Posted on 04/06/2005 5:03:58 AM PDT by johnny7
I spent much of last Thursday trying to sort out my feelings about the death of Terri Schiavo. Had I been her mother I would have done my utmost to preserve my daughter's life, just as Mary Schindler did. I would have fought the doctors and the courts and Terri's husband, Michael. I would have railed and screamed and prayed. To watch your precious daughter die by starvation is far more painful than accepting your own mortality: this is a child you have nurtured and played with and shepherded through the turbulence of teenhood and dressed in a wedding gown.
Had I been her husband, Michael, I would have found it equally painful to watch my beautiful wife descend into a form of torpor and to remain in this state for 15 years. Michael has been vilified for starting a relationship with another woman and having children with her. But for the first years of Terri's hospitalization he did his utmost to seek special therapies for her; he bought her comfortable, stylish clothing so she would look her best; he enrolled in nursing school so he could understand the complexities of her medical care. I can't judge him for entering another relationship. He was a young man; he wanted children. Why he didn't divorce Terri, I don't know. Clearly he still felt responsible for her.
The reasons for Terri's death, however, go beyond the removal of a feeding tube and family and court battles. They go beyond medical ethics and religion. Terri suffered from an eating disorder that led to dangerously low potassium levels that led to cardiac arrest. Her brain was not fed with enough oxygen and this led to severe damage to her cerebral cortex, the seat of reason and emotion. She lapsed into a vegetative state. Her brain could make her heart beat but it couldn't make her sensible to her surroundings. Terri had been an overweight teenager, at one point weighing 250 pounds. Didn't her loving parents worry when they saw their daughter shrink to 110 pounds? Didn't her husband notice she ate very little and purged after meals? Did her family or her friends question her extreme eating habits?
It is likely Terri was complimented by how terrific she looked and this would have encouraged her to continue to deprive her body of food. It is true the bloated features in her high school class picture had been transformed; the bulimia had allowed her to become a delicate beauty. She resembled the young Elizabeth Taylor. Her weight loss was validated, at a horrible cost. Terri Schiavo's case, like that of singer Karen Carpenter who died of anorexia, is an excruciating reminder to parents to be vigilant about their children's eating habits -- even if those children are young adults and tell us to mind our own business. We need to persist in helping them. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, "anorexia and bulimia affect nearly 10 million women and 1 million men (primarily teens and young adults)." That is a huge number of our children.
If Terri's parents or her husband or her family doctor had stopped for a moment and wondered about her swanlike transformation, maybe she never would have suffered that cardiac arrest and lapsed into catatonia. But our society admires thinness -- the Rubenesque Marilyn Monroe likely would be considered too plump these days -- and so some of our children, in the quest to look attractive, may starve themselves. Even to their death. That is what Terri Schiavo's story has communicated so clearly.
Where is the proof of what you are saying located?
If you are going to keep saying things that are meaningless (to me), then stop talking.
I heard he was 6 ft.-7 inches. I certainly could be wrong.
It's a 'cash-cow'.
I admire your sense of humor. ;-)
"raised questions about Theresa suffering from Bulimia.."
"There was no proof that she was Bulemic like everyone likes to say she was."
You should also add that several doctors were sued for not diagnosing her condition, as having bulimia, and rather than argue the case in court, they settled out of court for a million dollars.
This isn't necessary "proof" either, but is a rather strong indication that the plantiffs had a sufficient enough case to cause the doctors to settle.
Nobody saw her purge herself, but that wouldn't be unusual either since bulimics are secretive by nature.
Are there any indications that she wasn't?
"Wolfson flunked ... his legal ... responsibility."
How so?
"At least one of the doctors who testified is a lying professional"
Could you expand on that a bit, like who and what lie(s) did he make?
Good morning. Have a nice day, unless, of course, you don't want to.
The main source is her co-worker who invited her to come home with her and stay the very night Terri was, imo, devastated by her guardian...a very physical man who in the time it took him to destroy Terri...recieved not one but THREE restraining orders from nurses who were in fear of him.
You do NOT, imo, credit or believe a man who was angered into a rage over the mere compassionate action of a nurse who placed a cloth into Terri's palm to relieve the cramping of her fingers...an action which michael called 'THERAPY' and ordered removed.
He was and is a beast.A monster. Imo, of the 666 variety.
If you are really interested in reading the MANY affidavits that judge greer (and I use the term 'judge' with total sarcasm) chose to ignore, go to Terri'sfight.org. And theEmpireJournal.com has a great number of documented articles regarding not only the affidavits of those who knew mr. odometer himself, mikey schiavo the sadist extraordinaire, the murderer, the controller of the helpless, the coward, who LOST in the END, as the POPE, the highest authority of the Catholic Church on earth, spoke to Terri's plight for the world to hear.
The one thing mikey could never control was Terri spirit....and even, as I believe, felos taped her death, mikey hovered over her in an attempt to control her to the end, God was embracing her, big time, and their impact will only u-turn, has already, and suffocate them with immense pain and anguish.
From your post...
While no formal proof emerged, the medical records note that the combination of aggressive weight loss, diet control and excessive hydration raised questions about Theresa suffering from Bulimia,
But if you read the following even though green tea may contain potassium it also is fluid and to much fluid acts as a dieretic and could wash it all away.
