Valley View family facing long recovery after deadly tornado
VALLEY VIEW, Texas - One of the families impacted by the deadly tornado in Cooke County last month is still grappling with the long road of recovery ahead.
Wayne Watson lost his life when the tornado ripped through his family’s mobile home in Valley View.
His two sons, 29-year-old Keith and 23-year-old Kevin, also suffered serious injuries.
"Keith said they got an alert on the TV that they were under a tornado warning and then they got one alert on their phone. And a minute later the house was being picked up and physically thrown," said Christine Watson, their mother.
The house landed 50 yards away on top of all three men.
Wayne didn’t survive. Keith and Kevin were found alive in the rubble and taken to the hospital.
Their mother said she is doing her best to stay strong for the family.
"After seeing the destruction at the property, the fact that either of my sons are alive is truly a miracle," Christine said. "And I’m so very grateful."
Kevin is still in critical condition at a Denton hospital with a broken neck and internal bleeding. He is in a medically induced coma and has undergone six surgeries. He will need additional surgeries.
Keith’s injuries were less severe. But he still needs a walker to get around and will need physical therapy once he’s released from the hospital.
All while grieving their father as well.
"He worked very hard. He was a very dedicated and loving and very good father," Christine said.
She said the generosity of the community is what’s kept her going.
"Every little bit is truly a blessing," she said. "It’s the generosity of people that is literally seeing us through right now."
North Texas tornado victims: What we know
While many North Texas are working to clean-up the damage left behind by tornadoes, we are learning more about the seven victims who lost their life.
The National Weather Service has upgraded the tornado that hit the family’s home on May 25 to an EF-3 tornado.
A total of seven people were killed and more than 100 were injured after multiple tornadoes touched down in North Texas that night.