The
CT scan image is located at the same website that also maintains a
timeline of events (that is being updated with some legal events, yet leaves out the obvious, for each day listed, that Michael Schiavo denied his wife's wishes). The
parents' website also maintains a timeline of events.
So that you can quickly see the sources:
http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/CT%20scan.png
http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/timeline.htm
http://www.terrisfight.org
Re: reply 21. [Top of the image.]The CT scan clearly shows the presence of some cerebral cortex that is under pressure by spinal fluid, the brain cells being squeezed a bit, a condition known as hydrocephalus, and otherwise the cortex has atrophied some, but it is not "totally gone."
Because of "aging," people have some varying degree of cortical atrophy later in life, and the bio-chemical causes remain a major research problem. Yet, in Terri's case, immobility --- the suspended animation that Michael Schiavo had imposed upon her, by not honoring her wish to die (according to him and Judge Greer), all those days, leading to months and then on up to eight years --- has accelerated her cortical atrophy.
Michael Schiavo, given his assertion is true, that "she would never would want to live like that," denied her wishes for nearly 2,800 days. In addition, he kept that information, along with his brother's and sister-in-law's knowledge of it, to him, and their, selves.
That, also, through the time period of not telling the jury in the malpractice suit(s), that she wanted to die --- no, instead, he told them, that he would dedicate himself to her living, and so, he eventually received for himself and for her, combined, a net exceeding $1,600,000.
Hydrocephalus can be caused by a restriction of flow down your spinal column, and the compression fracture at L1 in Terri's lumbar curve, could be the problem. That would be the compression fracture that occurred somewhere around the original incident in February 1990.
Discounting all the other indications of "trauma" that have been reported, and given a patient with her history, an MRI of her complete spine should have been done THEN. A side-view MRI scan of the spine, can show the restricted splinal column flow.
It may be, that Terri indeed, did just plain "collapse." A good neurologist would want further revelation: MRI; because you would want to know where there might be the mechanical restriction.
Some of the problem, there, is that shrinkages and atrophy in parts of the brain, remain so much a mystery and problem for researchers, that there are, of course, people who will simply not consider the mechanical possibilities, unless there has been a mechanical - traumatic accident. This "school" of doctors and researchers lean toward answering the bio-chemical mystery, instead of pursuing that and the bio-mechanical mystery.
Whether or not Michael had anything to do with her collapse, the doctors should have done, and still should do, an MRI.
Because it is possible that she somehow managed the original L1 compression fracture, and soon, during the weeks leading up to her "collapse," the backup of spinal fluid flow, began to affect her brain and stem ... leading, in her case, because of the stress in their married lives, to a triggering event.
Yet, the failure by Michael, who knew CPR, but he did not provide her with CPR, even though "only a few seconds" transpired from the moment he heard the "thud" in their apartment, until he was at her side ... remains as another indication of how he has a track record of denying her.
Some shrinks like to call that, "abandonment."
All in all, it may still be, that he "just plain skipped all the sensitivity training" that is required for maintaining a loving relationship. Probably most members of this forum, can testify to that!
Yet, his failure to act promptly on her behalf, whether CPR or respecting her wish to die, in early 1990, is, as they like to say, "eggregious" at the least.
The Florida probate and appeals courts' playing along with and then usurping that game, is repugnant to our Constitution.
Eight years, he kept her imprisoned before he acted upon her wish to die. Incredible.
My points are, that if you give Michael Schiavo the "benefit of the doubt" regarding her wishes, he did not act in defense of her wishes.
The crowd that is worried about being trapped in suspended animation, and so they are arguing in his favor of now ending her life, wishes to ignore the timeline during which he failed to honor her request.
The crowd that is worried about being trapped in suspended animation, and so they argue that they do not want outside interference against their wishes (I agree), still cannot face the fact that Michael did not comply as they now wish to imagine that their spouse or guardian would.
The crowd that is worried about being trapped in suspended animation, envisions that they will be only held in suspended animation for some few days or perhaps a couple weeks, but the Michael Schiavo standard for honoring your wishes to "not live like that," is to NOT honor your wishes until AFTER a 2,800 day time period.
I had thought, that her CT scan was not as bad as others have claimed, and so, that accounts for my humble opinion about what it shows, in all the above; which I qualifed or mitigated or whatever, with reply 27, preceding (that I found, this morning).
Yet, the gist of my argument, that the husband's credibility is almost nil, is supported by the endless blur of many days and months and years during which he did not act upon her wishes that he claims to be true.
In every personal example that has been cited on this forum, of a member's involvement in "pulling the plug," none has stated that they delayed for years, yet among the tellers of these stories, the most adamant cannot bear to face the nightmare of time that Michael Schiavo denied his wife's wish.
