BISMARCK —
Students and faculty walked the halls of Bismarck-Henning Junior High in shock Tuesday following the unexpected death of a student.
Ashton Norwell, 12, passed away at about 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon after he was taken off life support following a massive stroke at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Principal Rusty Campbell described feeling “blind sided” on Tuesday by Norwell’s death, which followed a successful benefit in the 12-year-old’s honor. Following the benefit, Campbell said a lot of people were optimistic of Norwell’s future.
“We thought he’d be coming in (to school) next fall,” Campbell said Tuesday morning.
Norwell cheated death on March 25 thanks to quick-thinking faculty members, including Campbell and school nurse Josie Siddens. Norwell had a heart attack in the school gymnasium. The boy had to be resuscitated using an automated external defibrillator after he stopped breathing and did not respond to teachers.
He was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria that day and suffered another heart attack the following morning. He was then initially put under sedation and on a heart bypass machine to allow his heart to rest. He had been hospitalized since that time.
Campbell said many were expecting Norwell to soon be placed on the heart transplant list. But word came from a family member Monday afternoon that the boy’s outlook was not good.
Siddens, speaking via e-mail, said the death has deeply affected her as well as the school district.
“A school nurse always hopes that an incident like this never happens to one of her students,” she said in the e-mail. “For him to pass away from complications while waiting to be on the transplant list is devastating.
“Our school community grieves along with his family.”
Students were informed during an assembly Tuesday morning prior to classes, although many already were aware of the loss.
“Our kids are important to us and we’re going to take care of them,” Campbell said, adding that the school’s thoughts are with Ashton’s father, Justin, and his family.
Bismarck-Henning Superintendent Randy Hird said grief counselors from VASE were on hand at the school Tuesday to talk to students who were dealing with Norwell’s death.
Hird said the counselors would be on hand as many days as necessary to help students handle the loss and would have a better idea on what the school needed after the first day.
“We’re going to get through this together,” he said, quoting Campbell’s words to students Tuesday morning.
Norwell was born with heart problems, undergoing surgery as an infant and again when he was 6 years old. But since then he had been outgoing, frequenting the honor roll in school and earning a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
The community, however, is making great strides in showing support for Norwell since March 25. In addition to the benefit, one
Bismarck-Henning student started a Facebook page: Nationwide Prayer for Ashton Norwell.
Dozens of expressions of sorrow poured into the site on Tuesday as word of Norwell’s death spread.
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