Posted on 04/16/2005 8:15:30 AM PDT by kingattax
TAMPA, Fla. -- State investigators found no evidence that Terri Schiavo had been abused or exploited by either side of her family, according to documents released by Florida's Department of Children and Families.
The agency investigated 89 complaints dating back to 2001, when Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for the first time and the legal battle surrounding her right-to-die case intensified.
The calls alleged that the brain-damaged woman was being mistreated by her husband and her parents for financial gain. One complaint alleged that Schiavo's parents were selling videos of her through a Web site; another said Schiavo's husband wasn't spending money intended for her rehabilitation.
But investigators said they found no evidence that either her husband or parents were exploiting her, and often noted in their records that they found Schiavo well cared for on their visits to her Pinellas Park hospice.
The agency released the records Friday under court order.
Schiavo, 41, died last month after her feeding tube was removed for the third time, ending a bitter court battle between her husband, Michael Schiavo, and parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, over whether she would have wanted to live in a vegetative state.
The repeated allegations of abuse were based partly on bone scans showing Terri Schiavo suffered fractures and statements she made to family and friends that she was unhappy in her marriage.
Schiavo's husband has denied harming his wife. His lawyer said the fractures resulted from osteoporosis caused by the woman's years of immobility and complications of her medication.
Robert Schindler declined to comment there on the release of the DCF documents. An attorney for Michael Schiavo did not immediately return calls
She died from the removal of food and water. Michael is responsible for that.
Again, I could be wrong about this, but I think this news story refers to an older report. I don't know if it is the "same" DCF now that it was then.
I seem to recall hearing that those bone scans were taken early in her illness, not after "years of immobility". Anyone else remeber hearing that?
Well, it looks as though the only thing we'll all agree on is that every situation, every allegation, every investigation, should have been looked into a long time ago. If it weren't for missing reports, sealed records, and investigation shut-downs causing substantial suspect in the minds of many, I guess there'd be no argument...or maybe less argument.
No not abused at all. Just slowly starved two death for two weeks.
DCF doesn't have the best record of protecting either children or families.
Just ask Rilya Wilson.
I would take this report with several boatloads of salt.
I could say you weren't there to see him not, but I won't. I would offer resources however to help you see an alternative picture.
Step 4. Be tolerant of people who don't have a clue what kind of idiots are in the DCF in FLorida and the history of liberal lunacy this agency has.
I for one am shocked - SHOCKED!
If the case for keeping her alive depended on her husband beating her then it is a weak case. The case for letting her live is that we don't kill people who are not dying.
there was NO evidence of anything like that.....please cite a source
If you think Michael Schiavo is blameless, I'd say you need more than a hobby.
Terri's medical discharge summary:
Please note: She had cardiac arrest, severely low potassium (3.7 is low enough to make you 2x more likely to have cardiac arrest (which is not a heart attack) hers was a 2.0.
she had no head injury,
she had a stiff neck "and all other muscles in her body were stiff"- which is is "normal" under those circumstances - in spite of the BS started by Hammesfahr about her neck (see below)
was in a coma, on a ventilator, and her tube was put in there at the hospital, NOT "at Michael's request for the convenience of the nurses"
- she was malnourished and low in calcium
- Classic profile of a bulimic, especially added to the fact that she faught a life-long weight problem, going from ~250 lbs at age 18 to 110-120 in '90, and was seeing and infertility doc, and missing her periods. (the major malpractice suit of the 2 was for his not noticing the signs - he hadn't taken a blood chemisty)
Also note that bulimics lose up to 30% of their bone mass in a single year. Even Dr Baden, in the last few weeks, has said everything was consistent with bulimia. His earlier comments were based only on the bone scan... and he misread it at that, thinking it showed a head injury. It doesn't. (see link to greer and unedited bone scan deposition below)
Her knee x-ray showed nothing.
http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/Humana%20Discharge%20Summary%20050990.pdf
Report of Guardian ad litem Richard Pearse, who was relieved after a year, when it was discovered that he had a previously stated personal objections to legalizing the removal of patient feeding tubes:
Note that, while he recommended against pulling the feeding tube, citing conflict of interest for Michael Schiavo, he also found him to have gone above the call of duty in seeking the best care possible for Terri. He also agreed that she was PVS, and says he never once was able to elicit a response from her. He scoffed at Carla Iyer's claims about Michael.
http://www.hospicepatients.org/richard-pearse-jr-12-29-98-report-of-guardianadlitem-re-terri-schiavo.pdf
Bone scan - the doctors who actually saw Terri, and the radiologist who did follow-up x-rays saw nothing suspicious.
It only showed a compression fracture of Lumbar 1 (which many with osteoporosis (like bulimics) walk around with, and he said could have even happened when she collapsed), a possibly *bruised* femur (ditto), and multiple ribs showing signs of injury, which he said could be caused by CPR. The rest were common joint problems from Phys. Therapy and treated by her therapists.
http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/trialctorder11-02-scan.pdf
These people probably think OJ was innocent too
Its not their fault.
And with that comment, you have proven that you haven't read one single solitary court document related to this matter.
I don't remember anyone advocating the DCF be brought in as a FIRST choice. No one was heralding them as saviours at any time.
"Step 4. Be tolerant of people who don't have a clue what kind of idiots are in the DCF in FLorida and the history of liberal lunacy this agency has."
I believe the key word here is "infiltrate."
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