Oklahoma City Bombing Survivor Made One Promise To Herself
Amy Downs wishes she could travel backward through time to tell her younger self, "You're capable of more than you think." On April 19, 1995, Amy was only 28 when she nearly died in the Oklahoma City Bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The culprit murdered more than 150 innocent people in the attack. After that traumatic day, she underwent a huge transformation that left her nearly unrecognizable — inside and out.
Ingrained Trauma
Even though a quarter of a century has passed since the bombing, it doesn’t feel like that to Amy. "Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday," she said. "When it's that time of year, I can feel the emotion just below the surface. There is an edginess and uncomfortableness that starts when we start having spring weather."
Before the Attack
On April 19, 1995, Amy worked as a bank teller in the Federal Employees Credit Union branch inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Amy described her younger self as someone with low self-esteem. She was failing her college courses and realized she was unhappy with her size.
The Totals
Amy was one of the thousands of people inside the Oklahoma City building on the day of the attack. At 9 a.m., a rental Ryder truck parked outside of the 9-story structure exploded. The bomb ripped off the entire front of the building. In total, 168 people died in the blast. Another 650 people were injured and 300 nearby structures were damaged.
Immediate Impacts
The impact of the bombing was immediate. “If you’re in an event like we were," said Terri Talley, a friend of Amy's who was in the office with her that day. "It’s like we were in it with everybody in this whole small city. You band together and you’re stronger because you have more support there. I never felt like I just wanted to run away to another state.”
