Posted on 03/29/2005 9:45:05 PM PST by flixxx
TRANSCRIPT Updated: 4:04 p.m. ET March 29, 2005 The overwhelming majority in the medical community say Terri Schiavo has close to no brain activity and has no chance of regaining awareness. Dr. Ronald Cranford, who actually examined Terri Schiavo in 2002 and testified to her condition, joined "The Abrams Report" on Monday. Cranford is the assistant chief of neurology at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis as well as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics. Below is the transcript of their conversation.
DAN ABRAMS, HOST: You're one of the few people who has actually examined Terri Schiavo and you're hearing all of these people who are coming on from the sidelines saying, "She's has been misdiagnosed," et cetera. How confident are you in your diagnosis and why?
DR. RONALD CRANFORD, UNIV. OF MN NEUROLOGIST: I'm extremely confident. I think at the time of the trial in 2002 there had been eight neurologists who examined her. And of those eight neurologists total, seven of them said beyond any doubt whatsoever Terri is in a vegetative state. Her CT scan shows severe atrophy or shrinkage of the brain. Her EEG is flat and there's absolutely no doubt that she's been in a permanent vegetative state ever since 1990. There's no doubt whatsoever, Dan.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
What's the white spot in the middle? Is it a shunt? Haven't heard anything about Terri having a shunt. Are you sure these are Terri's CT scan or maybe she required a shunt from trauma.
There are too many people willing to starve this woman to death with so many unanswered questions.
They say it isn't uncomfortable or painful. How does anyone know. Has anyone ever done it to them.
Why can't MS just let her family take her and care for her?
So from that Cat Scan you can diagnose her with having no cerebral cortex, and conclusively tell that she is brain dead? Damn, you should have been a doctor. Care to walk us through the scan and show us exactly how you made your diagnosis and how such a person would be able to attempt to speak, cry, and laugh? Humans are a gullible breed.
Terri's seems to be taken at the level of the sinuses- see the space in the white area (bone) on top. The normal one was taken much higher up.
I have seen a girl that had severe seizures and the only cure was to literally remove half her brain- she is in college.
There was another teenage girl that was perfectly normal. She got in a minor accident and had a CAT scan. The doctors were amazed that most of her skull was filled with fluid! Her perfectly normal functioning brain was only an inch thick layer right under the skull bones. She is in college now.
"You want to keep Terri's body pumping blood to teach a lesson? Do ya really think that's what Terri wanted?"
I don`t know, do you?
"Obviously, it's lost on me because I find this matter ghoulish in the extreme."
Removing someone feeding tube is not ghoulish or extreme ? Oh, you are were talking about keeping Terri alive in her current state. Sorry.
I guess with your attitude, we wouldn`t have all the great medical advances we have today. You know, people donate their bodies to science, even when they are still using them. : )
Look, I don`t have the answers here. I cannot tell you what Terri wanted or didn`t want, and that is what this case is all about. What would Terri want? I don`t think that question has been answered yet, nor sadly ever will be.
But I will always side with life. Call me ghoulish.
"You've got to be kidding me. After three failed attempts, had they forced another swallow test and her body aspirated the liquid, they'd face a possible malpractice suit."
LOL!!!! Holy cow, think about what you just said. Are they going to face a malpractice suit for starving her to death and denying her medical treatment?????? When convenient you actually think it's wrong to possibly kill Terri. Wierd
I absolutely do see the scan as significant. But I didn't diagnose Terri.
Nor do I base my personal opinion of her situation only on one scan. It is based on plenty of other information.
But, you don't know what my true opinion of this situation is or what should be done because I have never posted it.
All I said was the scan showed significant atrophy.
You haven't seen any post from me that attempts to diagnose or make a judgment about what should be done.
I make it a point not to put my opinion out here.
"Uh, that's what I said."
That's not what I said. It's medical decision, not a husband decision.
Sick puppy...
This is a great article. Provides the facts and asks the questions. Print it up any give to anyone you can.
I have a passing interest in the detection of lies.
Cranford lied by omission in his interview.
>>ABRAMS: And what about those who say that there should have been more tests? That she's never had a PET scan. That she needs another MRI.
CRANFORD: Well she doesn't need an MRI because a MRI will not show any more damage than this C.T. and you can again check with any radiologists. They'll tell you this CT scan is more than adequate.<<
Cranford said the PET scans could confirm no consciousness very strongly. This was his diagnostic opinion to the AMA about PET scans.
