Posted on 10/23/2003 5:58:54 PM PDT by First_Salute
RGSpincich's Reply 59, calls into question, the following, as posted by cpforlife.org:
1. Dr. Hammesfahr, of HAMMESFAHR NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE. http://www.hni-online.com/ emphatically stated that the neck spinal injury this patient incurred was by Strangulation. Schiavo's attorney avoided challenging Dr. Hammesfahr's strangulation statement. Proof of those statements below - video of the Dr saying it, along with saying that with therapy, her condition can improve. http://www.floridaneurologicalinstitute.com/schiavo_channel10_may7,8,2001.htm Debi, there are 5 video and audio clips. They total more than 20 MB's so they wouldn't be practical to email. All are available at the address above.
I listened to and watched all the audio and video at that Channel 10 News link. There is no information about Dr. Hammesfahr stating anything about "Strangulation."
HOWEVER ---
In the second Channel 10 News clip, video for May 8, 2001 ---
Channel 10 5:00 PM Clip Part 2 - Dr. Hammesfahr coverage on Terri Schiavo case
--- the Channel 10 news anchor states:
An ex-girlfriend of Michael Schiavo, is set to give a court deposition this week; Cindy Shook has said Michael once told her that he didn't know what his wife's wishes really were.
Cindy Shook, in that news anchor's report, is Cindy Brashers Shook, who is the court witness for May 8, 2001 in the chronology of events that are listed in iowamomfor freedom's Reply 48, at cpforlife.org's page, which is also a restatement of My Favorite Headache's Reply 18 at another FR page.
Unfortunately, in that chronology, Cindy's information is not given, other than she was a witness on May 8, 2001; but the Channel 10 news anchor has provided a glimpse, here.
It's okay to declare that her death is the desirable outcome, but it's not okay to allow her to die without pain and agony &endash; because the method to accomplish that would be somewhat uncomfortable for lawyers and judges.
Indeed, how do they kill an incapacitated ward that just won't die easily, on the flimsly "proof" of her neglegent husband's inconsistent claims that she once said she would "not want to live that way," and I should mention that she never stated that she would rather starve to death "than live that way"?
More on hubby's faith:
Husband Michael Schiavo to do some image-polishing --- posted at FR by NYer, Oct. 2003 ---Reply 27 by sweetliberty ---
This is the letter written by Terri's friend Kathy to the St. Petersburg times. I [sweetliberty] have been in contact with Kathy and she confirmed that she did write the letter, and several others, but that the paper chose NOT to publish it. I have encouraged Kathy and her friend Dee to join us here at FR, and I will send them the link to this thread and others about Terri, so please post your personal messages to Kathy as well. She lives in the area and has been trying [to] get someone to listen to her for a long time. I assured her that she, and Terri, have many friends here and also that we have a huge readership so it would at least be seen and circulated by a lot of people.
Dear Mr. Levesque,
I am sure that you wrote your article on Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo in what you believed was the truth. However, I can stay quiet no longer.
It is a proven fact that Mr. Schiavo had at least one affair and fathered an illegitimate child while still married to Terri before she was injured.
He is paying child support. Since her injuries, it is also a proven fact that he has been with numerous women, one with whom he now has one child with another on the way.
No one has investigated nor seems to even care that the night that this happened to Terri they had had a huge fight. She had confided to family members and friends that he had become abusive and controlling. She was advised not to go home that night but to spend the night with a girlfriend but she went home. Hours later he called Bob Schindler saying Terri was on the floor hurt. He did not call 911 first.
There are medical records that sustain the fact that Terri suffered multiple broken bones that night and came to the hospital with a rigid neck. I have all that info if you are interested and would be happy to send to you.
To say that Mr. Schiavo loves Terri is nonsense.
He lost the ability to say "my wife" with any credence a very long time ago.
I wish that just one person would print the truth about this guy. I truly believe that the only reason he wants her dead so much is because he never wants her to come out of this and point the finger at him for battering her almost to death. He wants to finish what he started that night.
You probably won't investigate any of this. No one seems to care what happened to Terri but at least I know I have tried.
Sincerely, Kathleen (last name deleted)
St. Petersburg, Fl.
BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH RESPONDED: "This isn't true at all. You lose all credibility when you go on spreading this kind of lie."
I AM RESPONDING: "Number one, I do not appreciate your calling me a LIAR! Or claiming that I am 'spreading this kind of lie.' The people who have LIED---seemingly CONSTANTLY---are "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael, his attorney Felos, the news media, among other people."
BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH ADDED: "The $700,000+ that was apportioned to her care is almost entirely gone. He spent almost all of it on her care."
I AM ADDING: "Spending $750,000.00 REHAB MONIES on "her care" is NOT the same as spending it on REHAB! Teri doesn't even NEED to be in a hospital OR hospice for merely a FEEDING TUBE!!!!!!!!!!!
