[Polybius]

Polybius, I hope you don't mind but I think your comments are most instructive to the layman. I work in the diagnostic imaging field and had not seen her CT before. My impressions from reading about it were that it was much worse than this image implies, though she obviously has major loss. But at this level, wouldn't PET and MRI be indicated before making life and death decisions? Thanks for a good post.

Those of us in the diagnostic imaging field know what the cerebral cortex looks like after it is lost from infarct.

CT scan showing a massive infarct within the brain territory supplied by the right middle cerebral artery. (The "Right" on an X-Ray is on the left-hand side as if you are facing the patient.)

There has been much simplification of this case in the news media and from politicians who have no clue as to what they are talking about.

I have no idea what her actual condition is. All I know is that you can't make a rational clinical decision on an incomplete medical workup and on medical data that is a decade old.

In the absence of cortical destruction as seen in the above CT, no single radiologic test will be the final say in this case. A neurologist would be better able to say which battery of tests would give the most accurate assessment. However, it needs to be a neutral neurologist and, preferably, a team of neurologists, without a dog in this fight who would treat Terri as he would treat any other brand new patient under their care.

What you have to realize about legal medical opinions is there are "Doctor Whores" who will, for an appropriate fee, testify for or against whatever medical opinion you want to hear.

[lysie]

Thank you your post.

[lysie]

Thank you your post.=Thank you your for your post.

[FBD]

Would you help us laymen?
Can a person with this type of brain damage feel pain, and other stimuli? This death by dehydration seems terribly cruel to me, and sounds very painful.

Thanks.

[didi]

Thank you for posting, and for the follow up explanation.