Posted on 05/07/2005 11:22:02 PM PDT by kingattax
The family of Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who died in March after her feeding tube was removed, say that they have no idea where her ashes have been laid to rest.
Giving their first interview since the tube was removed at the request of Mrs Schiavo's husband, the family claimed on American television that he was keeping her remains from them.
Bob and Mary Schindler, and their surviving children, Bobby Jr and Suzanne, claimed that Michael Schiavo had ignored a court order that he should keep them informed about her ashes and plans for a memorial service.
Mr Schiavo had said that her ashes would be buried at a family plot in Pennsylvania.
The interview on Fox News on Friday night was the latest skirmish in the bitter battle between the two sides of the family, who waged a long-running court battle over Mrs Schiavo's end-of-life wishes.
"We still don't know where Terri's ashes were laid," Bobby Jr said. "They were court-ordered, they were supposed to tell us, but we have not heard from Michael Schiavo."
Mr Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, could not be reached for comment.
Mr Schindler countered claims by the lawyer that his daughter's death was "gentle" with a harrowing description of her condition after 13 days without food or water.
"She was struggling to breathe," he said. "The inside of her mouth looked like a piece of meat in a meat market. It was like meat that had been left out for a while.
"It was reddish maroon because her mouth was dry and her lips were cracking from the lack of hydration.
"This cannot happen again. If anyone would have witnessed it, they would have been so appalled that they would never allow it to happen again."
He said it had been "gut-wrenching" to watch her deteriorate.
"People were misled that it was a peaceful way for her to die," he said. "All you could see was her cheekbones. Her eyes were sunken in her head."
Terri Schiavo, 41, died in a hospice in Florida on March 31. She had suffered brain damage in 1990 after a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop. She left no "living will" in the event that she became disabled.
Mr Schiavo argued that she would not have wanted to be kept alive after court-appointed doctors diagnosed that she was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. The Schindlers, however, disputed that those were her wishes and argued that their daughter would benefit from extensive efforts to rehabilitate her.
During the interview they referred to the case of Donald Herbert, the New York fireman who suddenly woke up after 10 years in a semi-vegetative state and spoke lucidly to his wife.
Mr Herbert, 43, was knocked unconscious by debris in a burning building in 1995, leaving him blind and mostly mute until last Saturday.
"We immediately thought of Terri," said Suzanne. "What if they had given up on him?"
Mrs Schiavo's case attracted international attention and sparked a heated political and ethical debate as a series of judges ruled against the Schindler family.
The US Supreme Court refused to intervene even after President George W Bush signed a law allowing federal courts to become involved. "The system is just atrocious," Mr Schindler said.
Her family said that they believed she had been the victim of violence when she collapsed at home and her heart stopped. They said that there was no proof that she had collapsed because she was suffering from bulimia, insisting that she had lost weight several years earlier.
Bobby Jr said that the family was only made aware in 2002 of a bone scan taken a year after the incident. This showed that she had broken ribs, vertebrae, femur and knees. Mr Schiavo said that she suffered the injuries during her early treatment.
The family has set up the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to speak out on behalf of others in a similar situation.
"Anyone out there, listening and watching, they should never ever let this happen to anyone else," Mr Schindler said.
Sorry
Sorry
Don't worry about it. Apology accepted....
Well put, Duke.
You're kidding, right?
It is cruel to deny the parents access to their daughters remains."
It is beyond cruel, yellowdoghunter. This just disgusts me. And does anyone know WHY Terri's remains have not been buried YET?
They may have been.
Then WHY in God's name hasn't her family been notified, if this is the case? Dear Lord.
I absolutely cannot BELIEVE this steaming load of sheet on a shingle...and his apologists.
AV
They don't seem to understand how sincerely GOOD men behave in such situations, and it isn't the way Micahel Schiavo has behaved.
TAdams, I believe that his apologists do, (mostly,) understand how decent men behave in such situations...and yet they astonishingly CHOOSE to defend his sorry, steaming butt, every which way till Tuesday. But yes, I agree that then there are those who phlegmatically shuffle along....
You know what, you are absolutely RIGHT! I believe the above is true of some, maybe even MOST of his apologists too.
"And there is no such thing as "semi-vegetative" state. His condition for the last 10 years was similar to that of a stroke victim."
He was in a coma for about 2 1/2 months, then he slipped into a PVS state according to his doctor. He was somewhat PVS to minimally concious, again according to his doctor of the last few years.
Basically, he was worse off than Terri because he couldn't even swallow his own saliva, he drooled.
You don't happen to have a cite on that, do you? Everything I read was "almost" or "somewhat" PVS.
Retract your statement. It is a lie.
Listen to this interview. PVS is not PVS. Three minutes and 38 seconds into the interview, the doctor clearly states "that there have only been a very few instances in persistent vegetative state of any improvement." (this was treatment by chemical means)
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