We had our severely mentally and physically disabled 19 year old daughter on a "feeding tube," oxygen and a RESPIRATOR (with MUCH CHEAPER round-the-clock nurses) during her first three years of life---IN OUR HOME!!!
That was during the MID-EIGHTIES!!!!!
Before the respirator, we had her HOME---BY OURSELVES---with the FEEDING TUBE!!! Terri does NOT need to be there and "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael has been SQUANDERING TERRI'S REHAB MONIES!!!!
"LOVING" Hitleresque-husband is NOT giving Terri the REHAB THERAPY he SWORE he would do. Indeed, he has done EVERYTHING to the CONTRARY!
Last Wednesday [Oct. 15, 2003], my wife's feeding tube was removed. For over 6 years, I have struggled with the Schindlers in court. On Wednesday, I joined them in grief. I understand what the Schindlers are going through at this time. I feel the same loss.For years after this happened to Terri, I tried desperately to find a cure for her. I went from one doctor to another. Almost all of them told me there was no possibility she would recover. Any doctor that gave me a glimmer of hope that some new treatment or therapy would work was given free reign with Terri. I would do anything to make her well.
I took Terri to California. I stayed with her while doctors performed an experimental procedure to implant electrodes in her brain to stimulate its function. I spent months working with her - hopeful of a cure. Months later, the doctors told me the electrodes were not working.
I took Terri to Mediplex, in Bradenton, Florida, which is a residential rehabilitation facility that specializes in brain injuries. She spent months there in intensive physical, speech, and occupational therapy and testing.
Finally, the doctors and therapist told me and the Schindlers they could do nothing more for her. I hired a private duty aide 8 hours a day to take Terri on outings to parks and museums trying to stimulate her - looking for any sign of life, any flicker of hope. There was none - ever.
Over the years, I had three swallowing tests performed on Terri in the hope that some of the therapies would allow her to be weaned off the feeding tube. The test all showed no change, and I was advised she could not swallow food. Even now, the nursing home staff says that sometimes Terri gags and chokes on the moisture from the swabs they use to moisten her lips.
The reports you heard from nursing home aides that Terri was responsive years ago are not true. I would give anything if they were. Those aides cared for Terri during the time that I was desperately seeking a cure for her. I was so frustrated that I could not help Terri. I am sure that I was sometimes unkind to the aides - even shouted at them. This was not because I wanted Terri dead, but because I desperately wanted her alive. I blamed myself because I could not bring her back.
It seemed to me, during that time, that the aides never did enough for Terri. Some days they did not put her makeup on. I would storm into the nursing home insisting that they do so. I knew Terri always wanted to look her best. Sometimes, the aides did not get her dressed and sitting up until late in the morning. They did not always get her hair combed. They sometimes failed to give her vitamins and medications on time. At each of those failures, I became enraged and lashed out. I felt so helpless. Each small infraction reminded me how powerless I was to really help Terri. I admit that I yelled at the aides and I am now deeply sorry for that behavior. Much like the Schindlers now, I stubbornly resisted and suggestion that Terri was in a persistent vegetative state and would never get better.
I never wanted Terri to die. I still don't. After more than seven years of desperately searching for a cure for Terri, the death of my own mother helped me realize that I was fooling myself. More important, I was hiding behind my hope, and selfishly ignoring Terri's wishes. I wanted my wife to be with me so much that I denied her true condition.
Terri told me on several occasions before this happened that she would not want to live in her current condition. If we had been older, I am sure she would have signed a living will making it clear that she did not to be kept alive on tubes and machines. She never had the chance.
That left me to carry out her wishes. It has been hard. In fact, it is the hardest thing I have ever done. In the end, I did what I believe Terri would have wanted me to do.
Some people do not agree with the decisions the court made to remove Terri's feeding tube. I struggle to accept it myself. But I know in my heart that it is right, and it is what Terri wants. There is no longer any realistic hope of Terri's recovery. Perhaps there never was, but I had to try - just as the Schindlers have tried. The reality is that Terri left us 13 years ago, and none of us can bring her back.
Terri's parents and family may visit with her as much as they choose in the days to come. I, and my friends and relatives, will be there as well to spend time with Terri, as we all grieve. Please pray for us all.
- Michael Schiavo, Oct. 20, 2003
"Matters Of Life And Death -
Terri Wants To Live
Family Reveals Secret Therapy Sessions Held For
Brain-Disabled Woman Scheduled To Die
By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
10-15-3
Terri Schindler-Schiavo does not want to die. She would like to go home. And she tried to convey this to her father in no uncertain terms by sitting bolt upright and trying to get out of her chair when told she might be killed, her family has revealed.
