Terri Schiavo Begins Receiving Fluids and Hospital Care - (Current Status Alert!)

LifeNews ^ | October 22, 2003 | Steven Ertelt

[NYer]

-- Thanks to the executive order issued by Governor Jeb Bush, Terri Schiavo is receiving fluids and medical care at a local hospital to prepare for the reinsertion of the feeding tube that provides her with food and water.

Staff at Morton Plant Hospital began rehydrating Terri intravenously according to Pat Anderson, lead attorney for Terri's family.

As long as Terri did not have kidney failure, she should be able to return to the state of health she was in prior to the removal of the feeding tube, one pro-life doctor told LifeNews.com.

Terri was taken by ambulance from the hospice where she had been staying to the local hospital and a crowd of supporters cheered. Dozens of dedicated supporters have been holding a round-the-clock prayer vigil and protest in support of Terri and her family.

"I'm ecstatic she's being fed again,'' said her brother, Bob Schindler, Jr. "I don't think I can describe the way I feel right now. It's been unreal.''

However, Terri's family said she has had a noticeable change in condition during the 24 hours prior to her transfer to the hospital Tuesday evening.

Suzanne Carr, Terri's sister, said Terri looked "very, very gaunt.''

Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, who was denied the opportunity to provide Terri a possible last communion, said her skin, when pinched Monday night, didn't retract -- a sign her condition had deteriorated.

Bob Schindler Jr., Terri's brother, said, "Every second here is an hour.''

Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said that hospital workers faced arrest if they did not act on Bush's executive order and care for Terri.

Meanwhile, Michael Schiavo was "deeply troubled, angry and saddened that his wife's wishes have become a political pingpong,'' said Michael Schiavo's lead attorney George Felos, an assisted suicide advocate. "He, as many others, is absolutely stunned at the course of events.''

Felos, filed a motion with Circuit Court Judge George Greer asking for an injunction to overturn Bush's order.

Greer, who originally granted Michael's decision to remove Terri's feeding tube, denied Felos' motion, but only on technical grounds. Felos refiled the motion but State Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird also refused to grant his request.

"We won. Terri won,'' Terri's father Bob Schindler said after the ruling.

Felos has five days to file additional arguments in a revised petition to overturn Bush's order. Once he does that, the state has five days in which to respond -- potentially granting Terri as much as a 10 day reprieve from further action denying her right to live.

The Florida Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, as has the U.S. Supreme Court. However, either side could appeal decisions regarding the legislation and Bush's executive order to those courts.

[Velveeta]

Score!

[NYer]

Where do I sign? I can use paypal, if terri's parents can accept it.

DONATIONS TO Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation

And, yes, they are set up to accept PayPal.

[deziner]

I don't understand how her family can feel this is better than being allowed a natural, dignifed life and to spend eternity in heaven with Christ in a perfect body.

God can take this woman any time He chooses to. He doesn't need man to do it for Him. If He wanted her now He would have taken her. As long as Terri is on earth, God has a purpose for her being here. Even when her tubes were taken out and she was without food or fluids, she survived - God does not need men to keep her alive either. He has however moved our government officials to accomplish His purposes. That is what government is for according to Romans 13 - he established it. God has an appointed time for Terri's death - just as He does for us all. It obviously isn't now.

[Saundra Duffy]

Excellent letter!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[4Godsoloved..Hegave]

I have my doubts that she's a "nurse". Wouldn't last a minute on my staff!

Mine either, but let us be real. Anyone who has spent time in the medical field knows without doubt that these type nurses/doctors are there. I despised working beside them as well as being their charge. Many stories I could tell of situations that made my skin crawl.
Praise be to God the majority of folks on the frontlines in medicine still truly take to heart their oath, "to do no harm".
May that hold true forever.

[Saundra Duffy]

Are Terri's kidneys damaged? Other organs? Six days of massive doses of morphine would kill anyone - if they were deprived of food and water. BASTARDS!!!!!!!!

[Mudboy Slim]

"I feel a ZOT coming."

Why? Just fer what he/she said in post #8? I disagree with his/her opinion, too, but it was presented in a respectful and heartfelt manner and just becuz the poster is a Newbie with an atypical viewpoint doesn't deserve the ZOT, IMHO.

