‘He always looks at the positive’: Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez thankful after surviving tornado, in-field leg amputation
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It’s been almost a year since a Fultondale dad lost his leg saving his daughter in the January tornado that destroyed his home, and Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez says he has a lot to be thankful for.
On January 25, an EF-3 tornado blew through Fultondale at an estimated wind speed of 250 mph, decimated entire neighborhoods and toppled the tree that landed on Vasquez’s leg.
The tree fell on him as he drove his wife and three children into the basement of their home on Lykes Boulevard.
Vasquez and his wife Eloisa clean commercial properties for a living. Just an hour before the tornado, they were cleaning Vestavia Hills’ municipal buildings, including the fire department, that would later save his life.
The couple returned home when the storm hit their home and they rushed to get to their safe place. Eloisa and the children made it to safety, but Vasquez was trapped and had no way out.
Fultondale father Arnoldo Vasquez-Hernandez was critically injured in the tornado on January 25, 2021 when he was saving his daughter’s life. The family lost almost everything in the storm. (Contributed)
Over the next five hours, medics, EMTS, police, fire departments, UAB surgeons and nurses, and even neighbors joined forces in a series of actions that culminated in a rare on-site operation to remove and rescue Vasquez’s leg .
The rescue workers involved said it was one of the most intense moments of their career.
Elevators or jacks were used to temporarily support the house so the medical staff could do what they needed, with at least 10 different agencies participating.
The on-site medical staff sedated Vasquez and then performed the operation on the trapped man at the top of the basement stairs. A paramedic stood on the fallen tree with a flashlight to light Vasquez during the operation.
The first responders and medical staff explained what had to happen to Vasquez and his family through an interpreter. “He said, ‘Whatever you have to do to get me out,'” said Dr. Blayke Gibson, head of Gibson’s Trauma / Burn Nurse Director of Emergency Medicine.
The actual amputation, performed just above the knee, only took about 10 minutes and then Vasquez was taken to the UAB.
Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez (Special to AL.com)
Two days after the accident, Dr. Conley Carr, director of the residency program for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UAB, treated Vasquez for post-trauma rehabilitation.
Five months later, Vasquez received a prosthetic leg that enabled him to take his first steps since the tornado.
“He always sees the positives,” Carr said of Vasquez. “He’s definitely a ‘glass half full’ type, which is a good sign of staying motivated throughout his healing process.”
Vasquez said he was still recovering but wasn’t back to work yet. “It’ll take a long time,” he said. “I run well. My leg is fine now. There is no pain. “
Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez (Special to AL.com)
A community effort led by Carol Rawding Stewart, Rotary President Tornado Relief Coordinator, Richard Bradley, Jefferson Rotary Club project manager, and Remax agent Faith Harper, resulted in the Vasquez family moving into their new home. Stewart said it was made possible by the overwhelming generosity of the people of the United States
“It’s good for me and my family,” said Vasquez.
The most important thing is that he, his wife and his children have survived. “Thanks to everyone who helped,” he said.