Affidavit of Carla Iyer, nurse who cared for Terri Schiavo from April 1995 to July 1996

Terri's Fight (website established on Terri's behalf by her parents and that side of the family) ^ | August 29, 2003 | Carla Iyer

[First_Salute]

AFFIDAVIT
_________

STATE OF FLORIDA )
COUNTY OF PINELLAS )

BEFORE ME the undersigned authority personally appeared CARLA
SAUER IYER, R.N., who being first duly sworn, deposes and says:

1. My name is Carla Sauer Iyer. I am over the age of eighteen and make
this statement of my own personal knowledge.

2. I am a registered nurse in the State of Florida, having been licensed
continuously in Florida from 1997 to the present. Prior to that I was a
Licensed Practical Nurse for about four years.

3. I was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in
Largo, Florida from April 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo
was a patient there.

4. It was clear to me at Palm Gardens that all decisions regarding Terri
Schiavo were made by Michael Schiavo, with no allowance made for
any discussion, debate or normal professional judgment. My initial
training there consisted solely of the instruction "Do what Michael
Schiavo tells you or you will be terminated." This struck me as
extremely odd.

-1-

5. I was very disturbed by the decision making protocol, as no allowance
whatsoever was made for professional responsibility. The atmosphere
throughout the facility was dominated by Mr. Schiavo's intimidation.
Everyone there, with the exception of several people who seemed to be
close to Michael, was intimidated by him. Michael Schiavo always
had an overbearing attitude, yelling numerous times such things as
"This is my order and you're going to follow it." He is very large and
uses menacing body language, such as standing too close to you,
getting right in your face and practically shouting.

6. To the best of my recollection, rehabilitation had been ordered for
Terri, but I never saw any being done or had any reason at all to
believe that there was ever any rehab of Terri done at Palm Gardens
while I was there. I became concerned because Michael wanted
nothing done for Terri at all, no antibiotics, no tests, no range of
motion therapy, no stimulation, no nothing. Michael said again and
again that Terri should NOT get any rehab, that there should be no
range of motion whatsoever, or anything else. I and a CNA named
Roxy would give Terri range of motion anyway. One time I put a
wash cloth in Terri's hand to keep her fingers from curling together,

-2-

and Michael saw it and made me take it out, saying that was therapy.

7. Terri's medical condition was systematically distorted and
misrepresented by Michael. When I worked with her, she was alert
and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence,
saying such things as "mommy," and "help me." "Help me" was, in
fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds
of times. Terri would try to say the word "pain" when she was in
discomfort, but it came out more like "pay." She didn't say the "n"
sound very well. During her menses she would indicate her discomfort
by saying "pay" and moving her arms toward her lower abdominal
area. Other ways that she would indicate that she was in pain included
pursing her lips, grimacing, thrashing in bed, curling her toes or
moving her legs around. She would let you know when she had a
bowel movement by flipping up the covers and pulling on her diaper
and scooted in bed on her bottom.

8. When I came into her room and said "Hi, Terri", she would always
recognize my voice and her name, and would turn her head all the way
toward me, saying "Haaaiiiii" sort of, as she did. I recognized this as a
"hi", which is very close to what it sounded like, the whole sound

-3-

being only a second or two long. When I told her humrous stories
about my life or something I read in the paper, Terri would chuckle,
sometimes more a giggle or laugh. She would move her whole body,
upper and lower. Her legs would sometimes be off the bed, and need
to be repositioned. I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in
her chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but
by my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart.
Every time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri's,
someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always
demanded to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in
her room with him. I documented Terri's rehab potential well,
writing whole pages about Terri's responsiveness, but they would
always be deleted by the next time I saw her chart. The reason I wrote
so much was that everybody else seemed to be afraid to make positive
entries for fear of their jobs, but I felt very strongly that a nurses job
was to accurately record everything we see and hear that bears on a
patients condition and their family. I upheld the Nurses Practice Act,
and if it cost me my job, I was willing to accept that.