>>The diagnosis of the permanent vegetative state is primarily clinical, with repeated neurological examination necessary over a period of time to establish absence of cognitive functions and irreversibility. Laboratory studies may be useful and confirmatory in some cases. For example, EEGs will show severe background slowing. When monitored over a few years, CT scans and MRIs will show progressive cerebral cortical atrophy. While the degree of cerebral cortical atrophy does not necessarily correlate with the complete loss of cerebral cortical functions, it does, however, help to confirm that the underlying process, given the severity of destruction seen on these neuroimaging studies, is irreversible, thus establishing to a high degree of certainty that the condition is permanent. Clinical studies evaluating the usefulness of PET (positron emission tomography) have confirmed the absence of consciousness in these patients by conclusively demonstrating levels of oxygen and glucose metabolism in the cerebral cortex consistent with deep levels of coma, and other forms of deep unconsciousness.<<
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12720.html
He had a test, that was definitive, but did not use it in a diagnosis. Why not? He omitted it in the answer, but it is in his diagnostic tools set. He reference PET tests as definitive in consciousness determination for other doctors.
He had a reason for not doing the test, ignoring questions about it, and not following his own teachings.
I can only guess on it, but I would have to go with In this case he was a paid "whore" (legal terminology for an expert that will testify in your favor...guarenteed). He firmly believes we should be killing PVS and Alzheimer patients because the cost will be too great to keep them alive in the future.
They have lost every case brought to the court. It was a disparity of money. The court gave Michael access to the rehab and care funds, for legal fees. Michael used that money to buy a "connected" (legal term for corrupt) attorney. His attorney (and firm) got $450,000 of Terri's rehab and care money.
You and I go to court. I mortgage my house and get $75,000 to do the legal thing. You rob a trust fund and have $780,000 to play with. My lawyer (and law firm) give a couple of grand to the judges reelection campaign. I trust the system will work.
The guardian ad litem (a person looking out for Terri's interest), appointed by the court said in 1998 when they were considering pulling the feeding tube had three recommendations:
Michael Shiavo be removed from guardianship status. He had another family and was no longer a real spouse. He had a conflict of interest because when Terri died, he would inherit her estate. And these facts made him an inappropriate guardian.
The feeding tube not be removed.
A Guardian Ad Litem be appointed in any future legal proceedings.
The court did not follow these recommendations.
Nothing could prepare a naive family for a corrupt legal system. They had introduction to money 101 given to them, and they will forever hurt.
I'm sorry TexasFlower (like the name) but this case is a travesty.
DK
You are mistaken. You compare feeding tubes to bottles and spoon feeding. You're leaving out an important element. People who are fed by bottles or a spoon are able to swallow because they have higher brain function. Terri's body exists because her brain stem wasn't destroyed. Only her body exists. What made her Terri has been dead for 15 years.
Okay, so you look at my scan and see that my right temporal lobe is gone (I'm sure since you've seen it before you'd also detect that part of the hipocampus is gone too). Can you also then make a judgment as to what kind of shape I'd be in and whether there would be any impairment. Didn't think so. So her brain is atrophied. Did you expect a perfect looking brain. She wouldn't be being starved if their weren't something wrong. If you can't determine her condition just by looking at a cat scan then what's your point. It means nothing without other tests and actually seeing Terri.
I never said you did make a statement about a political party. My statement about the sheeple in the Republican party was entirely my own. I can actually post without limiting myself to answering you. It matters not that you didn't want to hear it.
Yes you are. Would you recommend putting all deceased people on heart lung machines to keep them "alive"?
Are you purposely ignoring #16
I don't know for sure what that white spot is. It might be an electrode.
Michael took her for experimental therapy that involved putting electrodes in and stimulating the brain. I know of a few cases of seizure disorder that this treatment helped. Not sure about brain injuries though.
I disagree that there are unanswered questions though. What we are seeing is what is on the net or posted here.
From other sources, it appears that the "questions" have been addressed pretty well.
As I have suggested to others, take a look at Trinity_Tx's homepage. You will be surprised at what you see there.
Be sure and read all the links.
I don't know why Michael won't let her family take care of her but have you heard what her parents said in court under oath, that they would be willing to do in order to keep her alive?
It's pretty gruesome.
Exactly. If they had attempted to feed Terri and she aspirated and developed pneumonia, the Schindlers would have screamed from the top of their lungs and threatened lawsuits. Why attempt to force someone to swallow when they lack the ability?
Oh, I guess you haven't heard. Terri's EEGs were ALL flatlined for her higher brain functions. She's got just enough brain cells left in her brain stem to operate the heart and lungs.
Once again, all I said is that her brain has significant atrophy.
You sound a bit hysterical.
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