El Reno Nightmare

By Rick Padden, Red Cross Public Affairs

“The nightmares are normal,” the woman wearing the Red Cross vest said gently. “It’s not unusual, and you should expect them.”

The man sitting across from her will likely need that reassurance for years to come, as he can no longer sleep more than two hours without reliving his personal nightmare.

Preston Black, 35, had his world come crashing down, and up and all around him, on May 25, 2019, when an EF3 tornado scored a direct hit on his mobile home in Skyview mobile home park in El Reno, OK.

The woman, Red Cross caseworker Carolyn Harpole, listened intently as Black recounted the horror of that night. She was there to help, to listen, to support.

Black was with his wife and five of their six children (another was at a relative’s) in their home, watching TV because they’d heard severe weather was in the area, headed their way.

Just a thunderstorm, he said he thought to himself. They were common in the area, especially in May, and posed no particular threat.

But things began to get tense.

Around 10:30 p.m., the TV station began issuing warnings, and although he’d heard no tornado sirens, Black had his 7, 8, 11, 12 and 16-year-olds put their shoes on. He was preparing them to leave if necessary.

Then, he said, the trailer rose up off the ground, turned upside down, did a 360-degree turn, collided with another mobile home in mid-air and then “Boom, it exploded! Disintegrated, obliterated, demolished – whatever you want to call it.”

His three-bedroom home, everything in it, his car and just about everything around him was gone, destroyed in just a few moments.

What followed would be a nightmare for anyone.

“I was trapped, stuck,” he said. “I couldn’t breathe – couldn’t even move. They told me later that the washer, dryer, refrigerator and three layers of wall were on top of me.”

He thought it was the end, and made his peace.

“I asked God to forgive me, welcome me home and take care of my kids. Then I blacked out.”

Oddly, he came back to consciousness, he said, and with newfound strength and determination.

“Oh, s____, I’m alive!” he said he screamed out loud. He could hear his kids, he said, and with four broken ribs, a punctured lung, two radically dislocated shoulders and two shoulder fractures, he began to struggle against the rubble. It moved.

“I could see my wife’s legs; she was crushed. I was able to roll over next to her and bench-pressed the stuff off of her. They waited for help together, and it eventually came.

Everyone in the family survived, although Preston’s wife Lena, 37, remains in Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital in Oklahoma City with nine broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and shoulders, and two broken collar bones. All five children escaped with only minor injuries.

Harpole and three other Red Cross volunteers in the room sat stunned when Black had finished his story.

The emotional support that Red Cross caseworkers provide tends to follow a client’s responsiveness, and Harpole’s first step was to gauge Black’s state of mind. He was already bouncing back, and she soon found that he’d learned to deal with adversity at a young age.

“Preston has already overcome many obstacles in his life,” Harpole said.  “I have encountered many people with disaster related experiences, and Preston has a great deal of resilience. I pointed this out to him and how it will help him in his recovery.” 

He would have to rely on his resilience to not only cope with the nightmares, but accept a “new normal” in his life, according to Harpole.

But he’s already learned how to deal with heavy loads.

How You Can Help

Help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org/donate or call 1-800-RED CROSS. Contributions may also be sent to your local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37864, Boone, IA 50037-0864.