The stunning news was released at noon Eastern today by Terri's father, Robert Schindler, at the 'round-the-clock vigil outside the Woodside Hospice facility in Pinellas Park, Fla., where his daughter's court-ordered death by starvation is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern. At that time, her husband and legal guardian Michael Schiavo is scheduled to give the order to disconnect the 39-year-old brain-disabled woman's feeding tube that has provided her with sustenance for the past 13 years.
In an interview a few hours earlier, Schindler described the incident to WorldNetDaily. He said he was holding a cell phone to Terri's ear as she listened intently to the speaker, propped in her jerry-chair at about a 30-degree angle. Suddenly she sat up straight and tried to get out of her chair, despite her weak legs and muscles that were slack from lack of exercise.
His daughter's response stunned Schindler, who grabbed the phone and asked, "My God, what did you tell her?"
The speaker said he had warned, "If you don't get up and get out of there, you're going to die there."
"He was ecstatic when I told him what Terri had tried to do," Schindler said.
And so was Schindler. It was part of a covert rehabilitation program the desperate father and Galaxy Wave Group - a therapeutic company on the cutting-edge of medical technology - devised for Terri in a bold attempt to bring her to a point of recovery where even Florida judges would realize they could not allow her to be starved.
Beginning in late November last year and continuing until the end of February, Terri received daily, hour-long therapy sessions by telephone with company president Dr. Joe Champion or one of his therapists.
While Schindler held the phone to his daughter's ear, they would talk with her, giving her instructions and tasks: move your left arm, move your hand, and so on.
"We started right around Thanksgiving," Schindler recalled. "The first day Dr. Champion listened to the sounds she was making and said he felt it wouldn't be long before she was talking. That was the objective."
The therapy sessions lasted through February, but were interrupted by bouts of flu and other illnesses. One particularly severe illness caused her to relapse.
The "tough love" of telling Terri what lies in store for her was tried several times to stimulate her to work hard.
In a signed affidavit read at the press conference Champion described one of the sessions.
"In December of 2002, I confronted Ms. Schindler with the 'truth' and told her that unless she helped me in returning her from the comatose state that she was in that she was going to die a horrid death," he wrote. "I explained in detail that they would remove the single tube that was providing her nutrition and she would slowly die of starvation. At this point, it was reported by her father that she sat up in bed and became teary eyed."
That Terri understands her own mortality and reacts so strongly when threatened runs counter to the official notion that she is oblivious to her surroundings and will not even know she is being dehydrated and starved to death.
Shiavo's attorney, George Felos, a well-known "right-to-die" advocate, said the claims of improvement that the Schindlers have been making in the last few weeks are impossible.
"There is no cognition, no consciousness," he told the Tampa Tribune.
He further explained why no effort was made to spoon-feed her.
"She simply does not have the ability to take food or water by mouth," he said. "If they tried that, she would aspirate it and suffer an infection that would likely prove fatal."
To corroborate Schindler's account and for further details, WorldNetDaily contacted the person who worked with Terri via telephone. He agreed to be interviewed, but requested his name not be used.
According to "Mr. Smith," Terri was able to move her hand, her arm, her leg on command. She couldn't speak, but she followed instructions.
"The bottom line is she is not vegetative, the way the husband and the side the court has gone with want to portray her," Smith said. "She definitely has some brain damage and severe problems, but she is not a vegetable."
"The problem for Terri is that she can do things, but not on a consistent basis. One day she couldn't, another day she couldn't or wouldn't," he explained. "I can't tell you the reasons, but Terri has her good days and bad days. On a good day she can respond appropriately with no problems. She understands."
Some days are extremely good - like the day she tried to get out of her chair.
"The way Bob [Schindler] described it to you is exactly correct," Smith said. "She just about got out of that chair."
As he tells it: "I was telling her she has to work with us. I couldn't tell you my exact words now; it's been a year. But I was explaining to her that she needed to work with me, that if we could get her to the point to where she could prove to people that she understood, she could get out of there and go home with her parents. I was explaining to her that she had to work with us and respond or they were going to let her die. That's when she tried to get out of the chair."
Smith said they stopped the sessions when he had to leave the area for a couple of months and were not resumed on his return.
It is clear to Schindler that the therapy was working, but until now he has not wanted to talk about it. He could not even bring it up in court as evidence, because it possibly violated a court order.
The Schindlers had reason to suspect that their efforts to help Terri would not be appreciated and that Schiavo might even obtain a court order banning them from her room, as he had done in the past. At one point, he banned Terri's brother and sister from her room for five months simply because they asked the nurse to try and give her some pudding. But there were other instances.
At the initial trial in January 2000, the Schindlers' attorney at the time, Pamela Campbell, introduced into evidence a video of Terri made by a friend of her sister, Suzanne Schindler. It was shown on television news, and three doctors who saw it contacted Robert Schindler saying that they did not believe his daughter was in a persistent vegetative state, but that they wanted to examine her to be sure.
