Posted on 03/23/2005 7:27:11 AM PST by queenkathy
Tuesday, March 22, 2005 11:52 p.m. EST
Second, Third Nurse Accuse Michael Schiavo
Two additional nurses have filed affidavits in the Terri Schiavo case that corroborate bombshell allegations by nurse Carla Sauer Iyer, who went public on Tuesday with claims that Michael Schiavo had deliberately withheld treatment from his disabled wife.
Heidi Law was a certified nursing assistant at the Palm Garden Convalescent Center in Largo, Fla., where she treated Mrs. Schiavo in 1997.
Story Continues Below
In an affidavit filed with the court in August 2003, Ms. Law maintained:
"I know that Terri did not receive routine physical therapy or any other kind of therapy. I was personally aware of orders for rehabilitation that were not being carried out. Even though they were ordered, Michael would stop them."
Law continued:
"Michael ordered that Terri receive no rehabilitation or range of motion therapy. I and [another CNA] would give Terri range of motion anyway, but we knew we were endangering our jobs by doing so.
"We usually did this behind closed doors," Law said, because "we were so fearful of being caught ... we were always looking out for Michael, because we knew that, not only would Michael take his anger out on us, but he would take it out more on Terri. We spoke of this many times."
"At least three times during any shift where I took care of Terri, I made sure to give Terri a wet washcloth filled with ice chips, to keep her mouth moistened.
"On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri small mouthfuls of Jello, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely. I did not do it more often only because I was so afraid of being caught by Michael."
Like nurse Iyer, Law suspected that Michael was mistreating Terri, noting in her sworn statement:
"Several times when Michael visited Terri during my shift, he went into her room alone and closed the door. This worried me because I didn’t trust Michael.
"When he left, Terri was very agitated, was extremely tense with tightened fists and sometimes had a cold sweat. She was much less responsive than usual and would just stare out the window, her eyes kind of glassy. ...
"We were convinced that he was abusing her, and probably saying cruel, terrible things to her because she would be so upset when he left."
"The Palm Gardens staff, myself included, were just amazed that a 'Do Not Resuscitate' order had been put on Terri’s chart, considering her age and her obvious cognitive awareness of her surroundings."
Carolyn Johnson, a certified nursing assistant who worked at the Sabal Palms nursing home in Largo, said Terri's mistreatment went back to at least 1993.
"During this assignment I took care of Terri Schiavo several times," Johnson said in her own August 2003 affidavit.
"I learned, as part of my training, that there was a family dispute and that the husband, as guardian, wanted no rehabilitation for Terri. This surprised me, as I did not think a guardian could go against a doctor's orders like that, but I was assured that a guardian could and that this guardian had gone against Terri's doctor's orders."
Johnson recalled: "No one was allowed to just go in and see Terri. Michael had a visitors list. We all knew that we would lose our jobs if we did not do exactly what Michael said to do."
Johnson continued:
"I remember seeing Michael Schiavo only once the entire time I worked at Sabal Palms, but we were all aware that Terri was not to be given any kind of rehabilitative help, per his instructions.
"Once, I wanted to put a cloth in Terri's hand to keep her hand from closing in on itself, but I was not permitted to do this," Johnson said, "as Michael Schiavo considered that to be a form of rehabilitation."
4. Florida law provides that while judges may act as guardians of members
of their families, they may not do so for anyone else. FLA. STAT. § 744.309(b)(2).
5. Florida judges are not among the individuals the Florida Legislature has
designated as eligible to serve as proxies who can act on behalf of incapacitated patients.
See FLA. STAT. § 765.401(1)(a)-(g).
6. Florida constitutional law also forbids the assumption of guardianship
responsibilities by judges who are presiding in a disputed case. In In Re TW, 551 So.2d
1186, 1190 n. 3 (1989), the Florida Supreme Court held:
Under no circumstances is a trial judge permitted to argue one side of a
case as though he were a litigant in the proceedings. The survival of our
system of justice depends on the maintenance of the judge as an
independent and impartial decisionmaker. A judge who becomes an
advocate cannot claim even the pretense of impartiality.
