. The building was ripped off over them while debris covered the built-in shelter. The pair had to crawl out from underneath the rubble and wreckage.

Rodney Hanner, Robbie’s brother, lost everything.

“Everyone’s scared to rebuild,” he shared.

Only 10 months earlier, a tornado ripped along much the same path.

“There never had been a storm until the last two years,” he maintained.

“You just don’t know what to do,” Tiffany described the aftermath.

Her family is currently staying with her friend Amber while they figure out their next steps.

“I’m thankful Jesus pulled us through,” she said. “That’s been the only thing that’s been holding us together.”

The Brineys committed to returning to the Mackinaw Lane neighborhood.

“We’re going to build back,” Michael asserted. “This land means a lot to us.”

All the park’s residents said the outpouring of support from neighbors and the community has been outstanding.

“This is a small community, there’s good people out here,” Shauna added.

Michael said everyone has different ways of coping with the reality of what happened.

“Sometimes I’m laughing. Sometimes I’m just bawling.” Shauna shared.

Cheryl, Rodney’s wife, had just one thing to say about their tight-knit community: “We’re 488 strong.”