9. Throughout my time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused

-4-

on Terri's death. Michael would say "When is she going to die?,"
"Has she died yet?" and "When is that bitch gonna die?" These
statements were common knowledge at Palm Gardens, as he would
make them casually in passing, without regard even for who he was
talking to, as long as it was a staff member. Other statements which I
recall him making include "Can't anything be done to accelerate her
death - won't she ever die?" When she wouldn't die, Michael would
be furious. Michael was also adamant that the family should not be
given information. He made numerous statements such as "Make sure
the parents aren't contacted." I recorded Michael's statements word
for word in Terri's chart, but these entries were also deleted after the
end of my shift. Standing orders were that the family wasn't to be
contacted, in fact, there was a large sign in the front of her chart that
said under no circumstances was her family to be called, call Michael
immediately, but I would call them, anyway, because I thought they
should know about their daughter.

10. Any time Terri would be sick, like with a UTI or fluid buildup in her
lungs, colds, or pneumonia, Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled
even, hoping that she would die. He would say something like,

-5-

"Hallelujah! You've made my day!" He would call me, as I was the
nurse supervisor on the floor, and ask for every little detail about her
temperature, blood pressure, etc., and would call back frequently
asking if she was dead yet. He would blurt out "I'm going to be rich!"
and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died,
which included a new car, a new boat, and going to Europe, among
other things.

11. When Michael visited Terri, he always came alone and always had the
door closed and locked while he was with Terri. He would typically
be there about twenty minutes or so. When he left Terri would be
trembling, crying hysterically, and would be very pale and have cold
sweats. It looked to me like Terri was having a hypoglycemic reaction,
so I'd check her blood sugar. The glucometer reading would be so low
it was below the range where it would register an actual number
reading. I would put dextrose in Terri's mouth to counteract it. This
happened about five times on my shift, as I recall. Normally Terri's
blood sugar levels were very stable due to the uniformity of her diet
through tube feeding. It is medically possible that Michael injected
Terri with Regular insulin, which is very fast acting, but I don't have

-6-

any way of knowing for sure.

12. The longer I was employed at Palm Gardens the more concerned I
became about patient care, both relating to Terri Schiavo, for the
reasons I've said, and other patients, too. There was an LPN named
Carolyn Adams, known as "Andy" Adams who was a particular
concern. An unusual number of patients seemed to die on her shift,
but she was completely unconcerned, making statements such as
"They are old - let them die." I couldn't believe her attitude or the fact
that it didn't seem to attract any attention. She made many comments
about Terri being a waste of money, that she should die. She said it
was costing Michael a lot of money to keep her alive, and that he
complained about it constantly (I heard him complain about it all the
time, too.) Both Michael and Adams said that she would be worth
more to him if she were dead. I ultimately called the police relative to
this situation, and was terminated the next day. Other reasons were
cited, but I was convinced it was because of my "rocking the boat."

13. Ms. Adams was one of the people who did not seem to be intimidated
by Michael. In fact, they seemed to be very close, and Adams would
do whatever Michael told her. Michael sometimes called Adams at

-7-

night and spoke at length. I was not able to hear the content of these
phone calls, but I knew it was him talking to her because she would
tell me afterward and relay orders from him.

14. I have contacted the Schindler family because I just couldn't stand by
and let Terri die without the truth being known.

FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.

<signed>
CARLA SAUER IYER, R.N.

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this 29 day of August,
2003, by CARLA SAUER IYER, R.N., who produced her Florida's driver's license
as identification, and who did take an oath.

<signed Patricia J. Anderson>
Notary Public

My commission expires
<Notary seal of Patricia J. Anderson>

 

[First_Salute]

The March 5, 1991 bone scan radiologist's report. The bold characters are actually part of the report's own emphasis. a Copy of this document is part of the parent's recent lawsuit introduced in federal court, dated August 30, 2003 (see Reply 105, above).