7. Petitioner, Theresa Marie Schiavo, Incapacitated, has never been
represented in her individual capacity by independent counsel. Instead, Michael
Schiavo’s legal counsel has purported to represent Terri’s constitutional rights despite the
fact that Florida courts have found Michael Schiavo to have at least the appearance of a
conflict of interest. See Schiavo I, 780 So.2d at 178.
This was a filing in Federal Court last week. If this isn't reversible error, what is.
Leave DollarCoin alone. You are becoming irritating with your accusations.
Not to put a damper on the testimony of the "nurses," but the last two were NOT nurses. They are CNAs. Not that that makes them any less credible - just not nurses. As a rule, CNAs actually spend more time with a patient than a nurse does. Just throwing that in.
Carry on.
I am in agreement with you, but at a loss for words
As well, I'd like to see Sen. Frist and Rep. DeLay follow through on their statements that Judge Greer would be held accountable for contempt of congress for ignoring a congressional subpoena.
I lurked for four years before I started posting. By the time I got on 'officially' I understood many of the terms thrown about on FR. That in itself doesn't make one a troll. Even if a DU troll came over here, an honest one might have their mind changed after reading through material presented here.
Because you have a loss for words when I as you to speak in Terri's defense. Isn't that true DollarCoins?
You state you are here in her defense as someone who signed up yesterday an yet you have "no comment" when asked to state your opinion for Terri's defense after repeated attempts to give you time to do so.
You have continued to side step the issue as any good troll might do.
You can fool some some of the time.
I commend you for your attempt.
Yes, Greer did. Wrongly, of course, but he's in too deep to change his mind on anything.
The truly sad part is it may be too late to save Terri, but that should not stop Freepers from asking questions about the cozy relationship between the trial court and the petitioner. (I hate saying this 'cause Greer's a Republican and supposedly is a good jurist.)
Me, too!
Emotions are running high - but there is no need for you to be obnoxious. Enough already.
Well, I guess I can call YOU a Newbie - and I am sure there are many that can call me one. What does that prove? We are not in grade school here.
Zip, Zero, nada.
Do you find that a little odd since he claims to be here on her side?
then why would you believe a husband who only remembered his wife wanted to die years after her collapse, after he got the money, after he moved in with his 2nd girlfriend since his wife's collapse? Let's see who is more credible, a husband who stands to gain if his wife dies and stands to possibly be jailed if she lives and tells the world what happened? or 3 women who have nothing to gain from lying?
Personally, Earthdweller, I'd like to ask you to knock it off.
Just wanted to welcome you to FR. Most of us appreciate opposing opinions and the chance to educate.
why don't you go educate yourself? court documents (including the illegal order to move Terri to a hospice that lacks ANY doctor's signature) are available onliine at Terrisfight.org
don't speak before you have all the facts.
Good luck..I suspect it will never happen.
Uhh... Michael saying his wife wanted to die without anything to back it up IS heresay ...sheesh..
"I still pose the question as to why, TEN YEARS later, did the nurses decide to come forth with this information. It seems ludicrous"
I'm sorry, CAN"T YOU READ????? your question has been answered several times..they have been coming forward since taking care of Terri and have been IGNORED.. they called DCF, they called the police when they found out what Michael was doing and were ignored..
I have no obsession with doing so, nor is such a defense a requirement of membership on this forum. There are a number of well-respected oldtimers who disagree with Terri's right to live. I disagree strongly with them, but that doesn't grant me the privilege of harassing them.
It is simple, I figured that after reading so many posts from FReepers who seem to have extensive knowledge on this case, it would be wise to post some questions on this site. My intuition has proven valuable because I have learned more about this case on this site from people who are not only concerned about Terri's life and rights, but know the facts of the case, then I could ever get from reading a web-site and trying to read between the lines. Thank you again patient FReepers.
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