Schindler said he took each of them into her room, and they tested her reactions to stimuli. They found she was definitely not in a persistent vegetative state, that she was cognizant and could recognize her family, because when she saw members of her family she would smile and showed signs of recognition.
All three said they believed Terri had the ability to swallow because she was not drooling. The affidavits were sent to probate Judge George Greer requesting him to allow a swallowing test, which he summarily denied.
Greer accepted the affidavits but did not change his mind.
Schiavo was furious that a video had been made of Terri and doctors had been taken to visit her. In response to his demands, Greer issued an order banning further videotaping and any still photography, and a list of "approved" visitors was drawn up. The list was relatively long over 40 names but there was a catch. Visitors could only see Terri if accompanied by a family member. This meant even Terri's priest, Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, did not have normal access to her.
Schiavo and attorney Felos decided that greater controls were needed. In April 2000, they moved Terri surreptitiously from the nursing home that had been her home for six years to the Hospice of the Florida Sun Coast, a place intended for people in the last stages of an illness.
Regulations generally prohibit a hospice from taking a patient who is not terminally ill and expected to live longer than six months to a year. But Felos was chairman of the board of directors of the hospice and was able to arrange for her admission. He resigned his position shortly thereafter.
A year later, in April 2001, her death by dehydration was ordered to begin, and the day her feeding was stopped her brother and sister came by with a spoon and a cup of pudding, asking a nurse to try to feed her by mouth. The nurse refused and reported the request to others. When Schiavo found out he demanded that Bobby and Suzanne be removed from the list of approved visitors, and Greer rubberstamped his request.
"We were trying to play by the rules," Bobby told WorldNetDaily. "But that didn't matter. We were kicked off the list anyway."
Terri was 60 hours without food or water before a different judge issued an emergency stay because new evidence had come to light, and her feeding was resumed.
The evidence was strong enough for a stay, but not strong enough to end Schiavo's efforts. A series of appeals followed, and in November 2001, the 2nd District Court of Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing held in the fall of 2002.
Five months following their banishment from the Hospice, Bobby and Suzanne Schindler had their visiting rights restored, but only on condition that they not attempt any spoon-feeding.
"I don't want anyone trying to feed that girl," Greer thundered.
Greer did not specifically place audio-taping and therapy-by- telephone on the list of banned activities, but experience had taught the Schindler family that it was best to keep such efforts to themselves rather than run the risk of angering Schiavo and having their visiting rights suspended.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Schindlers have been fighting with their son-in-law for 10 years over the lack of care and therapy Schiavo provided for their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under mysterious circumstances at the age of 26.
The contentious family dispute escalated into a major euthanasia battle in May 1998, when Schiavo petitioned the Florida courts for permission to end his wife's life by disconnecting her feeding tube, insisting she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and that in casual conversations she had told him she would not want to be kept alive "artificially." Although Terri breathes on her on and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration.
Although Terri's parents and siblings have claimed for years that she recognizes them and tries to talk, and over a dozen prominent doctors and therapists have stated under oath that she is not in a persistent vegetative state and with therapy could be rehabilitated, a handful of doctors have testified she is "vegetative." They claim her expressions and vocalizations are simply reflex actions and she will never regain consciousness. Despite a scarcity of expert testimony and evidence for Schiavo's position, the Florida courts have consistently sided with him and Felos.
When the seven-member Florida Supreme Court in August turned down an petition by the Schindlers to review the case, the way was clear for Schiavo to order his wife starved to death.
On Sept. 17, Greer, of the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, scheduled Oct. 15 as the day Terri's feeding tube would be removed.
Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry is coordinating the vigil. He advises anyone who wants to help Terri to telephone Gov. Jeb Bush and urge him to instruct the Department of Children and Families, which enforces standards of hospice care, to do their own investigation to see if she has been getting proper care and rehabilitation.
"Which we know she has not and will not if they take her tube away," said Terry. "And when they find she has not, then Bush can order them to assume guardianship. They must take the guardianship away from the husband."
DUMPSTERDIVER RESPONDED: "I did a search for the nurse's license here [ http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/IRM00PRAES/PRASLIST.ASP ] but I didn't get any results for her in Pinellas county."
HILDY RESPONDED: "ditto that. Don't believe. No way, no how."
BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH ADDED: "CARLA SAUER IYER does not appear on any of the national (Lexis Nexis) people locators either."
BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH ADDED: "Fabricated."
I AM RESPONDING: "In the words of BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH, 'This isn't true at all. You lose all credibility when you go on spreading this kind of lie.'"
I AM ADDING: "Are you three working as Private Investigators for Judge Greer???? Did it ever DAWN on you guys that WOMEN MIGHT USE THEIR MAIDEN NAMES in their profession?????"
