[Future Useless Eater]

It might be educational to see a chart contrasting Michael's testimony BEFORE the Jury award, vs his ACTIONS after the Jury award...

Michael in Nov.1992 UNDER OATH, shortly BEFORE the JURY award:

                  Here I'm brushing her teeth.

17		 Q.   Do you take her to the dentist from time-to-time?

18		 A.   Yes, we do.

19		 Q.   How often do you do that?

20		 A.   We try to do it twice a year.  As a matter of

21	    fact, she has an appointment Monday.

22		 We try to keep her teeth as clean as possible.  It's

23	    very hard for us to get into the back of her mouth.  She

24	    clamps down and bites down on the toothbrush.  I've had

25	    problems before using the suction catheter and she bit the

___
                                                              20


 1	    suction catheter there.
 
 2		 Q.   What are you doing now?
 
 3		 A.   I'm putting on makeup.  I put on her makeup
 
 4	    everyday and I'm finishing up her lipstick.
 
 5		 This is the speech pathologist who comes in and works
 
 6	    with Terry.
 
 7		 Q.  This is the speech pathologist you say?
 
 8		 A.   Yes, it's the speech pathologist.
 
 9		 Q.   What does he do for her?
 
10		 A.   He comes in and massages her lips and uses

11	    different flavors to try to help her swallow.  You'll

12	    notice he's moving her lips and it helps massage the side

13	    of the mouth so the mouth doesn't tighten up.

14		 Q.   You hoping he can get her to the point where she

15	    swallows?

16		 A.   Yes.  You see here rubbing the bottom of her

17	    throat, that's, I don't know what the word is, gets them to

18	    swallow when you rub the bottom of their throat.  She just

19	    swallowed that time.  Sometimes they use ice on her face,

20	    too.  It's a stimulation.

21		 Q.   What is that, Mike?

22		 A.   That's a -- that is basically used to stimulate

23	    her tongue and the back of her tongue to help with her gag

24	    reflex.  And like I said, sometimes they use different

25	    flavors.

[Future Useless Eater]

#73: PROJECT ANNOYING EMPATHY FOR TERRI SCHIAVO ^

When I first started reading about Terri, my reaction was that the feeding tube should get pulled. I would not want my life to be extended by artificial means, and that's the way I looked at it.

I have since turned 180 degrees on this. I think removing her feeding tube would be tantamount to murder.

This is a complicated thing.

I think I could kill someone in self-defense. I would not want to, but I could do it and not regret it. Not much.

The worst decision I ever made, however, was for my wife (and I) to get an abortion one time when an unexpected preganacy ocurred. I feel that decision was evil. I wish I could take it back.

I think removing Terri's feeding tube would be about the same as that.

I also think that if Michael kicked in and cared for her -- held her hand, spent time with her, talked to her, etc -- she might stand a chance of improving. With him not doing that, it is essentially the same as removing her tube.

I consider that to be immoral.

Hi Harry. Sorry I didn't answer earlier. That other thread had a meltdown due to a disruptor. I got him extremely p.o'ed at me, and he got my posting deleted. I thought I had to stay away from that one or he would come back.

Thank you for sharing your own experience. That seems a really tough thing to get over or live with. I thank you, and I'm sure Terri's family thanks you.