Excuse me , Mr. Schiavo, I just have one more question...
Posted on 03/27/2005 6:31:02 AM PST by gesully
When did Michael Schiavo first start trying to kill Terri? Mary Mostert March 23, 2005
Because I try to track down facts before I write about a subject, I have not written about Terri Schiavo and the battle over her condition. What actually happened to Terri back in 1990 that caused her to be the topic of world conversation today? Before we decide to permanently dispose of her, shouldn't we first find out how she got into this predicament?
Well, she collapsed, we are told by her husband Michael, in 1990 and was taken to the hospital . Some stories say she had a heart attack. Other stories, including a medical report by Dr. William Hammesfahr, a world-reknowned neurologist, totally refute any heart attack. Hammesfahr reported:
"Ms Schiavo was in her usual state of good health until 2/25/90, when her husband reported that he was awakened from sleep approximately 6 Am by her falling. He reports that she was unresponsive. "Paramedics were called, and aggressive resuscitation was performed with 7 defibrillations en route.
"In the Emergency Room, a possible diagnosis of heart attack was briefly entertained, but then dismissed after blood chemistries and serial EKG's did not show evidence of a heart attack."
Some reports guess that she collapsed due to an effort to lose weight — although, she was not at the time overweight. Hammesfahr's report stated:
"The patient had a difficult hospital course with the development of poorly controlled seizures and prolonged coma state requiring, for a time, ventilator support. However, the staff noted improvement, and it was recommended by several physicians that she be discharged to an intensive rehabilitation center."
In 1992, Michael Schiavo sued for malpractice and won over a $1 million. He was personally awarded $300,000 for his "loss" and $700,000 for Terri's rehabilitation and care for the rest of her natural life. However, the therapy, after the award, was not approved by Michael Schiavo and she was confined to a nursing home after the settlement.
It was after the settlement that Michael first claimed that Terri had previously stated that she didn't want to be kept alive by artificial means — a statement he never mentioned during the malpractice trial. He has never produced any written proof that Terri said that.
Beginning almost immediately after receiving the malpractice funds, Michael Schiavo, as Terri's legal guardian, began to refuse approval for ANY therapy or rehabilitation efforts and she has been confined to bed.
Since 1995, Michael Schiavo has lived openly with a girlfriend, Jodi Centonze, with whom he has two children, while remaining legally married to Terri, as well as being her legal her guardian.
In 1998, Michael Schiavo petitioned the court to have Terri's feeding tube removed. In 2003, Michael Schiavo's attorneys reported that the trust fund was down to $50,000, with more than $430,000 going to "pay for court costs associated with her husband's legal battle to remove his wife's feeding tube." Meanwhile, Medicaid helps to pay Terri's $5,000-a-month nursing costs at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida. 13
During this time period, Terri's parents have attempted to gain guardianship over their daughter. During the legal battles that have ensued, in 2003 a deposition was taken from Dr. William Campbell Walker, a radiologist, concerning a bone scan the hospital did on Terri in 1991. That bone scan revealed what Dr. Walker reported at the time as "compression fracture in the 19 vertebral body of the spine."
For seven years as Terri has been consistently denied rehabilitation treatment that, according to several doctors, would have significantly improved her chances of recovery, Michael spent her money awarded for her therapy on lawyers trying to get her starved to death. Several doctors pointed out, including Dr. Hammesfahr, that Terri not only CAN swallow on her own, but frequently DOES swallow and pictures shown clearly indicate, as Hammesfahr and other testify, that she can and does respond to voice commands and particularly to her parents.
This would indicate that she is NOT in what the State of Florida defines as a "vegetative" state. It also makes me wonder, now that the feeding tube is removed, if any effort to help her swallow water or food is being made today, or whether under the court order spoon feeding also has been outlawed? Terri's parents, if they just came and got her and took her home, I guess would be arrested for kidnapping under Florida's legal system.
At this point, the legal system of Florida has, in the words of one legal observer, created the "framework for legal euthanasia." Of course, euthanasia is technically the practice of killing someone painlessly because they prefer death to life for whatever reason. I would not classify starvation as a "painless" way to die.
Dr. Hammesfahr stated in his report:
"In the spring of 2000, three physicians, including Dr. Jay Carpenter, who is a former Chief of Medicine at Morton Plant Hospital, filed affidavits after observing Ms. Schiavo. All three physicians stated that it is visually apparent that Ms Schiavo is able to swallow and, in fact, does swallow her own saliva.
"The patient continued with no physical therapy, communication or speech therapy, or routine medical screening evaluations and treatment such as dental care, mammography, gynecological exams or pap smears during this time."
Under these conditions and questions, it would appear to me that Terri SHOULD have a totally different guardian, such as her parents, until some questions are answered about the spinal and other injuries that appeared on her bone scan a decade ago. Why is it that a man who clearly wants his wife dead, cannot explain how she actually got into the state she is in, or produce ANY proof, other than his unsubstantiated words, that she would want to die, is being unquestioningly defended by the Florida courts?
Increasingly, it appears to me, that Terri would have gotten better care had her husband never won that malpractice suit and been given $1 million to spend — much of it on lawyers to legally kill off his wife.
It all makes me wonder just when Michael Schiavo made his first effort to kill Terri? Was it before or after she ended up in the hospital with an unexplained problem that put her in a coma?
Mary Mostert is a nationally-respected political writer. She was one of the first female political commentators to be published in a major metropolitan newspaper in the 1960s. After working in President Lyndon Johnson's failed War on Poverty programs in New York state, she became a Republican. She ran, unsuccessfully, for the New York State Senate and became campaign manager for a number of candidates. She once served as the secretary of "Positive Action NOW!"--a South African women's group that sought to reduce the hostility among South Africa's various racial, religious, and political groups.