I AM ADDING: "If you will ALL go to the web site that DUMPSTERDIVER gave (http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/IRM00PRAES/PRASLIST.ASP) for The Florida Department of Health, and type in:
LAST: sauer, FIRST: carla and NO COUNTY, you will get the following results:"
" Licensee List"
"License Name Profession City"
"RN 3155902 SAUER,CARLA ANN Registered Nurse PLANT CITY"
"PN 1168871 SAUER,CARLA ANN Licnsd Prctl Nrs OLDSMAR"
(I abbreviated Licensed Practical Nurse.)
I AM RESPONDING: "Riiiight...I guess the YEARS of legal battles in which Terri's PARENTS have been desperately TRYING to get "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael to START REHAB THERAPY---AFTER he POCKETED TERRI'S $750,000.00 REHAB MONEY---were just figments of their imagination."
BRONCO_BUSTER_FWEETHYAGH ADDED: "You are just blowing smoke. Please at least try to be accurate in your ignorance-fed crusades of hatred."
I AM RESPONDING: "The only one 'smokin' anything seems to be YOU. And "Hatred?" I'm one of the ones---with NOTHING TO GAIN and LOTS of PERSONAL TIME to lose---trying desperately to SAVE Terri---NOT KILL HER, as YOU are."
I AM ADDING: "Having a severely mentally and physically disabled 19 year old daughter who has BEEN on a RESPIRATOR for THREE YEARS---and NOW IS NOT---and who has HAD a FEEDING TUBE for SEVERAL YEARS---and NOW DOES NOT---I think you need to LOOK IN THE MIRROR to see who is promoting "hatred!" I'm sure NOT the one!"
Apparently almost all the Administrative Law "MINUTES"[ reports] for 2003, of the Department of Health, FLORIDA, Board of Medicine Meetings, are posted in Reply 540, by Calpernia.
The following are the "MINUTES" pertaining to William M. Hammesfahr, M.D., who has been a court witness for the parents of Terri Schiavo.
Some members of this forum question the doctor's medical worthiness, based upon the results, here ---
MINUTES
Department of Health
FLORIDA
Board of Medicine Meeting
February 7-8, 2003
William M. Hammesfahr, M.D. --- Clearwater, Florida
Recommended
Order ............................................................................................24
Ms. Long was recused due to participation on the probable cause panel.
The Respondent was not present and represented by Mr. Max Price, Miami, Florida along
with Dr. Joel Berger, dentist.
Mr. James Earl, Senior Attorney represented the Department and presented the case
before the Board. The Administrative Complaints alleged violation of Florida Statute
458.331(1)(t) the failure to practice medicine with that level of care, skill, and treatment
which is recognized by a reasonably prudent similar physician as being acceptable under
similar conditions and circumstances (d) false, deceptive, or misleading advertising. and
(n) exercising influence on the patient or client in such a manner as to exploit the patient
or client for financial gain of the licensee or of a third party, which shall include, but not
be limited to, the promoting or selling of services, goods, appliances, or drugs.
The Administrative Law Judge did not find respondent in violation of 458.331(1)(t) and
(d), Florida Statutes.
After discussion, Mr. Beebe moved to adopt the Findings of Fact and the Conclusions of
Law. The motions were second and carried unanimously.
After discussion, Dr. Davies moved to deny the Respondent’s exceptions to the
recommended order. The motion was second and carried unanimously.
After discussion, Dr. Davies moved to accept the Administrative Law Judges
Recommended Order. The motion was second by Mr. Beebe and carried with one
opposed.
Penalty Imposed: $2,000 fine, Six months probation, quarterly reports, indirect
supervision, monthly review, 50% chart review, 100 hours of community service, ethics
course.
The Department filed a Motion to Assess Cost costs 52,084.40. Dr. Kent made a motion
assess the costs. Dr. Tucker seconded the motion and carried with two opposed.
Cost Assessed: $52,084.40.
Robert H. Fier, M.D. --- Stuart, Florida
Recommended Order .............................................................25, Addendum tab 62
Mr. Beebe was recused due to participation on the probable cause panel.
The Respondent was not present and represented by Brian Newman, Tallahassee, Florida.
Prepared by Melinda Gray & Crystal Griffin
2/12/03
16 of 34
On the other hand, over at Continuation for Request of Intervention on behalf of Terri Schiavo, posted to FR on Oct. 27, 2003, by cpforlife.org ---
Regarding an advocate on behalf of the parents' arguments, Debra L. Vinnedge has written a letter, addressed to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft [et al], in which she states ---
Criminal Investigation of Michael Schiavo[snip]
4) Terri's doctor, Dr. Gambone resigned; he had previously testified Terri would die within a few days of starvation/dehydration. Terri has an obvious will to live.
5) Michael has enlisted the services of a new doctor, Stanton Tripodis, who has 5 malpractice suits against him. Clearly, Michael is attempting to provide sub-standard care for his wife.