Radiologist's report; "Exhibit 'A'" of that lawsuit:

BONE SCAN
Indication: Evaluate for trauma

Procedure and findings: Multple gamma camera images of the
axial and proximal appendicular skeleton in the anterior and
posterior projections were obtained, following 21.1
millicuries of Technetium 99m HDP. There are extensive
number of focal abnormal areas of nuclide accumulation of
intense type. These include multiple bilateral ribs, the
costovertebral aspects of several of the thoracic vertebral
bodies, the L1 vertebral body, both sacroiliac joints, the
distal right femoral diaphysis, both knees, and both ankles,
right greater than left. Correlative radiographs are
obtained of the lumbar spine and of the right femur which
reveal compression fracture, minor, superior end plate of L1
and shaggy irregular periosteal ossification along the
distal femoral diaphysis and metaphysis primarily
ventrally. The patient has a history of trauma, most
likely the femoral periosteal reaction reflects a response
to a subperiosteal hemorrage and the activity in L1
correlates perfectly with the compression fracture which is
presumably traumatic. The presumption is that the other
multiple areas of abnormal activity also relate to previous
trauma. Additional possibility would be neoplastic bone
disease, widespread disseminated infectious bone disease or
multiple bone infarcts from abnormal hemoglobin.

CONCLUSION
Multiple areas of abnormal scintigraphic accumulation some
of which are radiographic for differential as discussed
above.

W. Campbell Walker. M.D./mjt
Dictated 3/5/91
Transcribed 3/5/91

 

 

[First_Salute]

A copy ...

Not "a Copy ..."

[PeyersPatches]

LOL - you two are a great tag team! Thanks for the bump! :)

[First_Salute]

Reply 221 - bump.

[William Terrell]

Thank you pointing out my misspelling of Revelation.

This is a case of a husband seeking release to die for his wife, who is in a persistant vegetative state. The feature of all is history is a husband or wife's responsibility to give permission for their opposite to be allowed to die when the medical opinion is that spouse will be forever in a braindead state.

Yes, there are suspicious circumstances. Yes, the husband stands to gain from her death. But, the fact is that no one here knows what Terri's wishes are. No one here took vows of marriage to her. Only her husband.

If he does this with evil and gain in his heart, that is GOD'S business. The public has no business in it.

I understand the problem and the fear of many. Should this become a precedent, then we, ourselves, may be in a similar situation where we are conscious and unable to communicate and do not want to die. We can put ourselves, in our ignorance, in Terri's place, and feel the fear of death we don't wish.

But how many have been screaming inside to die, unable to screan outwardly, and been denied that by machine and medicine? Distinguishing from the senario in the last paragraph, what may happen when we may be in a vegetative hell, screaming to get out and the public won't let us die.

It cuts both ways.

With respect to the passage in Revelation, in this century only has technology reached the point where a person, who would have been dead in previous years, can be kept alive artificially. I think the evidence, in this age, that this passage applies is greater than the evidence it doesn't.

[PeyersPatches]

"These facilies OFTEN attract undesirable people to work for them. I'm referring to people who enjoy abusing others when no one is around"

I am in college for nursing and we are required to go thru CNA training as a prerequisite. I am a CNA-II. We trained in Resident Facilities and, after training there, I told my husband to "shoot me first" if anything ever disabled me rather than put me in one of those h*ll holes. We were training with one horrid person who was talking about the resident as if she were a piece of meat with no brain. Once the trainer walked out of the room, I and another CNA began talking TO the patient and she fully responded and we understood every word. The trainer said the resident didn't know what was going on. B.S! The resident just choose to have no conversation with the person because that person was so cold and uncaring to her. I think I noted and turned in about 3 before I got through my training. Fortunately, the RN who was our instructor is a pit bull on people not taking care of folks. We gave her the info and she was all over them.

[First_Salute]

A friend of mine was Madeleine "Sunny" Hemingway Miller, sister of author Ernest Hemingway. She would always tell me that she prayed every day, that the Lord would take her.

One day, I suggested to her that if she stopped praying, it might happen.

Within the year or so, when I was again visiting the area, I learned that she was in a local hospital and dying, so they thought. I rushed in there to see her.

She was a little thin, but still feisty; gosh, there was so much life in her.

She had many comments to make about the care she was, and was not, receiving. (Yep, I thought, that's Sunny.)

