Severely injured Celina woman says God saved her

CELINA - Anita Fleming of Celina has few memories of the Memorial Day 2019 tornado that ravaged her Mud Pike property and left her unconscious for nearly a month at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where she was treated for severe injuries.

She credits God for sparing her life and seeing her through the ordeal, just as in 1997, when she recovered from a series of strokes that forced her to learn how to walk again before returning to work a year later as a medical office receptionist.

"I give the credit to God. It had to be him. Nothing else could have saved me," she told the newspaper. "I know there were a lot of prayers and a lot of people caring. I've gotten a lot of cards and phone calls so I know they were praying."

Fleming, 80, who lives in a new house on the same property, recalled her harrowing experience, pointing out most of the details were filled in for her a few days before she was released from Miami Valley last summer.

Late in the evening of Memorial Day 2019, Fleming and her daughter Debra, who has cerebral palsy, were both in the home on Mud Pike, where the family had lived since 1973. Her husband, Albert, who had farmed the land for many years, was in Briarwood Village at the time, recovering from hip-replacement surgery.

A storm was indeed raging, but other details remain scant from the night the EF3 tornado packing winds of about 150 mph raked the northwestern part of Celina along with neighboring areas in Mercer County, she said.
  Anita Fleming remembered that her daughter advised they should go to the bathroom in the middle of the house, as it had no windows. She said she made it into the kitchen and noticed the wind had really picked up.

"I remember coming into the dining room but I don't remember anything else after that," she said. "(My daughter) said a big board from our barn, which is about 150 yards (away), slammed through our patio doors, hit me, hit her."

Anita Fleming's blood was everywhere.

"She thought I was dead," the mother said.

Her daughter couldn't get through to 911 so she then called one of her two brothers, Fleming said. He went to seek help at the Celina fire station but learned all units were out.

"So they called Coldwater and one of their squads came," she said. "(My daughter) ended up with eight staples in her head when the board that hit me hit her."

Medical personnel found Anita Fleming lying on the floor between the dining room and living room, she said.

"They got me in the squad and went to Coldwater and decided my injuries were severe enough that they wanted me to go to Miami Valley," she said. "I don't remember any of this. When I woke up it was about a month later."

Medical professionals laid bare what had happened to her when she finally regained consciousness.

"I said, 'What injuries do I have?'" she recalled. "He said, 'It's easier to tell what you don't have.'"

Fleming suffered internal and head injuries. Her left arm was fractured in numerous spots, requiring a six-hour surgery that installed plates and screws, she said. Her ribs were fractured too.

"And my face. I've got a scar running from the top of my head down to my eyebrow," she said. "And then my nose, all that was broken, and across my top lip, my gums, my teeth were broken. I've got a nice scar down the front of my face, which looks better now."

After being released from Miami Valley, Fleming spent time at Briarwood Village in a room not far from her husband's. She also needed multiple trips to hospitals for follow-up care.

"So I've had quite a bit of therapy," she said.

Anita Fleming, who just recently had staples removed from her head, considers herself to be 97% healthy today.

What she believes to be a divine extension of life permitted her to spend additional time by the side of her husband of 61.5 years, Albert, who died Feb. 24 at Lima Memorial Health System.

Before he died, though, Albert Fleming got to see the new house built on the property.

"We had to have a new house put up after the tornado. He was here twice to see it, but there's no barn. (It) took all of our buildings," she said.

The tornado had laid waste to the couple's barn, where Albert spent much time; a machine shed; and a two-car garage. The house had been badly damaged and infiltrated with mold and mildew, forcing the family to rebuild.

"I've got good neighbors and friends," she said. "My kids are getting groceries most of the time. They don't want me going out with this virus going around."