I don't know where you got the idea that it was green tea that she was drinking. If they made that claim, I missed it somewhere. Also, it doesn't say she exercised at all, much less in hot conditions. What you posted is actually confusing, as it says that you should drink 6-8 glasses of water, then states that water acts as a diuretic...if you don't drink enough water, you will get dehydrated, if you drink too much water, you will get dehydrated. It's one of those "Damned if you do and damned if you don't" scenarios. However, it does point out that kidney function plays a role...maybe that was the problem. I just know that I drink at least that much iced tea per day, plus at least 3 glasses of water, not to mention that I don't add salt to anything and I don't have any problems at all. They apparently were never able to prove that the tea was the cause...as I stated before, I work with research scientists and "in theory" is "research-speak" for just plain "We don't know".
Re: Terri. It is my understanding her husband said she did not have an eating disorder at the malpractice trial, yet with all the rumors, who knows. Would be in court papers I guess.
Michael moved in with the Schindlers, and they took care of him (he had a large variety of jobs...mostly in restaurants...fired frequently, we do not know why) Together they sought out justice for terri...in a malpractice suit...believing that the money would pay for the tremendous rehabilitation costs, the therapy costs of terri as she was expected to live a long life, as michael testified to DIRECTLY in the malpractice trial.
The Schindler's did NOT know, or even SUSPECT that michael was a beast, did not know his nature except for ONE INCIDENCE while he was living with them when he nearly physically assaulted Suzanne, Terri's sister. Mr. Schindler got inbetween them, and later called the psychiatrist who had been treating Michael for a mental problem (we do not know what). This psychiatrist informed the Schindler's that michael was potentially violent and to call 911 IMMEDIATELY if he ever expressed rage again.
We do know that four medications frequently used for those undergoing treatment for mental disease werer found at the time of terri's collapse...among them prozac. All four of the prescritions the police noted on the kitchen counter were for michael the beast.
We also know that THREE restraining orders were taken out against michael, from nurses, during the time he was moving terri from nursing home to nursing home before felos helped him lock her away, forever, in a hospice for the terminally ill. A parameter she did not fit, and to this day, her admittance to the hospice, on the internet, remained UNSIGNED by a physician (against the law).
The BONE SCAN was taken, FIFTY THREE WEEKS exactly after terri's COLLAPSE...it was done by a doctor who SAW terri's pain while undergoing movement therapy.
It was NOT A PART OF THE MALPRACTICE TRIAL and to this day....remains a mystery.
Pat Anderson, the Schindler's attorney, was UNAWARE of this bone scans existence, as were the Schindlers, until TEN YEARS AFTER IT WAS DONE.
Michael, of course, had sealed all medical records away so that the schindlers could not see what was going on with Terri.
There break...when michael put the DNR (do not resusitate) order on her chart WITHIN DAYS OF GETTING THE MALPRACTICE MONEY... probably STUNNED THEM and BROKE THEIR HEARTS!
Recently, as in last week, Pat Anderson, the Schindler's attorney prior to Mr. Gibbs, who for years fought to have michael reviewed for his grotesque and cruel treatment of terri (he never was even forced to attend the court sanctioned depositions Pat arranged...one excuse he gave for not showing up, as they all waited, was that he had a new attorney helping him and this attorney was not up to speed...greer NEVER forced or punished him for failure to appear...) told Sean Hannity that she called the attorney in the malpractice suit to ask how this BONE SCAN was never a part of the procedure....and the attorney responded that he has no idea why it was not included....
The travesty of justice in this pathetic sage of abuse and horror and evil and death by starvation and denial of fluid, ie WATER, is the stuff of hell.
I am forever changed by it....and this continues as new evidence comes forward...
The "rumors" are an effort to explain Terri's alleged "collapse." They are, in effect, Michael's alibi. There had to be a reason Terri was found on the floor, face-down, unconscious and unresponsive, at something like 5:00 in the morning. Healthy young (she was 26) women don't collapse that way. So, some people talk about diet disorders, and skip over the fact that Terri did not have an eating disorder and had not had a weight problem since adolescence.
What those people may be trying to get around is that the leading cause of injury and death among young women is -- their husbands (or boy friends). It is domestic violence. I don't think we need to look for any exotic causes for Terri's "collapse."
There is solid medical reason to suspect that Michael strangled her. I have said many times that I think that's what happened. It's an everyday human story any grown-up will understand. They were known to be fighting that day because he was furious at her for spending $80 to get her hair done. He came home from a late-night restaurant job, doubtless resumed the fight and anyone can figure it out -- he's a very big man, twice her size, with a bad temper. She didn't have a chance.
Statistically, this or some form of domestic violence is by far the most likely explanation of what happened to her. Medically, among other evidence, her blood showed lactic acidosis. There are various causes for this. One fits this scene perfectly: extreme exertion in the absence of oxygen -- struggling desperately to breathe while you're being strangled.
"Good morning. Have a nice day, unless, of course, you don't want to."
And good morning to you. Everyday is a nice day...it's all in attitude.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.