I asked her, What are you doing here? Go home and be where you can see the lake and life. Don't die here; there's nothing that they can do for you here, that you cannot arrange at home.

She actually, promptly went home, and she was gone within the week.

That night, I had a dream of visiting her lakefront home, and in the garden to the west of the house, there stood a deer. She was looking at the lake, and then she looked at me with large pretty eyes.

I like to think that she found her peace.

[lugsoul]

I know you know this, but the fact that something is stated in an affidavit or a brief does not in any way make it "truth." Paper will stand anything you can write on it.

[aristeides]

I increasingly suspect that what's happening here is the nationwide practice of an industry is being revealed, and that big bucks are at stake. Like with the abortion industry.

[PeyersPatches]

"I increasingly suspect that what's happening here is the nationwide practice of an industry is being revealed, and that big bucks are at stake. Like with the abortion industry."

I think you are 100% right on in your assessment.

[William Terrell]

Would you care to translate this for us?

[tertiary01]

You will not get any practicing nurses to agree with you.

[attagirl]

perhaps the he's trying to promote the idea that he is simply greedy and not in fear that she would speak out some day that he tried to strangle her that fateful night

[attagirl]

Okay, now I'll try to respond to you in English (pardon my typos and run-on sentence):

Lots of folks brought up the Clinton era, and this will be where I draw my rationale. By Michael verbalizing his wishes for Terri's death so as to get rich, he was covering up his true motive: fear of her recovering well enough to talk and tell about the abuse he gave her then and now.

Use a bad thing to cover up a worse thing. It worked then and is working now.

[thulldud]

Use a bad thing to cover up a worse thing. It worked then and is working now.

I seem to remember one of the Communists (might have been Lenin) to have observed, "If you want to hide a knife, put a fork and spoon beside it."

[attagirl]

Thank you very much for the pings. I did read your posts 105 and 124. Wow. Carla Sauer's point #11 is awful.

Aside from the injustice done to Terri, it is a wrong done to all the nursing staff who have to adhere to these inhumane orders.

I hope that hospice goes out of business.

But I'm not holding my breath because Big Money is behind the Right to Die movement (i.e. many politicians and judges are bought and paid for--and the ones that aren't know not to buck the "system").

[MEGoody]

"Are these those days?"

Don't think so based on further descriptions of 'those days' found in Revelation.

[MEGoody]

2) Mr.Schiavo had the power to remove staff, yet tolerated Sauer writing notes on the charts that threatened his plan to hasten Terri's death. Tolerated his biggest enemy, her, for over a year. Hard to believe.

You'd have to presume that he understood the notes even if he saw them. Nurse's notes are often rather cryptic unless one understands the 'language.'

[First_Salute]

jwalsh,

Can you find Michael Schiavo's nursing license mentioned in the state's records, too?

[thulldud]

Thank you pointing out my misspelling of Revelation.

Aw, you shouldn't have. (Thanked me, that is.) (Literally)

The passage in Revelation that you picked up has nothing to say about modern technology. The prayers for death spoken of are a response to the fifth trumpet judgement, the plague of demonic locusts. Context, context. You might as well have quoted "The Sound of Music".

This is a case of a husband seeking release to die for his wife, who is in a persistant vegetative state. The feature of all is history is a husband or wife's responsibility to give permission for their opposite to be allowed to die when the medical opinion is that spouse will be forever in a braindead state.

What is "medical opinion"? What makes this so sacred? "Medical opinion" in real life is an ink mark on a dead tree. As long as that mark has the right marks after it, to blazes with the facts. We can always get a mark when we want it. Look at the abortion industry. All those killings are done because they are "medically necessary" for the "life and health" of the mother. The phrase "and health" has been mutated into a weasel exception that allows abortion in any circumstance. And so here, with PVS. Don't think that this term can't be expanded to allow the killing of anyone at all--if it can be applied to TS the way it has, there are no guarantees for anybody.

I want to say, "you should actually learn the facts before posting to these threads", or actually, SHOUT IT! but now I feel like I'm feeding a troll. So, have a nice day. While you still can.