Many Neurologists Side With Courts In Florida Coma Case

Contra Costa Times ^ | 10/26/03 | Donald G. McNeil Jr.

[Normally a Lurker]

Apparently many more than the very few who say otherwise.

[gg188]

I've read a lot of threads on Terri, but probably haven't even scratched the surface of all the posts.....Does anyone know, has Christopher Reeve weighed in on this?

Wonder how he feels about his liberal ilk now that they have revealed their euthanasia designs for the disabled, weak and old...?

[blueriver]

Doesn't anyone ever look at this woman?

Apparently Judge Greer is blind. Read the latest TBO article describing him as legally blind.

Excerpt: "Greer is legally blind and cannot drive. While his condition doesn't hamper his abilities on the bench, colleagues and others said in interviews last week it gives him a perspective in dealing with the rights of the impaired few jurists have. "

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGA9RERG8MD.html

[hiimgraced]

I work with handicap kids at my highschool, and I know that sometimes even if their bodys wont work properly they still can talk to you in their special way, like smiling for yes and moving slightly for no... I dont see why her husband would really fight for the removal? although I dont know the whole story, so that might have been answered...

[Normally a Lurker]

Because she has apparently expressed in the past (according to the court tesimony of at least three people) that she wouldn't want to be artifically sustained in such circumstances; and her wishes, not yours, should be the governing factor.

[Normally a Lurker]

The answer to your question is obvious to any objective person - and it's not the answere that you just speculated.

[gooleyman]

Just anecdotally, in the course of your lives, haven't you all heard of or met people who were wrongly given a death sentence...

I'm glad you mentioned this. My wife's Grandmother was given no more than 60 days to live and that was 40 (forty) years before she died. She lived to see all of her grandchildren grow up and have great-grandchildren. So Doctors are not infallible. They are only "practicing" you know.

[T'wit]

4? 81? 6.49? The article mentions two.

It used to be unethical for doctors to voice public opinions about patients they hadn't examined. If it still is, then the "many" here are unethical. (But we knew that :-) )

[CobaltBlue]

I don't think the point is whether she will "get better."

It's that she's not dying. She's young, strong, and healthy, and could live a very long time, in a state without conscious thought.

This is not a case where the health care providers intervened to prolong the life of a person who is already dying. The point of the intervention was to start the process of dying, or, to put it even more bluntly, to kill her.

[Normally a Lurker]

I guess that you must believe in magic tricks also. After all, your eyes saw that X happened (e.g., as when the magician sawed the woman in half).

[CindyDawg]

So, he can't do things like get close to her and ask if she can hear him, or touch her face and ask her to turn her head for yes or no questions. There are so many ways to try to establish communication. He might have a handicap here but it's workable. What's the reason the other 3 didn't go see her. Are they blind too?

[Normally a Lurker]

Thank you. It's nice to see a comment from someone who can apparently distinguish facts and significant info from wild speculation and emotional triades.

[CindyDawg]

I'm just saying the title is deceptive. Say 6 were asked that never saw her and 1 that did. The six say no way. Is that the many? Anyone can skew numbers to get what they want.

[Normally a Lurker]

Can anyone refute this nonsense?

What you apparently mean is: Can't anyone (please) come up with more absurd "save Terri" nonsense to refute this fact.

[RLK]

Please make up a list of these naurologists. If I ever have a problem I don't want to go to them.

[LADY J]

With so many praying for Terri - who knows what miracles our Lord has in mind?

There is power in prayer.

[blueriver]

What's the reason the other 3 didn't go see her. Are they blind too?

Not sure what 3 you are talking about. I do not think Greer the judge ever made any attempt to visit Terri. He has made this life and death decision without even bothering to visit her. Now it is revealed that he is legaly blind so is not able to even see the video of her. I wonder how can it be possible that someone who is blind can make life a death decisions over Terri.

[Restorer]

At serious risk of having my head bit off, I would like to suggest that the court of public opinion is perhaps the worst way to deal with such cases. Maybe sometime it is necessary to get involved. Perhaps this is such a case.

But few of those opining have either expert or intimate personal knowledge that they can bring to bear. Such types of knowledge are really the only kinds applicable at this point.

I don't know what I would do if faced with such a horrific choice. I am unwilling to condemn either side. I believe it is at least possible that both are acting in the best of faith.

[Askel5]

Odd ... the one thing we know for certain (acc'd to Bernat, et al.) is that Terri is not in a "vegetative" state.

This too was an interesting cite:

Objective assessment of residual brain function is difficult in patients with severe brain injury because their motorresponses may be limited or inconsistent (Laureyset al., 2002b).

In addition, consciousness is not an all-or-none phenomenon but should rather be con-ceptualized as a continuum between different states(Wade and Johnston, 1999).

There is also a theoretical limitation to the certainty of our clinical diagnosis, since we can only infer the presence or absence of conscious experience in another person(Bernat, 1992).

believe this is the right article

This promises to be a good read as well:

Quality of neurological care. Balancing cost control and ethics. Bernat JL Arch Neurol 1997 Nov;54(11):1341-5

[formercalifornian]

Recently, a South Dakota native American woman who was in a coma for 16 years (after something went wrong during childbirth) awoke and is now going through rehabilitative therapy in California. Made the news a year or two ago during the holiday season. Her 16-year-old daughter finally was able to talk to her.