Pastor, wife lose opposite arms while holding each other as tornado destroys home
LONDON, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) – After an EF4 tornado tore through multiple homes in London, Kentucky, on Friday, one couple was found holding onto each other – but each lost an arm.
Their family told WKYT that Paul and Gail Cline have been married for 29 years and are the epitome of love.
At about 11:50 Friday night, a tornado ripped the Clines’ home to shreds. Later, a neighbor came over to help, looking for survivors.
“When they were found, they were holding each other, and that’s why they lost opposite arms, because they were holding on to each other, and whatever impacted them, impacted them at the same time,” said Brandy Bowman, one of the Clines’ nieces.
Their family credits the neighbor with saving Gail Cline’s life.
“He pulled a cord from something and put a tourniquet on her arm, and that’s what kept her from bleeding out,” said another one of the Clines’ nieces, Taylor Baker.
The nieces are still emotional about what happened to their aunt and uncle.
“It’s gut-wrenching, really, just to know how terrified they must have been, and all they knew to do was to hold on to each other,” said Baker.
Although he lost an arm, Paul Cline, who is a pastor, is said to be doing OK. Gail Cline, however, is still on life . In addition to losing her arm, she has broken ribs, liver and lung damage, and staples in her head.
Family said Paul Cline ed what he said on his wedding day when he was reunited with his wife in the hospital after the storm.
“The first time he got to see her, he went to her hospital room to see her, and he started to say his wedding vows,” said Baker.
“He kissed her on the forehead, and she tried to open her eyes,” Bowman added.
Through it all, their nieces say Paul and Gail Cline have a relationship that everyone should look up to.
“Their love is something everybody wants, it’s a special kind of love that you don’t see often,” said Baker.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Clines. The page notes that the couple also lost both their vehicles in the storm.
The National Weather Service has confirmed that the tornado was a powerful EF-4 and devastated multiple communities and killed 19 people.
According to officials, the tornado reached peak winds of 170 miles per hour. At its widest point, it was nearly a mile wide, and it stayed on the ground for approximately 56 miles.
The NWS says the EF-4 tornado’s path of damage spanned Russell, Pulaski and Laurel counties, starting in the town of Somerset and ending in London.
It was only the sixth EF4 or EF5 tornado in Kentucky in the past 50 years.
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