'Please stay with me': Oxford shooting survivor describes reassuring Hana St. Juliana after both were shot
OXFORD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Kylie Ossege said she thought balloons were popping on Nov. 30, 2021, before realizing she had been shot at Oxford High School.
Ossege spoke during the shooter's sentencing Friday.
"I attempted to get up, but my legs weren’t moving," she said Friday at the shooter's sentencing hearing, describing hearing the squish of blood on the carpet while she struggled to get up. "It was so painful."
While on the ground, she said she heard groaning and realized Hana St. Juliana was next to her.
"I kept trying to reassure her. 'Someone will come help us. Don't worry. You just keep breathing, just please stay with me,'" Ossege said. "I said that to her a thousand times."
Ossege said she was in a pool of her own blood for 15 minutes as she waited for help.
"Fifteen minutes of hearing Hana St Juliana's last sounds while stroking her hair and trying to encourage her," she said.
Eventually, someone came and attempted to save St. Juliana and told Ossege they would come back for her.
"I thought I was dying," she said.
Ossege survived, while St. Juliana was one of the four students killed.
Hana St. Juliana's sister speaks during Oxford sentencing: 'Loving Hana shouldn't be this painful'
Life for the St. Juliana family hasn't been the same since losing their daughter on Nov. 30, 2021. Reina, who read statements from her mom and herself during the shooter's sentencing two years after the tragic day, says the words "we love her too much" are too hard to hear.
Ossege said her right clavicle was shattered and two of her ribs were broken. A bullet also grazed her spine, causing a spinal cord injury. She has undergone two spine surgeries and continues to live in pain every day, she said.
When she was shot, Ossege said she was being recruited to ride on a college equestrian team, but cannot.
Ossege, who is now a student at Michigan State University, said the school had to make accommodations for her because she has trouble walking.
"I am still disabled and in extreme pain every single day," the 19-year-old said. "Walking long distances is a battle."
In addition to the pain, she said she lives in fear of being hurt and has survivor's guilt.
"It has been 738 days of living with survivor's guilt, knowing that I could not save Hana St. Juliana, 738 days and counting," Oessege said.
Despite this, she said she will continue to live her life and advocate for others.
"I will continue to have compassion and spread love and joy and positivity everywhere I step foot. I will continue to advocate for those that have experienced something similar," she said. "I will proceed to stand up against gun violence in hopes that nothing like Nov. 30th ever happens to anyone ever again."