Kurt Johannes Osweiler April 28, 1990---October 16, 1996
This web page is dedicated to our son and brother Kurt Johannes Osweiler. Kurt died on October 16, 1996 after being struck down by a speeding van. He was walking across the street to a friend's house after being dropped off by my wife, Sheryl. I know in my heart that Kurt had looked both ways and I know that my wife had as well. Unfortunately, the van was in a dip at the bottom of the hill and could not be seen from the top of the hill. Kurt was already on the center line when he was hit by the speeding van. He was thrown over sixty feet up the street. Tana, Kurt's younger sister who was just three years old witnessed the accident.
Kurt was originally taken by ambulance to the hospital in Waconia, MN which was just 10 miles away. However, the doctors there felt that Kurt's injuries were to severe for them to handle. Kurt was then flown to Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis, MN. We were told afterward that his heart had stopped on the flight and the medics had to do CPR until they got to HCMC. Kurt underwent two surgeries that attempted to stop his bleeding. The first surgery was to repair his chest injuries. Several of the major arteries were ripped from his heart. He was in surgery for several hours and was wheeled into Pediatrics ICU when the surgery was done.
We were able to see him after the surgery was done. We had to wait so things could settle down. He had cotton over his eyes to prevent them from drying out. They had a heater going because he was cold and they were having a hard time warming him up. There was a tube going into the top of his head to relieve the swelling of his brain. He was just hit too hard and many of his little blood vessels were ruptured. He was all swollen up from all of the liquids they had pumped into him. The doctor told us that his blood was like koolaid and we were told he would not make it.
As we prepared to see him one last time he was immediately wheeled out of Pediactics ICU back into surgery. The doctors had determined that the bleeding had not stopped and that his spleen had ruptured. The second surgery lasted over an hour or so, I think. At this time it was around 3 or 4 am in the morning and we had been up all night. We were losing track of time.
The doctor came back into the room we were waiting in and told us about the second surgery. They had removed his spleen and felt they had stopped the bleeding. It was brought to our attention that his injuries were indeed severe and that he had also suffered a severe brain injury as well. Sheryl and I had to make a decision on whether to attempt to keep him alive or to let him go. We did not want Kurt to continue suffering. Kurt was laid into my lap and arms as I held him one last time while he was alive. Sheryl was at my side and held him as well.
His life support, which was the ventilator, was disconnected. He was not able to breath without the ventilator and he never regained consciousness. I held him tight as I watch his lungs stop moving and he died in my arms. We told him how much we loved him and that we would miss him very much. I don't know if he ever hear us because of the brain injury and it haunts me to this day that I don't know if he ever heard us talk to him. Was he really gone during the helicopter flight and thus his subconcious did not hear me tell him how much I loved him? Did he not hear me tell him the things we were going to do when he got out of the hospital? Did he not know we were there? Was he already in heaven?
Kurt, we love you and miss you very much. We know you are in a better place and that you are having fun doing the things you loved to do.
Mom and Dad.
This web page contains a gallery of photos of Kurt, a letter from his teacher, pictures made by his classmates, the addition to the pledge of allegiance his classmates made, the insurance issue which surfaced and the issue of speeding in residential areas. There are links to Kurt's other page and other pages as well. More things will be added later.
We want to thank the following people: Scott and Robin Gwaltney from Rochester, MN for being with us the night Kurt died. Scott is my wife's cousin and Robin is his wonderful wife. We want to thank the wonderful doctors and nurses whom worked their hardest to save Kurt's life. Thanks to the the rest of our family, the people in our community and the elementary school with special thanks to Ms. LaBoone. Thank you also to the Minnesota State Patrol for your hard work in the investigation and for being there with us. We also want to thank the wonderful people who helped us out with donations to the Kurt Osweiler Memorial Fund. Special thanks to the C.H. Robinson Company where I worked for their dontations as well.
Thank you for visiting this page.
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