NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The family of the four siblings killed in a weekend crash with a suspected drunken driver continue to deal with their grief. And now they are also struggling to get the siblings only surviving brother into the United States.
Kurt Schilling, the stepfather of the four Gonzalez children, said, ” I believe in miracles!”
And it might just take that to get Paulina Schilling’s son, 27-year old Jorge Gonzalez, to the United States.
“My wife have been through enough. It won’t return her kids, but at least return one to us so we can have a family here and bury the siblings and our children,” added Kurt Schilling.
Ever since the tragedy this past weekend that claimed the lives of four of Paulina Schilling’s five children, Daniel, Fabian, Lillian and Daniela Gonzalez – all she’s wanted is to have her last surviving son, who lives in her homeland of Ecuador, by her side.
According to Paulina Schilling, “It would be a great help and a great support to me in these moments. I very much need him, I need his support.”
The Schilling family says Jorge Gonzalez was in the process of trying to obtain his green card, to enable him to come to the United States.
He stepfather said, “We have sponsors, we have financial backing, he’s not going to be a burden to society, we have a job for him, everything.”
They say that process has been taking years, and because of it, he was denied an emergency or humanitarian visa to come to the U.S. to grieve his siblings.
“We understand there’s a legal process, we understand all of that and we want to abide by that. We’re just asking in this severe tragedy that is completely out of the norm that my stepmom can be with her only child that she has left,” said Noah Schilling, the victims’ stepbrother.
Congressman Mike Gallagher’s office tells us he has been in touch with the Schilling family. And he has touched base with the relevant federal agencies to try and help, but because of ongoing work related to this case and privacy laws, he can’t speak directly to the situation.
Gallagher said, “Me and my team deal with a lot of issues that aren’t quite that aren’t exactly like this but in terms of helping people navigate processes like these so we’re doing everything we can to assist the family but beyond that I can’t comment further.”
The Schillings are thankful for the Congressman’s help, but they’re running out of time. They want to be able to lay the four siblings to rest and so they’re hoping for a Christmas miracle and the continued kindness of others to help reunite a grieving mother with her only surviving son.
“Hands folded, knees bent, heads bowed and an army of people behind us to pray, we can move some hearts of people that need to make this happen for us,” added Kurt Schilling.
As the family continues to deal with immigration issues, they’re also honoring the victims.
On Wednesday, 25-year old Daniel Gonzalez, who was declared brain-dead after the crash, was transported to a Madison hospital where, as an organ donor, his organs will be harvested to help save the lives of others. A crowd of family and friends gathered outside ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah for a “hero walk.” The crowd played some of Gonzalez’s favorite music and cheered for him before he was loaded into a medical helicopter bound for Madison.
In addition to Jorge Gonzalez, the Schillings are also hoping to help the Gonzalez children’s biological father as well as other extended family members obtain paperwork that would allow them to all temporarily come to the U-S to grieve this tremendous loss.