Case no. 97007946C1 filed 11-25-97
Case no. 94003739C1 filed 6-27-94
Case no. 95000873C1 filed 2-14-95
Case no. 96001434C1 filed 3-6-96
Case no. 98002289C1 filed 4-7-98
Sean Hannity interviews Mr. Robert Schindler and William M. Hammesfahr, M.D. ---
Replies 13 and 35, combined, by FL_engineer --- [Reply 35 corrects an error in Reply 13] ---
From FoxNews Channel Oct 27,2003 Hannity and Colmes program:
(this was on the same time as L.K.Live... I also taped Greta and will report on that next.)
Sean Hannity: A 1990 heart attack left Terri Schiavo with severe brain damage; Since then, a ferrocious legal battle has raged over whether or not to keep Terri alive. On October 15th her feeding tube was removed, according to her husbands wishes. Last week after intervention by the Florida legislature, Governor Jeb Bush ordered that her feeding tube be re-inserted. Now time is running out for Terri's husband to challenge the constitutionality of the law that has been dubbed by many as "Terri's Law".
Sean: So what will happen next in this tragic case? Joining us now, is Terri's father, Robert Schindler, and also joining us, a neurosurgeon who has examined Terri, Dr. William Hammesfahr. Ahh, Thank you both for being with us... How is she doing first of all, Mr. Schindler, after the tube has been re-inserted?
Robert Schindler: Oh, She's really made a remarkable comeback, but she's very very tired naturally, being without food for seven days and hydration. But, ah, today, she was probably a little more responsive than yesterday, and she was very agitated today... She didn't want to bother with anybody or anything.
Sean: Doctor, you've examined her, and you've come to the conclusion that, number one, she CAN be rehabilitated, and ah, when's the last time you evaluated her? and what else did you find?
Dr.Hammesfahr: Well, I saw her last, about a year ago for the court... I want to just jump in her for a second and say I'm a neurologist, and not a neurosurgeon.
Sean: oh I'm sorry,
Dr.Hammesfahr: But I saw her last about a year ago, and ahh, as part of the court ordered evaluations.
Sean: Yea, but you basically said that that she could be rehabilitated.
Dr.Hammesfahr: Oh ABSOLUTELY. She is NOT in coma. She did NOT have a heart attack... She is not in coma presently. She absolutely CAN be rehabilitated. There is NO question about that!
Sean: Umm, you know Mr. Schin...
Dr.Hammesfahr: In fact...
Sean: yes, go ahead..
Dr.Hammesfahr: She follows commands right now... She follows commands right now, which means she is NOT in coma.
Sean: Well I can see that on the.. I am not, sir, a doctor, but when I see this video, it is heartwrenching to me, and the fact that this poor woman went six days without a feeding tube, is frightening to me...
Sean: You know, the last time we had you on Mr. Schindler, you were VERY harsh in your comments about the husband. and, and you believe, his fear is, is that if your daughter wakes up, she will have a tale to tell about him.
Dr.Hammesfahr[CORRECTED] Schindler: Well, that comes from the evidence, that ah, there is medical evidence that she had neck injury, and as the doctor said, she had no heart attack, and her ribs and parts of her body suffered fractures, and there's really no explanation for what her collapse was. None at all.
Alan Colmes: Doctor Hammesfahr, I read the medical report, There was a report that when she came into the E.R. she had a "rigid neck". Is that consistent with a neck injury?
Dr.Hammesfahr: ABSOLUTELY. Yes it is. They also did xrays at the emergency room, and the xrays showed that a straightening of the normal spinal curvature, which is very typical of a NEW neck injury.
Alan: We heard a lot about low potassium, but this neck injury ahh, stuff is very interesting. Would that kind of situation be consistent with the possibility of foul play?
Dr.Hammesfahr: Umm, I'd like to go back to potassium for a second? Because people have talked about the potassium, and also about the diet pills issue... or some other drugs...
Alan: Sure,
Dr.Hammesfahr: But the medical record clearly shows that there has NEVER been heart attack. Potassium causes damage by causing heart attacks, so we know that potassium is not an issue. And second...
Alan: But with that 'rigid neck'... Rigid Neck, is that consistent with what could be foul play?
Dr.Hammesfahr: I have seen a neck that rigid from trauma to the neck.
Alan: So you wouldn't venture to say foul play? but are you intimating that?
Dr.Hammesfahr: I think that that type of a neck shows a degree of injury, and I think that it needs to be looked at much more closely to find out the exact cause. Right now, we have a woman who had a collapse, with no known cause. No evidence of infection, or heart attack, respiratory failure, or ANYTHING, The only thing found in the emergency room is the damaged neck.
Alan: Mister Schindler, are you going to try to prove foul play at some point? and try to press some kind of a case here, against your son-in-law?
