Kuri Bolger is vocal about her difficult journey forward and the memories she's grateful to have after losing her mother, husband, and two of her children.
The mother who lost four of her family members during a deadly Iowa tornado spoke to "Good Morning America" about pushing to move forward after loss.
Four of the seven people killed in devastating storms that tore through central Iowa were members of the same family who were gathered at the grandparents house, and authorities said that the home did not have a basement and they were huddled together in a pantry while the tornado wreaked havoc, according to ABC News.
According to the National Weather Service, it was rated an EF-4, with peak winds of 170 mph. These storms were labeled as the deadliest in Iowa since 2008, according to the outlet.
Kuri Bolger, her husband, Michael, 37, and their children — Brysen, 8, Kinlee, 5, and Owen, 2, were visiting her parents in Winterset when the tornado ripped through central Iowa.
Bolger said that she is grateful for the time and the memories that the family shared prior to the tragedy.
"We took the time to go on a family bike ride or go on a hike in the woods and just explore…I also have a lot of pictures and videos, which I'm thankful for,” she told the outlet.
"My mom would always have her phone out and I'm like, 'Mom, put your phone down. We're just hanging out.' But now I have all those memories, things we can look back at.”
The service says that the tornado was on the ground for nearly 70 miles, leaving the longest path of destruction since a 1984 tornado that carved a path 117 miles long.
Of the immediate Bolger family, only Kuri and her son Brysen survived, alongside the grandfather and an uncle — all suffering injuries, with Bolger in need of multiple surgeries.
The mother spent a week in the hospital, and a friend set up a GoFundMe to support her through this time.
Bolger said of her son Brysen to "Good Morning America," "Thank God he made it through and everybody was able to save him because, at this point, he's my rock.”
Two others killed in the tornado — Rodney Clark, 64, and Cecilia Lloyd, 72 — lived in homes just down the street from the home that Bolger’s family was in.
"I think there's going to be really hard days and days that it's a little bit easier," she said to GMA, saying that no matter what, it's important to remember "that you just have to keep going."