FReegards...MUD

[hocndoc]

"Terri's advocates claim her teeth are unbrushed, her nails untrimmed,"

This is completely inconsistent with any hospice care I've ever known or heard about. Such treatment would be neglect, not end of life care.
(as an intern, I drew the wrath of the whole nursing staff by noting "oral care, today" in the orders. That was/is their care, a point of pride, and I should have assumed it would happen. I learned a lot that day about what a nurse is and what nursing is.)

[Saundra Duffy]

Good points! So . . . for those who think Terri is like a dog who needs to be "put out of her misery" - I guess they believe that the Jews who were gassed were treated in a more humane manner, compared to the Jews who were starved to death! God have mercy on us all.

[NYer]

Thank you both for sharing those powerfully moving stories!! Amazing, isn't it, that people still "don't get it". They consider a feeding tube to be life support. This is life support!

Remove that plastic tube from Christopher Reeve's gullet and he would be dead in a matter of minutes.

BTW, why hasn't he come forward in support of the Schindler family? Or, how about ...

Physicist, Stephen Hawking, requires an aide to interpret his grunts. His body is totlly paralyzed except for 3 fingers.

I don't hear anyone clamoring to terminate either of these men. Yet Terri, who can breathe on her own, is condemned to death by starvation.

[MHGinTN]

Would that be 'Father Brennan'? Thank you for the title, Askel. I shall seek out a copy! If you haven't visited there yet, click on Marmema's profile page.

[from occupied ga]

Start here - ask questions later.

Thanks for nothing. That article doesn't answer who's paying or come even close to the more important question of the authority of executive orders. It doesn't state whether the $750k fund is paying or not. 13 years of hospital bills would be far in excess of $750k.

[HiTech RedNeck]

So the whole "CCE" issue comes up again. Was this one of the things that the SCOTUS essentially declared was a "Constitutional Right" i.e. to be killed if you are incapacitated and your guardian can show "CCE" that you wished it? Even if state law (not Florida I know, but others) state that such a wish has to be placed in writing?

It's Greer who has time and again ruled there was "CCE". Would the SCOTUS, once more, toss this back to Greer? Will this take a right to life amendment to the US Constitution to fix?

[CDHart]

My boss is an RN, and she said that in her opinion the movements that Terri was making were involuntary. I didn't see them, so I can't say. But you are right about the consequences of being unable to move for any period of time. I guess the best thing to do is pray for Terri, and hope what is being done is in her best interest.

Carolyn

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for your analysis! Hugs!

[Velveeta]

"The litmus test is whether a person can bring a spoon to their own mouth." .... George Felos

[E.G.C.]

AMEN, the Culture of Death needs to be stripped of their influence. Kudos to Gov. Bush for getting in the way of their demonic actions.

[tertiary01]

Here we go again assigning someone's values to someone elses's life. This is called Utilitarianism, practiced to perfection by the Nazis but still alive and well around the world. Life is precious, if as your title suggests you are a nurse, you have surely seen the survival instinct and the will to live in action. Face it, we can always be dead but we are only alive for a short time and need to take advantage of it on any terms.
Anyway,I don't think Terri's existence is so bad and Liberals should think it is fairly utopian. All her needs are taken care of, although maybe in not as timely a manner as some would like. And isn't this what the Liberals would like for the rest of use to have----cradle to grave assistance from the state?

[honeygrl]

"This is completely inconsistent with any hospice care I've ever known or heard about. Such treatment would be neglect, not end of life care.
(as an intern, I drew the wrath of the whole nursing staff by noting "oral care, today" in the orders. That was/is their care, a point of pride, and I should have assumed it would happen. I learned a lot that day about what a nurse is and what nursing is.) "

From what we heard, the husband told them her teeth didn't need to be brushed because she didn't eat and he wouldn't allow a dentist to check for cavities and such.

[honeygrl]

"13 years of hospital bills would be far in excess of $750k. "

Hospice has been caring for her free of charge. It was in the CNN article from yesterday. The article also said $50,000 was left from what was originally awarded and the money had been frozen so the husband can't use it for the moment.