Shindler: Well, what we're TRYING to do... we have... there's two issues... One is to get Terri therapy, because we believe she can recover. And the second thing, is we want to have an investigation... we're asking the local police, the attorney, ahhh, and NO ONE will touch it! There's a cap on it. Someone is blocking everything.
Sean: Mister Schindler, we're going to continue to follow this story. I'm very very grateful for the Florida legislature and Jeb Bush. I think they did the right thing. And we'll monitor this, and have you back on again.
Shindler: So are we.
Sean: Thank you sir, doctor, good to see you again.
Greta van Susteren interviews Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schindler's attorney, Pat Anderson ---
Reply 22, by FL_engineer ---
From Greta's "On the Record" - Schiavo segment - Monday, 27 oct 2003
(this was taped in the hour immediatly after the L.K.Live interview)
Greta: The husband of a severely brain-damaged woman has until Wednesday to challenge Florida Governor Jeb Bush's order to reinsert his wife's feeding tube. Last Tuesday, Bush issued the order six days after Michael Schiavo won court approval to disconnect his wife Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
Tonight, in an interview, Michael Schiavo said: "This is Terri's wish and I'm going to follow that wish if its the last thing I can do for her".
Joining us from Tampa is Pat Anderson, the attorney for the parents of Terri Schiavo. Welcome Pat.
Pat Anderson: Good evening, You know, Michael Schiavo ALSO said, NOBODY ever talks about death, and I think he's got it quite right. He knows that these are not Terri's wishes. She was just 26 years old!
Greta: Alright, well I want to talk a little bit about, her last day before she ended up in the hospital, and the unfortunate things that unfolded since then. But, umm, when was the FIRST time he ever said that Terri would not want to be on life support?
Anderson: The first time that anybody in the family ever HEARD about that was in January of 2000. He SPRUNG that on the family. And he brought his brother, and one of his sisters-in-law down, to back him up on that, but NOBODY had EVER heard that before! Certainly not...
Greta: Well let me tell you what I'm a little bit confused about... I've got a deposition from two different occasions, maybe you can explain it to me. The first one I will pull up, its from November 19, 1993, in which Michael said: "He was talking about removing the feeding tube," meaning the doctor, "and I said I couldn't do that to Terri." Now that means his intention was NOT to remove the... at least in 1993.
Greta: That same day, in the same deposition, he said this: "I put a - after speaking with my doctor, I gave an order not to treat a bladder infection Terri had." The attorney then asked a question, "So when you made that decision not to treat Terri's bladder infection, you in effect, were making a decision to allow her to pass on?" Michael Schiavo: "I was making a decision on what Terri would want"
Greta: So in that same day, we have two conflicting things he was saying in 1993. How do I know what to believe?
Anderson: Its HARD to know what to believe with him, because he says what the occasion demands, or whats in his financial interest. He told a medical malpractice jury just exactly one year before that deposition fragment that you put up, that he would ALWAYS take care of Terri, for the REST of his life. And yet there he was within a matter of months, directing that antibiotics be withheld. Its HARD to know.
Greta: Alright, lets go back... give me a quick rundown... the day she ah, tell me what happened her last day before she ended up in the hospital.
Anderson: Terri ahh, got her hair done that day, and spent more money than he thought she should have... They had a GREAT BIG fight before he went off to work. Ahh, she was so upset about the fight, that she called her best friend from work, a girl that she had discussed, perhaps both of them getting a divorce, and taking an apartment together... She called this girl, Jackie Rhodes, told her about the big fight... She was sufficiently upset that Jackie Rhodes asked her: "Should I come over? Should I come over and spend the night with you so you'll be safe?"
Anderson: And Terri said, "No, I'll either be asleep, or pretend to be asleep when he gets home from work."... and the next thing Jackie heard, was she was in the emergency room.
Greta: Alright, um, is there ANY indications she had ANY head injuries from from any records there are... any physical injuries at all?
Anderson: There is a NOTATION that her neck was "rigid", and "stiff", and that her body was stiff, when she posit...[interrupted]
Greta: What does that mean? in the 40 seconds we have left, I'm sorry to do this time thing to you.
Anderson: Well, Dr. Hammesfahr, a neurologist who testified at a big evidenciary hearing last year, said HE had only seen ONE other neck THAT rigid, and that was in an attempted STRANGULATION victim. There's LOTS of questions about this case. LOTS of unanswered questions.
Greta: And, we're going to continue to follow this. I'm sorry to give you so little time but these fires have consumed all of our time tonight. Pat THANK YOU!
Please note that, according to Atty. Anderson, Dr. Hammesfahr testified that "he had only seen one other neck that rigid, and that was in an attempted strangulation victim." Atty. Anderson did not state that Dr. Hammesfahr testified that his opinion was that Terri had been strangled.
