Professor Appointed to Probe Schiavo Case

Guardian Unlimited ^ | Nov 1, 2003 | Vickie Chachere

[Future Useless Eater]

Professor Appointed to Probe Schiavo Case

Saturday November 1, 2003 1:01 AM

By VICKIE CHACHERE
Associated Press Writer

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A judge appointed a University of South Florida professor on Friday to independently investigate the case of a severely brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die battle.

Jay Wolfson, an expert on health care financing, will report to Gov. Jeb Bush and recommend whether the stay the governor enacted to keep Terri Schiavo alive should be allowed to remain.

Schiavo suffered severe brain damage when her heart stopped due to a chemical imbalance and has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade. Doctors have said there is no hope for her recovery.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has fought to have her feeding tube removed, saying his wife did not want to be kept alive artificially.

Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, dispute that claim and have fought to keep their daughter alive, saying they believe she could be rehabilitated.

Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for six days in October before the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush enacted a special law to have it reinserted. The law also required a guardian to be appointed.

George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed briefs this week challenging the constitutionality of the governor's action. The state is expected to respond on Monday.

The judge said that if the law is found to be unconstitutional, Wolfson is to cease his work.

The Schindlers had objected to Wolfson's appointment, claiming comments he made to a television station indicated he was biased against the newly enacted law. The judge said he found no evidence of bias.

Wolfson did not return calls seeking comment.

The judge ordered Wolfson to report to the governor in 30 days, but said the deadline could be extended if needed.

[MSCASEY]

Reading this on number 71 and others still does not lead me to believe that the possibility and even probability of MS causing Terri to collapse that evening 13 years ago does not exist.

1. MS had a violent temper.
2. Terri's and MS marriage was in peril.
3. Terri and MS had a dispute or argument on that day.

So even if Terri did have an eating disorder which many woman have had does not prove that MS did not lose his temper that night and cause the damage.

I feel that the doctors and the people that need to be investigated are MS, Felos and their doctors.

1. Why did MS have guardianship over Terri? He has nothing to gain by her being rehabilitated and may even lose something by her being rehabilitated. There is a definite conflict of Terri's interest there.

2. Why has the judge continually ignored this conflict of interest?

3. Why would MS not allow them to video Terri?

4. Why did the judge issue and order restraining the parents from taking anymore video's or pictures of Terri?

5. Why had the judge not ordered her money to be spent on rehabilitation instead of allowing the money to be misappropriated into Felos pocket?

The people I would like to see investigated are the doctors that Felos and MS have gotten! MS and Felos and Greer! So why is this person more or less attempting to find information on Terri's parents and their doctors in order to make them look bad? No mention of the nurses affidavit or other things where made, no investigation of the care that she is getting.

My prayer will continue for Terri and her family and that justice may be done!

MCD

[HiTech RedNeck]

Talk about somebody with PVS its Felos

For him, perhaps PFS would be a better way to put it (Persistent Fruitcake Syndrome)

[pc93]

Apparently Michael lies about the sequence of events and what he did. What really happened is that he called Mr. Schindler sr. who told him to call 911 and then Mr. Schindler Sr. called Bobby to get over there ASAP. Michael was not holding Terri in his arms, etc. maybe when he strangled her but not when Bobby got there.

[MSCASEY]

Please see post 143 for my response. I will have to question saveterril motives, in my heart I do not believe that person has Terri's interest at heart. He is looking at the wrong people. Why?

MCD

[pc93]

Why didn't you and your group offer assistance to the Schindlers? They don't know who you are.

[pc93]

Please ping your lists and peoples for the Terri Schindler Life Ribbon Campaign! http://bellsouthpwp.net/p/c/pc93/terri_schindler_life_ribbon_campaign.htm

Join the Terri Schindler Life Ribbon Campaign!

[sweetliberty]

Oh, I agree with you. It doesn't change much at all in my opinion, except that, if this is the truth, the Schindlers should come clean about it and if Hammersfahr has THAT bad a rep, then they should focus on the other doctors who have said Terri could likely be rehabilitated to some extent.

The point is, that it really doesn't matter why she is in the condition she is in nor even if she can be rehabilitated. What matters is that there is doubt, there is life, there is no extraordinary medical measures keeping her alive. She is not dying if they don't kill her. It is really quite simple. There can be little doubt that the HINO has serious conflicts of interests. That should be enough to have him removed from the decision making process regarding Terri's life altogether.

[MSCASEY]

Why didn't saveterril look into the doctors that ms and Felos have? Find out what connections they may have and if they have any suits? Why did he not discuss the the litigation of the new GAL and the abuse claim he has against him?

MCD

[MSCASEY]

If it were my daughter I would not have much to come clean with as I would be in jail and my husband would have control over her. I would not stand by 10 years.

MCD

[sweetliberty]

Beats me. I haven't read the whole thread. To be perfectly honest, the whole thing was getting a bit heavy so I have been taking a break on some other threads, although admittedly I am back on the Terri threads now and I will look at it more closely in a bit.

