Staff and Wire Reports

JACKSON, Tenn. — About 50 Union University students and resident assistants have written messages and scriptures on the concrete slab floor of a new dorm under construction.

A tornado tore apart much of the campus Feb. 5.

Cheryl Propst left behind Psalm 30, a biblical passage reflecting her story as she recovered from injuries after the tornado, she said. Propst was one of four Union students who wrote messages after being badly injured in the tornado.

Nineteen-year-old Brandon Lang chose to leave the lyrics to the song “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” as his message.

Katrina Parker, 21, a Union junior, left words on a concrete floor before it is covered with carpet. She wrote, “Lord, I pray for every student at this campus that they would be completely dependent on you, those now and for years to come.”

David Wilson, a graduate of Chattanooga Christian School, had completed his freshman season as a Union soccer player when he was trapped for nearly five hours under more than 20 feet of rubble following the storm. His journey since being rushed that night to the hospital in Jackson has included a flight to the trauma intensive care unit at Erlanger and admission to Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation.

Leg injuries that caused muscle and nerve damage threatened Wilson’s mobility, and toxins from dying tissues endangered his kidney function, but after surgeries and weeks of rehabilitation, he walked out of Siskin on April 11.

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