From another freeper who shall remain nameless by me:
Terri had every possible test repeated in 2002. But, they say, even their attorney tonight said, "he wont let them do an MRI, etc"
But they don't tell ya that to do that kind of test would zap that metal electrode planted in her brain.
(They also go on about "he did experiments on her!" even though, that was his last-ditch effort at stimulating her brain to function, and it was a technique even their own doctor Hammesfahr has said was a great idea!)
In 2002, they ran every other test - EEGs, CT scans, labs, etc., and 5 docs examined them and her to confirm what all her previous docs and therapists said - that she was both in PVS and that no current therapy could help her.
2 docs appointed by her husband, 2 by her parents, a court-appointed, and her regular doc testified. I read all 900+ pages of that transcript.
You really read all 900+ pages! You're probably the only person here that is qualified to speak! (I'm glad I'm in agreeement with you, or else I'd be PRETTY embarrassed.) We'll wait for all the apologies to start rolling in.
Makes sense. I was told that by the MRI technician to be sure I get an "MRI compatible" cochlear implant if in the event that day comes, otherwise, I will not be able to get a subsequent MRI in the future.
Damn! I'm impressed! :)
Well, well; doesn't that work out for them?
That's correct, and that is why doctors asked Michael to have the implants removed so that they they could run the scan.
The implants were never removed.
In 2002, they ran every other test - EEGs, CT scans, labs, etc., and 5 docs examined them and her to confirm what all her previous docs and therapists said - that she was both in PVS and that no current therapy could help her.
And yet no PET scans or MRIs. No removal of the implants.
The Schindlers have 50 board certified neurologists who have signed on arguing that the proper tests be run. It would also help if the doactually spent more than 10 minutes evaluating her behavior. It's simply not tenable to say that the examinations done so far are in any way adequate to make an diagnosis of PVS.
As Fr. Rob Johanson recounts:
...Terri’s diagnosis was arrived at without the benefit of testing that most neurologists would consider standard for diagnosing PVS. One such test is MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). MRI is widely used today, even for ailments as simple as knee injuries — but Terri has never had one. Michael has repeatedly refused to consent to one. The neurologists I have spoken to have reacted with shock upon learning this fact. One such neurologist is Dr. Peter Morin. He is a researcher specializing in degenerative brain diseases, and has both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Boston University.
In the course of my conversation with Dr. Morin, he made reference to the standard use of MRI and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans to diagnose the extent of brain injuries. He seemed to assume that these had been done for Terri. I stopped him and told him that these tests have never been done for her; that Michael had refused them.
There was a moment of dead silence.
“That’s criminal,” he said, and then asked, in a tone of utter incredulity: “How can he continue as guardian? People are deliberating over this woman’s life and death and there’s been no MRI or PET?” He drew a reasonable conclusion: “These people [Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and Judge Greer] don’t want the information.”
Dr. Morin explained that he would feel obligated to obtain the information in these tests before making a diagnosis with life and death consequences. I told him that CT (Computer-Aided Tomography) scans had been done, and were partly the basis for the finding of PVS. The doctor retorted, “Spare no expense, eh?” I asked him to explain the comment; he said that a CT scan is a much less expensive test than an MRI, but it “only gives you a tenth of the information an MRI does.” He added, “A CT scan is useful only in pretty severe cases, such as trauma, and also during the few days after an anoxic (lack of oxygen) brain injury. It’s useful in an emergency-room setting. But if the question is ischemic injury [brain damage caused by lack of blood/oxygen to part of the brain] you want an MRI and PET. For subsequent evaluation of brain injury, the CT is pretty useless unless there has been a massive stroke.”