Hill said ever since the bombing, Downs has been an actively engaged member of the community. Ironically, her concern for the community is how they met. He received a demanding, yet humorous email from Downs that basically stated, “If the mayor is serious about us getting healthy, he needs to fix this bridge where I ride my bike,” he said. Hill liked the tone of the email and Downs eventually became a spokes- person for the healthy lifestyle initiative. He also notes that Downs was the first person to say thank you when the bridge was fixed. “We all love Amy around here,” Hill said. “When people think of
Oklahoma City and its residents, she embodies all the qualities you’d like them to think of; she’s tough, she’s spirited, she’s energetic, and she’s friendly.” Downs and four other bombing survivors continue to work for the Federal Employees Credit Union, now named Allegiance Credit Union. After the bombing, credit unions throughout the state helped them to reopen 48 hours later, and that cooperative spirit continues to amaze Downs. She re- members making phone calls in the hospital, then working from home, because they lost so many employees and members needed access to their money. Her best friend died in the bombing, leaving behind two young daughters, one of whom now works for the credit union. Not long ago, Downs was visiting with a customer who used to joke around with her and the best friend she lost. The customer told Downs he has a new teller he likes to joke with, and Downs realized he was talking about her best friend’s daughter. When she told him who the young teller was, his face went white and tears ran down his face, she said. He was speechless. “He had no idea this was the daughter of the teller he loved, who was lost
in the bombing,” Downs said. “The people, our members, are very close to us. We get to know our members. Out of the 168 people who were killed, 125 were members of our credit union. So on top of losing 18 who were in our office, there were tons of people we lost.” Downs is now the senior vice president, chief operations officer at the
credit union. After the bombing, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and she also became a mom. Her son Austin was born in 1999. She said, whenever she gets depressed, she turns things around by helping other people.
“I was buried in the rubble literally, but every single one of us, in our individual lives, becomes buried at times,” Downs said. “There’s a lot of people who have dark parts in their story. Their health has been altered, they’ve lost a loved one and they still have that hole.” The biggest advice she received was to hold on to her faith, family and friends. She said you have to reach out to people, “because it’s more than you can handle.” What also helped Downs was seeing other people who’ve survived horri- ble events, illnesses, and war. The words she hung onto were, “There will be a new normal.” “What you’re wanting is for your life to be normal again. I mean it’s shattered,” she said. “There will be a new normal; I kept hearing that over and over again. I kept holding on to that, and they were exactly right. My life was never normal again, but there was a new normal that surfaced.” Her new normal includes a stronger faith and a positive attitude that won’t let anything hold her back.
“One day I’ll ride my bike across America,” Downs said.
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