Dawson Springs family thankful for community support after losing 2-month-old in December tornado

DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the anniversary of the devastating tornadoes that hit Kentucky last December draws near, a family in Dawson Springs is remembering the youngest victim, their 2-month-old daughter, Oaklynn Koon.

Oaklynn's mother, Jackie Koon, said Oaklynn was loved by many. "

She was a great baby," Koon said. "I feel like she was already an angel."

Jackie's husband, Douglas Koon, agrees.

"That's all I wanted in life to finish our little family was a daughter," he said.

"I was so proud of her," Jackie said. "She always smiled. Everybody loved her eyelashes."

But the tornado on Dec. 10, 2021, changed everything for Jackie and her family, including her baby, two sons, husband and her mom.

"I felt so hopeless," Jackie Koon said. "As a father or mother, you're supposed to protect your kids and we could not protect them and we just couldn't. Whenever they said Mayfield was catastrophic, we went to my mom's, and not even 15 minutes later it hit and we kind of live with that."

That's because the family left their trailer to go to Jackie's mom's house, not knowing it would be directly in the storm's path. After they arrived, it was all a blur.

"All I can remember, my mom praying and seeing the floor lifting and closing my eyes," Jackie Koon said.

There was devastation throughout Dawson Springs, and Jackie Koon's mom's house was torn apart.

Douglas described what he remembers as the tornado hit.

"I was in the storm position they teach you in school, on the ground, hands over your head and I never left that position," he said. "Windows shattered in the house, first our ears popped. Immediately after that, I could feel the walls move. After that it was pure chaos. It felt like I was being crushed by walls and everything."

The family was in the bathroom when the tornado lifted them up. Oaklynn and her grandmother, Sheila Rose, were found in a ditch area, and the rest of the family was scattered by the neighbor's house.

Jackie recalled her terror as she searched for her loved ones.

"When I busted in this house, not knowing where I was — it was my neighbor — I said you have to help me find my family! You have to help me find my family!" she said.

A year later, the memory of living through a tornado is still hard for Jackie Koon to talk about.

"I can't get it out of my head, how many people you heard," she said. "And when you are trying to just help your family and you can't help them, and you just heard it everywhere, that was hard."

Oaklynn was found still in her car seat and crying. Jackie Koon said her baby had some visible cuts and bruises.

"Me and the baby went the farthest, that's what's so crazy about the whole thing," Rose said. "We were actually in the middle of the bathroom and me and her were the ones who flew the farthest. I had close to 50 stitches all together on my head and I broke my back, seven vertebras. We measured. I'm not sure how closely we measured, but I had flown close to 100 feet."

Jackie Koon said her husband found their son Bentley "under a shower curtain." She said he was found near the door of the neighbor's house "pretty bruised up, and he had a cut on his arm."

Dallas, who was 11 years old at the time (he's now 12), had a brain bleed and was taken to another hospital with dad.

At the first hospital, Jackie Koon said the MRI machine was broken and Oaklynn wasn't monitored overnight.

"They just did her so wrong," she said. "They shouldn't have let us take her home."

Jackie Koon said Oaklynn was treated, released and sent home. But back at their trailer, which had escaped damage, Jackie Koon said Oaklynn didn't wake up like she normally did after four hours to feed.

"And I looked at her and she didn't look right and I was holding her and she was looking to the left and I was like ... I was so -- it makes me mad that they sent her home because what if she was in pain?"

Jackie says Oaklynn was then taken to another hospital that referred Oaklynn to Norton Children's Hospital in downtown Louisville.

"We wasted so much time," Jackie said. "We went to three different hospitals, and at the third one, they found out she was bleeding internally somewhere. They couldn't do exploratory surgery because her brain kept swelling."

Oaklynn passed away on Dec. 13, three days after the tornado.

The family now has a change.org petition hoping to get Justice for Oaklynn. The goal is to make it mandatory for to monitor infants who go through traumatic situations like a tornado for at least 24 hours.

"Things could have been different," Jackie said.

Every day since Oaklynn's death is difficult, and Jackie knows the anniversary of the tornado will be especially difficult. She is thankful for the outpouring of support from the community.

"I'm so grateful, the rebuild and everything, the volunteers coming in," Jackie said. "The one year we've been without our daughter, one year, they get all their stuff back, which I'm glad. I try to be happy for them. I don't get something back."

Through it all, the family finds strength from the community and strangers who fell in love with Oaklynn. "I feel very grateful and blessed about it," Jackie said. "I don't want to cry. I met so many grieving mothers that helped me through."

Jackie and Douglas' bedroom is filled with many items people have made and sent them from around the world. "I haven't put everything out," Jackie explained. "It's very special to put everything out. I try to look at it as happy memories, even though it was so tragic."

Someone made a blanket with Oaklynn's baby clothes. The baby's full onesies are in the blanket with working zippers. A 3D printed light of the sweet baby's face sits by their bed.

"The bear is the last outfit she was in," Jackie said. The stuffed animal bear is made from Oaklynn's clothes. It's the same weight as when she passed away, 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Jackie says she's also thankful for jewelry that was handmade for her and Douglas. "Tree of Hope made me a ring and made him a ring."

Douglas says the jewelry is "made out of stuff from her grave, so we carry a piece of Oaklynn with us everyday. People donated that whole box trailer full of toys for the kids. The first thing, we're definitely getting a storm shelter, which, before, we'd never been able to afford something like that. This storm shelter was $5,530."

The family used donations to buy an underground storm shelter that's now outside their trailer, a place they can now feel safe, in case there's another tornado.

And at Oaklynn's final resting place, they find some peace as they grieve.

Oaklynn Koon gravesite — In this image provided by family members a headstone and memorial bench for 2-month-old Oaklynn Koon can be seen. She died in the hospital days after a tornado tore through Dawson Springs, Ky., in the overnight hours of Dec. 10, 2021.

"It's sad to come here to see your child," Jackie Koon said, while expressing gratitude for an unexpected gift that appeared one day: a memorial bench with Oaklynn's name on it.

"One day this was just here," she said. "And I love it."

Oaklynn's headstone was also donated by strangers. The back of the headstone has a picture of Oaklynn with her brothers.

"I'm grateful people did this for us," Jackie said. "It helped our grieving process."

Jackie Koon said grief can be a roller coaster, but sharing Oaklynn's story means so much, as does the support of the community.

"I couldn't do it without the support I get everyday. The prayers, the encouragement and words. I couldn't get through this without my supporters, my Oaklynn warriors."

All this week, leading up to the tornado anniversary on Dec. 10, stay tuned to WDRB News for stories from several communities on how they're rebuilding, one year later.

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