[sweetliberty]

I know what you mean.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

There are a few people here who believe saveterri is not the person he claims to be.

[MSCASEY]

I agree with that. He is attempting to flush out things for MS and Felos it would appear, and to put doubt and blame on Terri's parents rather than on the people that should really be looked at in this matter.

MCD

[pc93]

Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 3:25 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: [helpterri] Concern about Dr H - from another group


Dr. Hammesfahr has paid a huge price for volunteering literally hundreds of hours in the effort to help Terri.

George Felos, Michael's attorney, urged the Board of Medicine to dredge up some old complaints about him (and I do mean old) and start their administrative process. He was found not guilty on ALL of the medical issues (the administrative law judge, indeed, found his vasodilator treatment to be effective in the treatment of stroke, e.g.), but found him guilty on one count of a fee dispute with a patient.

The patient had paid the non-refundable fee for a five-day course of treatment, attended four days, did not attend the fifth day, and demanded ALL of her money back, even though she had received the benefit of 80% of the treatment regimen, in terms of time. (I don't know why she didn't go back for the fifth day's treatment.) Dr. Hammesfahr, unwisely, refused. The Board said he should have refunded the pro-rated fee for one day's treatment. This amounted to $500.

For this infraction, the Board lowered the boom. Florida is especially unfriendly to innovative medicine, and there is no question that his vasodilation therapy is innovative. (Although I have learned in the course of the Schiavo case that no less a presence than the Cleveland Clinic uses vasodilators in the treatment of migraines, as opposed to vasoconstrictors, and has done so for years.) Dr. Hammesfahr was ordered to pay about $55,000 in the Board's attorney's fees, community service, as well as to cease practicing medicine until he meets with the Probation Committee of the Board. The Probation Committee, so far, has found it inconvenient to meet with him, thus effectively suspending his license indefinitely.

The mention of the Nobel nomination in the e-mail is telling, as to Felos' involvement in this little vendetta. This is one of Felos' favorite arguments, and he tried, without skill or luck, to make his point last October during the evidentiary hearing. Congressman Bilirakis, who represents the north Clearwater area in the US House, nominated Dr. Hammesfahr for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1998, I believe. The letter of nomination is readily available. The Karolinska Institut, which awards the Nobel prizes, never confirms nominees, only the winners. On this basis -- and in spite of the Bilirakis nominating letter -- Felos disputes that Hammesfahr was a nominee.

In any event, Judge Greer was ruling against the Schindlers long before Dr. Hammesfahr offered his expertise in the spring of 2001 in the effort to save Terri. In fact, he came forward as a result of the publicity surrounding her first near-death experience in April of that year, at the urging of his own staff.

I don't know where this e-mail was posted, but you have my permission to post this e-mail to you on that message board and to otherwise disseminate this information. Dr. Hammesfahr is a compassionate and skilled physician, who has been wickedly attacked for simply coming forward to help. He is a graduate of the medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago and did his internship and residencies at the Medical College of Virginia. A slacker he is not.

Having seen his vasodilation therapy work on my own elderly father, I am of the belief that he WILL win the Nobel one day....probably when he's 75 years old!

Pat Anderson
Schindler family attorney

[MSCASEY]

I can understand needing a break in order to regroup! This is just begining and we need to do that in order to keep up the speed that will be needed later on!

MCD

[sweetliberty]

Thank you for posting that PC. I seem to recollect that the it was Felos who had caused Dr, Hammersfahr's credibility to be at issue.

[MSCASEY]

I think that are focus needs to remain on the corruption and on looking into Felos, MS and the doctors and Greer. I fear that looking this up may just be to take us off of that track!

MCD

[attagirl]

Somewhere here I read that Bobby Jr. got a call from Michael too, since Bobby jr. lived in the same apt. complex. Whatever. The point is, Michael didn't exactly have her rushed to the hospital. And, yes, the acct. I read had her slumped on the floor in a funny position with her hands underneath her body.

Paging Columbo!

I too wondered what a PAC doctor was. Anybody have a clue?

My question as well re post 106. If the govt. is indeed paying for her care, it's not getting it's money's worth. But why is it? Is it so as to unburden Michael (as a favor to him for being the front guy and taking the heat in this important precedent-setting Right to Die case?) Is it also to make sure the family is kept from "butting in"? At any rate, the situation is under firm CONTROL away from the family.

Since Judge Greer's version of justice is seeminly unquestioned in FL, you have to assume the corruption is pervasive! We are talking ALL branches of govt.!

[MSCASEY]

But thanks for posting that! It just goes along with what I believe saveterri may have been attempting to do!

MCD

[MSCASEY]

As far as I am concerned Terri is getting substandard health care. They should be allowing things to be put in her hands so they are not clinched and if MS will not even allow this, then he is ordering the health care personnel to neglect her also. There should be laws to prevent this!

MCD