Posted on 03/21/2005 4:14:35 PM PST by stan_sipple
THIS BRAIN IS NOT THAT BAD I contest the theory that Terri's brain actively continues to degenerate.
I HAVE SEEN MANY WALKING, TALKING, FAIRLY COHERENT PEOPLE WITH WORSE CEREBRAL/CORTICAL ATROPHY. THEREFORE, THIS IS IN NO WAY PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE THAT TERRI SCHIAVO'S MENTAL ABILITIES OR/OR CAPABILITIES ARE COMPLETELY ERADICATED. I CANNOT BELIEVE SUCH TESTIMONY HAS BEEN GIVEN ON THE BASIS OF THIS SCAN.
The worrisome, no alarming thing, for me, was that I heard a bioethicist and several important figures on the major media describe Terri's brain as MUCH WORSE. One "expert" said that she had a "bag of water" in her head. Several experts described her as a "brain stem preparation"
These statements are wholly inaccurate. This is an atrophied brain, yes, but there is cortex remaining, and where there's cortex (?life) there's hope.
If you starve this woman to death it would be, in my professional and experienced medical opinion, the equivalent of starving to death a 75-85 year old person. I would take that to the witness stand.
(Excerpt) Read more at codeblueblog.blogs.com ...
The CT scan looks bad, if this in fact it's hers. Can anyone confirm it's her HCT?
Not shocking at all.
The judge was a county commissioner in the midst of a swampland controversy prior to ascending the bench.
Money talks.
I read (don't know if it's true or not) on a site that appeared to know a lot about Terri that when she was initially taken to the emergency room, the doctors noted a very stiff neck, possibly from trauma. It also stated she did not have a heart attack and given her age, it was highly unlikely low potassium would cause a heart attack. It said she had an EKG and blood tests and nothing indicated a heart attack, only heart arrythmia. I just wish they would allow a complete, thorough exam by qualified, unbiased doctors.
So, I've been wondering...
If Terri's original brain injury was actually inflicted by something Michael did to her, I'd really like to know how and why his original story has withstood scrutiny all these years? Or has it?
If he is totally innocent of wrong-doing, then why the nagging doubts about him? Is there a reason his innocence or guilt has not been proven one way or the other? When I first heard about Terri a few years ago, I remember feeling uneasy about Michael's behavior. I remember I "didn't like his face", and I still don't, but last time I checked, looking smarmy wasn't a crime.
I was under the impression they tried at least twice and the court said no. And at one point they did have a some kind of outside guardian involved but the court eventually fired him. It's been next to impossible to truly follow this case considering todays standards of journalism. Agenda first, truth be damned.
This husband is claiming that he's doing what Terri would want but he also has cleared it to cremate her without autopsy. What Catholic gets cremated? The only wishes he's going for are the ones to his benefit. At this point I think he's a Scott Peterson with "complications".
Didn't she have an eating disorder, ie anorexia?
http://medpundit.blogspot.com/ recounts witness who saw MS alter TS records
Thanks for the response. You are 100% correct. This is so sad that I could cry.
You are correct too about Catholics not being cremated.
This case just has my bees bonnet in a storm!
I read she had bulemia, which went undiagnosed by her doctors, who were eventually sued and that's where the money came from.
That shining object is the tip of a shunt. A shunt is a tube inserted into the brain to reduce pressure caused by build-up of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. That big black butterfly in the middle of Terri's brain is her ventricular system, which holds the CSF and in Terri's case, it is enlarged (dilated).
Now...why was Terri being shunted in 1996? First, if Terri's brain damage was due to oxygen deprivation, her enlarged ventricles would be by a passive mechanism -- which is not amenable to shunting -- not by obstruction of the egress of CSF.
To me, the presence of a shunt indicates obstruction to the flow of CSF that needs to be circumvented. Obstruction to flow is hard to postulate given the mechanism of Terri's brain injury (oxygen deprivation).
It would NOT be hard to postulate, however, if she had BLOOD in her head at some point in the past. So did she? Was there a history of trauma? I would like to see the BONE SCAN taken of Terri that purportedly showed evidence of traumatic type osseous uptake!
Evidence of trauma was brought up by a neurologist and the pathologist that reviewed the bone scan. She also had a neck vertebral injury.
Can't the state look at this stuff and investigate this as "foul play"?
Only a guardian can make such a filing. If Terri had an honest guardian, she'd have been divorced ages ago. Of course, that in and of itself should constitute a conflict of interest for Michael who refuses to divorce Terri, but removing him as guardian would violate Terri Rule #1/2: All motions to kill Terri must be approved; all that prevent her death must be denied.
I forget we are living in the "real world". I feel so bad for this poor woman. It's so evident to me.
Freeprs said the same thing last night on a thread!
That was speculated given her low potassium on admit to hospital. Never a shred of proof.
Michael however was on psychotropic medicine at the time of her death. That was never looked at.
I've read her potassium wasn't low enough to precipitate a heart attack. I wonder what it actually was. I want the number!
This whole thing either was handled very sloppily or reported very sloppily.
This is the first I heard that MS was receiving treatment for a mental illness. Can you give us references to back it up? I'm not doubting what you have read, I just need to have a better defense.
Very interesting. From other reports I had seen discussing Terri's cerebral cortex I didn't think she had any hope of recovery, but this might change things substantially.
The judge is delaying hoping to make a decsion moot.
Excellent. Thanks.
Thanks, SS and MM!
Terri ping! If anyone would like to be added to or removed from my Terri ping list, please let me know by FReepmail!
Michael's lawyer got the judge to agree that that would be the only test necessary. As one senator or congressman the other day said, "Spare no expense, eh?" because the other tests are more expensive but also give so much more information. Might have been Frist, but at this point, I'm not sure who it was who said that.
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