Posted on 03/22/2005 11:30:07 PM PST by ambrose
Weight loss set Terri on road to tragedy
How a loving wife and devoted daughter ended up at the centre of a bitter family feud
March 23, 2005
By most accounts, Terri Schiavo, whose plight triggered an unprecedented mobilisation of the White House and Congress, would not have approved the fuss over her plight.
The debate over whether to cut off the life-sustaining feeding tube of the Florida woman, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years, also placed Schiavo at the centre of a bitter legal battle between her parents and her husband.
That has now been ended after a federal judge yesterday refused to order the re-insertion of Terri's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from her parents
US District Judge James Whittemore said the Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" through their arguments.
Ahead of the ruling, protesters faced off outside her Florida hospice, Internet users mobilised to trade accusations and her plight turned into a political battle in Congress and the White House.
Amid political arguments over the "right to die" and the "right to life", Terri Schiavo's parents and husband, Michael, have traded accusations of monetary greed.
On the Internet, ultra-conservative Christians level unsubstantiated accusations of violence against her by her husband.
"You know what Terri would say right now?" asked Diane Meyer, a close friend. "She would say: "All this for me?"
An account, summarised by her government-appointed guardian, states that on the night of February 25 1990, Terri Schiavo, then 26, suffered cardiac arrest that cut off the oxygen to her brain, resulting in deep cerebral cortex damage.
According to Dr Jay Wolfson, the heart seizure was brought on by "a dramatically reduced potassium level", the probable result of an "aggressive weight-loss programme". Doctors say Schiavo may have suffered from the eating disorder bulimia, in which sufferers gorge themselves on food and then induce vomiting, in order to keep their weight down.
According to a portrait of Terri Schiavo in the Miami Herald, she was a young, simple woman, deeply in love with her husband and extremely close to her parents.She was a lively brunette of 19 when the couple met while they studied in Pennsylvania in 1982. Her friends described her as obsessed about her weight, becoming extremely thin after school.
She had only met Michael Schiavo twice when she told a friend: "I'm going to marry him." Two years later they married.
When her parents retired to Florida in 1986, the young couple followed and moved in with them.
The couple attempted to start a family, involving medical consultations which, Michael Schiavo said in a CNN television interview last October, should have led to a correct diagnosis of her eating condition that could have avoided the brain-damaging seizure.
In November 1992 he was awarded $1,2-million (about R7-million) as a result of a medical malpractice suit, an amount that gave rise to the accusations of greed between him and Terri's father.
Schiavo recalled that in February 1993, meeting in his wife's room, Bob Schindler demanded a share of the settlement.
After Schiavo told him to go to court the settle the matter, the father exploded in anger. "He wanted to go out in the hall and fistfight. It was crazy," Schiavo said.
Michael's lawyer has said that the money was Terri's, and has been put towards her therapy.
But according to the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, which was started by her parents, Michael has taken more than $500 000 (about R3-million) from the sum, and his lawyer $400 000 (about R2,4-million), while Terri Schiavo has allegedly received little but artificial feeding.
Someone doesn't have their facts straight and I think it is YOUR Source.
May 1992… Michael and the Schindlers stop living together
January 1993… Michael recovers $1 million settlement for medical malpractice claim involving Terri's care; jury had ruled in Michael's favor on allegations Terri's doctors failed to diagnose her bulimia, which led to her heart failure; case settled while on appeal
From This LinkAbstract Appeal
And they call this reporting?! The South African Star?! Is this Africa's version of The National Enquirer?!
What compelled you, ambrose, to post such nonsense? From this day forward I will suspect your credibility. It is one thing to have an opinion, whether it's right or wrong, but it is altogether another to print this kind of biased "reporting."
Same here.
I know you're one of those who wants Terri to *DIE*, but that is no excuse for *DEFAMING* her!
If only a SUV-driving pit bull driving recklessly in search of bull semen were involved, I have no doubt you'd see more clearly.
Given the fact that it is rather late, I will mention just one of many points of contention.
"On the Internet, ultra-conservative Christians level unsubstantiated accusations of violence against her by her husband."
Notice the attempt to discredit and attack not just "bloggers", but Christians as well. Is this what you would discribe as good journalism? Credible?
Also, how can something be unsubstantiated without first examining the evidence? There are statements by those in the medical field that contradict the "reporters" claims.
Lord please have mercy on us, and most especially on Terri and her family. Good night.
Whats all the fuss? Why is everybody mad at you?
"According to Dr Jay Wolfson, the heart seizure was brought on by "a dramatically reduced potassium level", the probable result of an "aggressive weight-loss programme". "
What accounts for the broken bones and fractures that they discovered? Let's talk about all of it.
"Weight loss set Terri on a road to tragedy.........'after her feeding tube was removed by order of Judge Greer and sentenced to die by starvation and dehydration'"
That's more like it.
I've been as vocal as anyone else on this matter and I'm Jewish. So much for this slanted, bigoted, and factually wrong report.
I guess this is the other 99% and so I'll humor you. :^)
I am humbled before such selfless generosity.
Hey, I'm a giver. What can I say. (smiling)
Jeez
There are two sides to this dispute. Some only want to hear one side of it.
I am quite calm. There are people in the world who are capable of exercising self control and at the same time express their opinions with heartfelt emotion.
ambrose would have to administer a self-applied high five. No one else would share the "victory" with him(such lofty goals are to be admired). Personally, I'd like to see him attempt to give himself a chest thrust.
"Some only want to hear one side of it."
And that would be you. Many of us have read copies of the court papers, statements, testimony, etc. Whether you're for Terri's death sentence or not is your right. I do not fault you for having an opinion, but if you expect to post a thread such as this you should expect criticism and questioning of your motives.
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