Posted on 04/01/2005 11:52:28 PM PST by FairOpinion
The amount of medical misinformation put out about Terri Schiavo has been truly stunning. The testimony of Terri’s physicians who believe that some recovery is possible has been largely dismissed. Judge Greer’s court and the media in turn, have focused only on the pessimistic interpretations of the raw data of her CT scan.
A physician at a credible physicians’ website has analyzed Terri’s CAT scan and concludes that it has been grossly misrepresented. There is some cerebral atrophy, but it is a completely inaccurate to characterize it as “bag of water.” Furthermore, the author states that
“the most alarming thing about this image, however, is that there certainly is cortex left. Granted, it is severely thinned, especially for Terri's age, but I would be nonplussed if you told me that this was a 75 year old female who was somewhat senile but fully functional, and I defy a radiologist anywhere to contest that.”
In one of the definitive court battles in 2002, five physicians examined Terri to determine if therapy would be of further benefit. Two chosen by Terri’s parents believed that she was not in a “persistent vegetative state” and that some recovery was possible. Two chosen by Michael Schiavo held that she had no chance of recovery, as did the “neutral” physician appointed by the court. This 3-2 decision was key in the 2003 attempt to pull her feeding tube.
One of Michael Schiavo’s medical experts was the right-to-die advocate Dr. Ronald Cranford, who has been an expert in a number other key court cases on our nation’s slippery slope to euthanasia, including those of Nancy Cruzan and Robert Wedlund. But Dr. Cranford has made serious errors in other cases when prognosticating about the prospects of neurological recovery. Frederica Mathewes-Green states that Sgt. David Mack, who was shot in the line of duty as a policeman, was diagnosed by Cranford as
"definitely...in a persistent vegetative state...never [to] regain cognitive, sapient functioning...never [to] be aware of his condition."
Twenty months after the shooting Mack woke up, and eventually regained nearly all his mental ability. When asked by a reporter how he felt, he spelled out on his letterboard, "Speechless!"
In fact, the entire field of diagnosing “persistent vegetative state” or “PVS” is fraught with inaccuracy. Recent studies have shown the rate of misdiagnosis to be as high as 37% or even 43%. PVS is a clinical diagnosis, meaning that it depends on the subjective judgment of the examining physician. Experts in the field cannot even agree on the usefulness of diagnostic imaging.
Dr. Ronald Cranford himself was upset about the articles showing the inaccuracy of diagnosis and prognostication about PVS. Childs and Mercer, authors of one of the studies citing the difficulties of diagnosing PVS, took Cranford to task for “zealously” promoting the concept of the "permanent vegetative state" despite the evidence of its problematic nature, and the regularity with which some patients recover from it .
The nomenclature of “persistent vegetative state” was coined in 1972 by Jennett and Plum in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. The original article, “Persistent Vegetative State: A syndrome in search of a name” seems to have succeeded in its task as reclassifying severely cognitively disabled humans as non-persons - something akin to vegetables in the minds of many. Public perception of this highly-charged term predisposes many to dismiss the lives of human beings as no more significant than plant life. It is a brilliant, if chilling, masterstroke of propaganda, one which has been swallowed hook, line, and sinker.
This reclassification of non-terminally ill people has allowed for their dehydration and starvation deaths in Britain with a doctor’s recommendation, and in many states in the USA with the family’s wishes (or a patient’s own advance directives). The medical literature is rife with arrogant pronouncements in editorials of learned journals, such as life itself not being of “benefit” to someone in the PVS state. The echoes of current bioethics doublespeak resound in these journals.
In some respects the “persistent vegetative state” is more a political than a medical diagnosis, as it allows its unfortunate victims to lose their right to life and be medically killed through withholding food and water. It is unfortunate that some of the experts on the side of the Culture of Death seem to have had the upper hand in Terri’s fight, and have been portrayed by the media as reasonable and responsible members of the medical profession, rather than the zealots which, in fact, some of their own medical colleagues have branded them.
We have just got to do something about MSM slime liars. We just have to.
"The life span of adults and children in such a state is substantially reduced. For most such patients, life expectancy ranges from 2 to 5 years; survival beyond 10 years is unusual. "
Terri survived 15 years... Just another 'isolated incident'
Yes, a fairly recent law that the Hemlock Society (including Felos) lobbied for -- includes feeding tubes as life support in the case of PVS.
The similarities are actually a bit too close for my liking.Reeks of agenda(dare i say conspiracy?). Theres no doubt that the people who embrace the culture of death contact one another(same "expert" witnesses at many trials).It would seem theres a game plan they have to be followed,making the target of death seem like less of a person.
Not if the leads were not connected.
nor did it matter whether or not she could ever be "rehabilitated".....
I just don't think we can out of the blue decide we want someone dead, and then go ahead and get the courts to okay it, and to make that someone dead in the most torturous way......
Yep.
RONALD CRANFORD, NEUROLOGIST: [Robert Wendland is] not in a coma, he's not vegetative, he is not unconscious, he is what we call 'minimally conscious.' He does have some definite, but minimal, interaction with the environment. In that situation, he is so severely brain damaged that I think the one that is the most caring and most interested, which seems to be the wife and the children, should be allowed to make that decision. . . ."
don't hold your breath on any "investigations".....I predict this whole thing will quietly disappear.......
Why doesn't he get kicked out of the AMA or whatever doctors association he's in.
I totally agree with you.
pattyjo
I think you are correct. The Bushes(and most Republicans) are running to the bushes to put this behind them. The fact that the guy (can't think of his name) from Allegheny Co. PA, who asked to be present at the autopsy of Terri, was turned down by Pinellas Co. says it all. This will all be covered up to protect a judge who is pigheaded and refused to listen to anyone else. The whole thing is amazing to me.
I really don't think I'll be visiting FL again. That is one screwed up state!
I'm taking my vacation dollars elsewhere as I hope others will do too!
I do wonder what her recovery level would have been had she been treated with anything like that of Christopher Reeve.
Practically nothing was done with therapy with her. Had her husband spent the insurance on her rather than himself, he'd probably not been able to get away with using her ill-health as an excuse to kill her.
It's my opinion that Mikey vigorously pounded Terri's head like a punching bag when she first entered the hospital... and continued such pounding all throughout her hospice imprisonment !!!
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I recently read here that MS's brother is married to Terri's first nurse after 'incident'. The post mentioned his brother and wife were on LKL. I did not see the program - perhaps someone here can confirm.
IF that is true, perhaps MS had an 'angel of death' assist him. Of course this is all speculation and we may never be able to get that deep into in. However, that doesn't negate the obvious fact that Terri suffered trauma by 'someone'.
You've posted the judge's decision on the Wendlend case. The edecision was made in 1995. Two years later a report on Wendlend, per your post.
How is Wendlend today? Is he functioning? Is he eating on his own?
Thanks for the summary of the Wendlund case. I hadn't bumped into that one.
Amen.
I've also read that the bone ossification was due to Terri Schiavo's OWN bulimic actions.
The bone fractures may also be a direct result of the ossifications and the purported x-rays which show fractures, etc., may reflect damage sustained during treatments to a paralyzed body AFTER her initial heart stoppage which was determined to be due to a potassium imbalance (again due to her bulimia).
Me, too.
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