HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Parents set examples for their children, and in this case, it helped save a life.
This is a story some of you will remember from years ago, when a mother's selfless act saved her son's life in a storm. That moment set the stage for the another heroic act, this time from the son.
The story dates back to a horrible storm more than a decade ago, and an aftermath that proves heroics run in the family.
"I have had many blessings, and the biggest one is being able to watch my boys grow up," Amy Hawkins said.
She knows just how close that came to not happening. A tornado swept through Hendersonville in 2006. Amy's husband, a firefighter already out responding to emergencies, called to warn her.
"I called her up and said, 'Amy you gotta get downstairs,' and she said 'I know. I gotta go,'" Amy's husband said.
Seconds later, the tornado leveled the family home. Amy threw her body over her two sons, three-year-old Cole and six-year-old Jair, saving their lives but nearly dying herself. Days later, Jair's mom was still hospitalized.
"My mom was protecting us, me and my brother, and I feel bad she's hurt. Mom's a hero," Jair said.
That was in 2006.
Now, Jair is a firefighter in Portland. Here he's posing with his new bride Hailey on their eventful honeymoon cruise.
During the cruise, Jair helped save a woman who collapsed on the ship by jumpstarting her heart with a defibrillator. His mom was not surprised by his heroic act.
"I thought, 'that's Jair,'" she said. "Something like that would happen to him."
A heroic act in a moment of crisis. Could it be?
"Children learn from the actions of their parents," Amy said.
She credits both her sons with learning from what happened in the tornado. She lost the use of her legs saving them, and she said she would do it again.
"A terrible thing that happened, but I still believe everything happens for a reason," Amy said.
Jair is still on his honeymoon. But his mother knows he'll have quite a story to share with her when he returns.
