JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 8, 2008 — The tornado that hit 51社区 on Feb. 5 affected the lives of about 1,200 students who live on campus, yet for one student, the event literally exists as a dream.
Rose Rogers, a junior art major from Nashville, Tenn., was sheltered during the storm. However, she remembers almost nothing from the evening. When the tornado destroyed the campus and her dorm room, she was struck on the head from flying debris.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 remember much from the night of the storm,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淎pparently, I was sent to the hospital with a concussion and only bits and pieces are coming back to me with time. The only things I remember are small flashes of debris such as a bus turned over beside the LifeWay bookstore and views from my bedroom window.鈥�
Lily Zopfi, a junior art major from Chattanooga, Tenn., is a close friend of Rogers who remained alongside her during the incident and visit to the hospital.
鈥淎t first, I couldn鈥檛 remember anything from the prior month,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淚 felt like I was walking through a dream, a nightmare almost. As (Lily) told the story, I pictured it yet I couldn鈥檛 imagine it being true. It made me scared and sad I was not able to remember this dramatic time in my life.鈥�
As Zopfi described the events, she and Rogers were working in the art studio when the tornado sirens went off. They wanted to stay put, yet were urged by other students to rush back to Rogers鈥� dorm room. So, they set out across campus running to safety. When they reached Rogers鈥� apartment, they found it empty because her roommates had fled to a room across the walkway.
After experiencing many accounts of tornado warnings over their three years at Union, the students admitted they were annoyed. Rogers closed their living room blinds to hide from resident assistants, who were on security rounds to send women to their bathrooms for safety.
鈥淎ccording to Lily, we spread out on my bed and looked out the window to see when the storm would pass,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淎s we watched our professor鈥檚 truck pull away from the art department, Lily said debris began flying toward us. We then fled to the bathroom while the windows broke and glass began flying everywhere.
鈥淎s we rounded the corner of the bathroom, the entire front wall of the dorm collapsed. Lily said I jumped at the bathtub but we were unable to shut the door before it went dark and the tornado hit.鈥�
The girls were helped out through the gaping hole in their bathroom wall by Zopfi鈥檚 boyfriend who escorted them directly to a nurse located in a nearby building on campus.
According to Zopfi and other friends, Rogers was not lucid and continued to ask five questions continuously including: 鈥淲hat happened? Am I OK? Are you OK? Does my mom know I am OK? Is my mom OK?鈥�
Arriving at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Rogers was given a CAT scan and soon received the information she had suffered a mild concussion. She had two 鈥済oose-egg sized bumps鈥� on the side of her head, which remained swollen until the next day.
As Rogers began explaining the experience described by Zopfi, she stared into the distance trying to picture how it happened.
When Rogers later saw her room, she stood in awe at the damage on display. The entire bathroom was visible to the outside world and her safe haven no longer seemed to be so safe. As she viewed the remnants of her college life, she began to remember small things about the night, yet was still unable to believe she had experienced the disaster personally.
鈥淚t just feels like a dream,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淚 still don鈥檛 remember enough to feel like it actually happened to me. After seeing everything and having this picture in my mind forever, I am so thankful. It hasn鈥檛 hit me yet but as for now, I am feeling so blessed and in awe of God and His work.鈥