In recent years, Mary has researched, written, and edited articles for national talk show host Michael Reagan's Information Interchange on the Internet, and for The REAGAN MONITOR, a monthly newsletter that provides in-depth information on key issues. Her book, COMING HOME - Families Can Stop the Unraveling of America," was published in 1996 by Gold Leaf Press. Mary maintains a political media site, Banner of Liberty. She can be contacted at mary@bannerofliberty.com . Click here for more information.
The Hospice should be investigated for her being there for 5 YEARS at $5000.00 a month paid by Medicaid. Hospice is only for 6 months.
" As soon as Terri is dead, he will have her remains cremated, and in doing so, destroy the evidence that could prove beyond a doubt, that he assaulted Terri and caused her condition.
Cremation also removes the evidence that she is not in a permanent vegetative state."
And I predict that Jeb will do nothing to stop it, because he can't have it be proven that he let an innocent woman die on his watch.
Here's a link to an email from yesterday from Cheryl Ford, R.N., who has been involved with trying to save Terri for years.
She talks about the drugs now being administered to hasten Terri's death:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1370368/posts?page=4342#4342
I've been curious as to what the malpractice suit was all about?
It seems apparent that the husband was malpracticing his marriage vows.
Moreover, Michael Schiavo played the Schindler family for everything he could get out of them during the trial. Making it seem like they were a happy united family and that dear Michael was just the greatest son-in-law any one could have. Later they found out he forsaked their daughter when he recieved money for her rehab.
He said no money will be used to treat Terri, denying her the slightest stimulation of music, tv, radio, etc. He withheld antibiotics when she had infections. He even did in her beloved cats and melted down her wedding rings in order to make a ring for himself. To top it off he sets up house with live-in mistress and proceeds to have children out of wedlock. He loves his two women so dearly.
There never has been a more loving, devoted, husband, ever. (Not)
I agree the lamestream lefties are sailing on a ship of fools and imbecile tools of the right to die and lie crowd.
Excuse me , Mr. Schiavo, I just have one more question...
I have more of a problem with doctors, like Cranford, who travel the country misdiagnosing patients as PVS and think that those patients have no constitutional rights.
It's an interesting combination of the "the old one-two" with "the old heave-ho." Sort of a hybrid approach, you might say.
1) Diagnose undesirables as PVS with no constitutional rights, then
2) Push them off the planet.
FReegards,
Did any of Michael's bottles contain steroids?
Congress might be interested in that, if nothing else.
Bingo, you nailed it. The parents could not suspect him given what their daughter was going thru.
I have wondered, remember when Terri came home to be cared for by them and MS very early and it lasted a few weeks. I wonder, what happened then? Surely that is when their suspicions must have been less suppressed.
This is indeed a family drama played out in the courts, press and the hearts of the country. I suspect that MS is not afraid of terri's recovery, what seems to motivate him now is sadistic vengence toward the parents. They caused him to be unable to have her die early and leave some money for him. And she is a living, breathing reminder, indeed a monument to his guilt, and has to be obliterated.
What MS does not know is that this will never end until he is in the grave. It will go on and on and on.
I think the problem here is that people are bringing up all of these side issues which are confusing people and the real issues are getting lost. Both sides are putting a lot of misinformation out there. Yesterday was a perfect example of just that. One side says she is shriveling up like a prune, skin peeling and so on. The otherside says she is resting comfortably. The truth is somewhere in between. The only frame of reference I have is my beloved uncle who died a couple of years ago. His feeding tube was removed and he was quite comfortable to the end. To keep his lips and eyes moist we used eye drops and vasilene.
Other than that, we were all gathered around him supporting and praying for him. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life, other than removing life support measures for my little boy 12 years ago. (We are all Catholics by the way and the preist was there also.)
After working in the legal system, I have learned that just because someone (could be from either side of the issue), swears in court, in a deposition, or an affidavit does not mean they are telling the truth.
It really comes down to credibility, now most here think MS is the devil in disguise, evil, a murderer and so on and therefore has zero credibility, and when you strip away the BS, I really see no problem here other than the two families are at odds about what is best for Terri. Anyway, that is how I see it.
The other day, Felos thanked the ACLU for helping Michael.
I'd love to know exactly what "help" they supplied. Back in 1999, the ACLU gave an award and a dinner to Former Chief Justice of the Florida State Supreme Court, Gerald Kogan who supports Physician Assisted Death.
To keep his lips and eyes moist we used eye drops and vasilene.
** Would be nice if Terri was getting that much.
"He can't have her recover and expose what he did."
Exactly!!!
I have believed this from the beginning.
I dont trust anyone in this matter.
Not necessarily.
It's just as likely that one side is telling the truth.
I don't buy Felos' public comment that Terri looks beautiful.
Terri's parents will pursue Michael Schiavo after Terri has slipped away. He will never rest. They will haunt him till the day they die. Michael has a hollow victory to look forward to.
This is a red herring. She will never ever be able to talk short of a miracle. Whatever so called evidence there was it is long gone. I do not believe he tried to kill her anyway.
I seem to have read the fertility doc was sued because he didn't know or should have known she had bulemia which MS denied he knew. That diagnosis was a suspicion because she had low potassium when she came in the hospital and had lost alot of weight in the years before, by her wishes. I don't know if anyone has confirmed it. But nevertheless I do think the suit was settled probably because the ins carrier didn't want to take the chance of a huge settlement on trial. Doesn't mean the doc was guilty. And I thought I read the hospital was sued but don't know.
Was your uncle terminally ill at the time? Terri was physically healthy. There's a big difference.
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