I don't know when a GAL should be appointed. Terri wanted to live and receive therapy until Michael Schiavo was awarded a large sum of money, and guardianship. That's when he remembered "Terri saying something about not wanting to be hooked up to machines". Well we both know that all she has is a feeding tube.
Actually, if Florida's judicial system wasn't so corrupt, a GAL should have been appointed for Terri right then and there. MS's testimony before the monetary award, and his statements after receiving the money, represent a conflict of interest on his part. Not to mention he was living with someone else as husband and wife.
Don't be so precious. No one is talking about every unconscious emergency room patient, being assigned a government lawyer.