Reply 38, by Beach_Babe [apparently this is an excerpt from a WorldNetDaily article online the Internet] ---
Attorney Richard Pearse was appointed to be guardian ad litem [guardian for the litigation] &endash; or GAL &endash; by probate Judge Patrick Caddell and charged with investigating the case, and issued a 10-page report in Dec. 1998.Pearse urged in no uncertain terms that the petition for removing the feeding tube be denied.
He also recommended that a guardian ad litem (not necessarily Pearse) be appointed to protect her interests.
And he made it clear that he did not believe Schiavo's sudden recollection of Terri's wishes.
"Regarding the pending petition filed by Mr. Schiavo to withdraw the gastric feeding tube which sustains the ward, he claims that the ward told him after their marriage that she would not want to be kept alive artificially," Pearse wrote. "Mr. Schiavo indicated strongly to [Pearse] that his petition to withdraw life support has nothing to do with the money held in the guardianship estate, which he would inherit upon the ward's death as her sole heir-in-law."
He continued: "The only direct evidence probative of the issue of the ward's intent is the hearsay testimony of the ward's feeding tube which would inevitably result in her death" However, his credibility is necessarily adversely affected by the obvious financial benefit to him in the event of her death while still married to him. Her death also permits him to get on with his life."
That Schiavo's attitude and actions changed as soon as the money from the malpractice suit was in the bank was not lost on Pearse.
"From that point forward, the ward's husband has isolated the ward from her parents, has on at least one occasion refused to consent for the ward to be treated for an infection, and, ultimately, four years later, has filed the instant petition for the withdrawal of life support on the basis of evidence apparently known only to him which could have been asserted at any time during the ward's illness," he said.
"Since there is no corroborative evidence of the ward's intentions, and since the only witness claiming to have such evidence is the one person who will realize a direct and substantial financial benefit from the ward's death, the undersigned guardian ad litem is of the opinion that the evidence of the ward's intentions developed by the investigation, does not meet the clear and convincing standard."
Charging Pearse was "biased" towards Schiavo, Felos promptly had Pearse removed as guardian ad litem. No one was appointed in his place.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35055
I AM RESPONDING: "I am not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV. But I have been involved in SEVERAL lawsuits (I've won or least gotten a settlement on all) and from MY experience, an Affidavit ISN'T WORTHLESS because it is a SWORN statement of what they would say in court. If they say ANYTHING material in it that isn't true (and that they KNOW it to be untrue or have reason to know it), it is PERJURY! Shoot, I've even used SECRETLY RECORDED TAPE RECORDINGS in court even though people think tapes can't be brought into evidence. They can be used to IMPEACH TESTIMONY!!!"
CATSPAW ADDED: "I want to see if she has evidence to back up what she says. The affidavit, like a number I've read, seems full of hyperbole. Does she have any evidence to back her affidavit up--for example, copies of the entries she made into Terri's chart, which she said were removed? Does she know who removed them? How was the staff able to reconstruct the chart with her entries removed? Were the charts done on computer or were they paper charts. If do, did, for example, she only chart starting on a blank sheet of paper or did the sheet of paper entered into the chart contain entries from the prior shift personnel? If so, how does she think the nursing home personnel were able to delete her entries and reconstruct the chart? Did she have witnesses to Terri's reactions to her, and if so, who were they? Those are just a few of the questions I'd ask."
I AM RESPONDING: "I believe there are two Nurses who have claimed their notes were removed, that they heard "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael make "When is that bitch going to die?"-type statements, and that he refused therapy and antibiotics for Terri, etc."
I AM ADDING: "Unlike "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael, Atty Felos, Judge Greer, and the Schindlers, the Nurses have NOTHING to GAIN and EVERYTHING to LOSE by coming forward with their information."
I AM ADDING: "Unfortunately, for the Schindlers, they have NO OPPORTUNITY to check the Medical records to see if there are gaps on the days the Nurses claim their notes were removed---and "LOVING" Hitleresque-husband Michael surely isn't going to expose it."
I AM ADDING: "I have been involved in legal business situations in which I started "smelling a RAT" and started secretly taping conversations to help the OTHER party's "memory" when I felt sure they would deny things later---i.e. LIE---even under oath."
I AM ADDING: "I would also start DOCUMENTING IN WRITING AND MAKING COPIES for the same reason. It is AMAZING how their "memories" would have "FADED"---UNTIL I presented them with THEIR OWN VOICE---ADMITTING what I said they had said! "I LOVE it when a plan comes together" to EXPOSE LIARS---especially when they are UNDER OATH!!!"
JWALSH07 ASKED CATSPAW: "Did they all lie in their affadavits? Why would they do that?"
I AM RESPONDING: "EXACTLY!!! They have NO MOTIVE to LIE!"
I AM ADDING: "...and ATTEMPTED MURDER, and MISAPPLICATION OF FIDUCAIRY PROPERTY, and PERJURY, and OBSTRUCTION of JUSTICE!"
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