A MS Coast couple was told their son had a virus, but he was dying. They’ve filed suit
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Odin Daniel Weydeveld was perfection.
The 5-year-old with big, brown eyes was filled with energy, loved the outdoors and was not scared of a thing. He wore his Spider-Man costume more often than regular clothes and wrapped his family in hugs.
“He really was just a caring little boy, always trying to rescue everyone,” said his mom, Hastings Weydeveld. Odin was growing up with his siblings on a 3-acre farm in Saucier, where they rode horses, and had chickens, ducks and a turkey. His parents will forever cherish a trip the family took to Disney World in the fall.
The first anniversary of Odin’s death is Sunday, Jan. 21. He died within hours of being treated and released from the emergency room at Singing River Gulfport with a prescription for nausea medicine.
His mother has filed a lawsuit over his death in Harrison County Circuit Court against Singing River Gulfport, emergency room physician Andrew R. Marsh and Gulf Coast ER Specialists P.C., which lists Marsh as president.
Marsh, Singing River and Gulf Coast ER Specialists have denied wrongdoing. But, as Odin’s beneficiaries, the Weydevelds are seeking damages for what they claim was Odin’s wrongful death.
Hastings Weydeveld is still shocked by her son’s death.
“How does a perfectly healthy child die so fast?” she said in an interview with the Sun Herald. “I was like, ‘What happened? Why did they let him leave the hospital if he was dying?”
Diagnosed with stomach virus
Odin was the middle child of three siblings. He worshiped his mom and doted on little sister Nikita, called Niki. She was only 3-years-old when he died, but remembers him and says he lives in her heart. His older brother, Manix, is 14.
Odin’s father, Ryan Weydeveld, took him to the Singing River Gulfport emergency room on Jan. 20, after he began vomiting late that afternoon. Hastings Weydeveld went with them but waited in the car because she was getting over COVID.
The lawsuit says that during Odin’s “limited stay” in the emergency room, Marsh was assigned to treat him. He was tested for COVID, Strep-A, RSV and the flu. He was diagnosed with “vomiting in a pediatric patient,” the lawsuit says, and discharged with a prescription for the anti-nausea medicine Zofran.
“No other tests, including a CT scan or MRI, were performed,” the lawsuit says.
Ryan Weydeveld asked about the possibility of other tests, his wife said, but none were ordered. “They said it was just a stomach virus,” Hastings Weydeveld said. “I believed them.”
They took Odin home. His vomiting stopped, so they thought the medicine was working and slept with Odin between them so they could keep a close watch on him.
When they woke before dawn, Odin was unresponsive. His parents called an ambulance.
“I thought he was going to sleep,” Hastings Weydeveld said, “but he was slowly dying.”
MS law could limit damages
The little boy returned to the same emergency room. He had no heartbeat and was pronounced dead a little more than an hour after his arrival. The official cause of death was listed as small intestinal necrosis and volvulus. He died because his intestines were twisted, causing a bowel obstruction.
In response to the lawsuit, Singing River says it can’t be held responsible because a pre-existing condition caused Odin’s death.
Marsh and Gulf Coast Specialists also deny contributing to Odin’s death. Marsh said he was working as a part-time employee of Singing River, not for Gulf Coast Specialists. The company says it had no role in the emergency room or Odin’s treatment.
Singing River also says Marsh was working as the hospital’s employee, not an independent contractor. The distinction is important because damages against Singing River and other public hospitals in Mississippi are capped at $500,000 under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act.
The Weydeveld’s attorney, Joe Sam Owen of Gulfport, argues that economic damages against Marsh and his company should not be capped because they were working as independent contractors. Economic damages would include medical bills and Odin’s future lost wages.
Hastings Weydeveld doesn’t dwell on the pending lawsuit. She just misses her son, as does her mother, Marta Wald. Wald moved from Birmingham to the Coast about six months before Odin’s death, taking early retirement so she could spend time with her grandchildren.
She’s so glad she had those precious months with Odin. She can still picture him when she arrived for a visit. “He was full blast running,” she said, “with arms wide open.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
