Stephanie Decker, the Frankfort native who lost both legs shielding her children from a March tornado, has been inducted into the 2012 International Mothers Hall of Fame.
She joins a star-studded list of moms, including first lady Michelle Obama; Betty DeGeneres, mom of TV host Ellen DeGeneres; actress Reese Witherspoon; and Ann Romney, wife of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Each mom added to the list will receive a Waterford Crystal rose.
Decker, 37, threw her body and a comforter over her 8-year-old son, Dominic, and her 5-year-old daughter, Reese, as an EF-4 tornado approached their home in Henryville, Ind., a town about 20 miles north of Louisville.
Her kids escaped the ordeal unscathed, but Decker was left with seven broken ribs, a punctured lung and crushed legs. She survived, but her right leg was amputated below the knee and her left leg above the knee.
“It was just mama bear instinct,” she said later, shunning the title of hero.
Decker’s family now lives in Sellersburg, returning to a home they had vacated and rented out after moving to Henryville. She is in the process of adjusting to prosthetic legs.
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