Posted on 06/19/2005 6:04:50 PM PDT by wagglebee
Dr. William Hammesfahr, nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work in Medicine, has been recognized by agents for Medicare, the federal government, and others for new approaches to helping the brain injured.
Dr. Hammesfahr has been identified in helping patients with chronic brain injuries from many causes actually leave long term disability, and return to work.
Dr. Hammesfahr was identified the first physician to restore deficits caused by stroke.
Dr. Hammesfahr has released the following statement in response to the autopsy report on Terri Schindler Schiavo:
We have seen a lot on the autopsy of Terri Schindler Schiavo in recent days, that I feel needs to be addressed. To ignore these comments will allow future 'Terri Schiavo's' to die needlessly after the wishes of clinicians and family are ignored.
Considering that there were so many physicians and therapists who were willing to step forward to treat Terri Schiavo, from university based practitioners to those in private practice, it clearly shows that the mainstream medical community across the board, those involved in treating patients, knew that they could help Terri.
The record must be set straight. As we noted in the press, there was no heart attack, or evident reason for this to have happened (and certainly not of Terri's making).
Unlike the constant drumbeat from the husband, his attorneys, and his doctors, the brain tissue was not dissolved, with a head of just spinal fluid. In fact, large areas were "relatively preserved."
The purpose of the therapies offered by so many, from major universities, brain injury centers, and from private practice physicians, is to improve and restore quality of life, and function, which the mainstream medical community clearly tried to get to her.
I have had a chance to look at Dr. Nelson's analysis of the brain tissue, and essentially, as a clinician, these are my thoughts.
The autopsy results confirmed my opinion and Dr. Maxfield's opinions, that the frontal areas of the brains, the areas that deal with awareness and cognition were relatively intact. To use Dr. Nelson's words, "relatively preserved." In fact, the relay areas from the frontal and front temporal regions of the brain, to the spinal cord and the brain stem, by way of the basal ganglia, were preserved, thus the evident responses which she was able to express to her family and to the clinicians seeing her or viewing her videotape. The Spect scan confirmed these areas were functional and not scar tissue, and that was apparently also confirmed on Dr. Nelson's review of the slides. Dr. Maxfield's estimates of retained brain weight were apparently accurate, although there may have been some loss of brain weight due to the last two weeks of dehydration.
Dr. Maxfield and myself both emphasized that she was a woman trapped in her body, similar to a child with cerebral palsy, and that was born out by the autopsy, showing greater injury in the motor and visual centers of the brain. Obviously, the pathologists comments that she could not see were not borne out by reality, and thus his assessment must represent sampling error. The videotapes clearly showed her seeing, and even Dr. Cranfoed, for the husband, commented to her that, when she could see the balloon, she could follow it with her eyes as per his request.
That she could not swallow was obviously not borne out by the reality that she was swallowing her saliva, about 1.5 liters per day of liquid, and the clinical swallowing tests done by Dr. Young and Dr. Carpenter. Thus, there appears to be some limitations to the clinical accuracy of an autopsy in evaluating function.
With respect to the issue of trauma, that certainly does not appear to be answered adequately. Some of the types of trauma that are suspected were not adequately evaluated in this assessment. Interestingly, both myself and at least one neurologist for the husband testified to the presence of neck injuries. The issue of a forensic evaluation for trauma, is highly specialized. Hence the wish of the family to have observers which was refused by the examiner.
Ultimately, based on the clinical evidence and the autopsy results, an aware woman was killed.
s/Dr. W. Hammesfahr
[Dr. Hammesfahr was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1999. The Nomination was for work started in 1994. In 2000, this work resulted in approval for the first patent in history granted for the treatment of neurological diseases including coma, stroke, brain injury, cerebral palsy, hypoxic injuries and other neurovascular disorders with medications that restore blood flow to the brain. It was extended to treat successfully disabilities including ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette's and Autism as well as behaviorally and emotionally disturbed children, seizures and severe migraines.]
My sister had no idea what hospice care is. I explained, in front of the hospice counselor what hospice is and how I found out. I specifically mentioned Terri and Free Republic. Before I left, Mom was put back on Medicare Part B and listed as only suffering some dementia and not as a cancer patient. They told me I was welcome to call anytime for info and I said that not only will I call but I'll be flying down there if I have to. They weren't pleased.
I am now listed a co-caregiver too. They HAVE to call me to do anything.
Right we will. As I can explain all the discrepancies concerning the Schlinders - because their daughter was going to be killed. They were simple people merely trying to save her. Even if they were crooks - they were still parents and it does not matter.
Michael on the other hand was trying to kill a non-dying woman based on hearsay evidence after 7 years of not mentioning that hearsay evidence (not mentioned until he got the funds for her care).
Of course there would be a dispute with the parents - any parents when it became apparent that the funds were not going to her care but to lawyers to allow killing her.
I will never accept that Michael is innocent based on his own actions that I have seen.
- The lawyer he picked to fight the battle
- The heartache he willingly gives the parents merely because he has to have Terri dead.
- The disregard all the way through to the feelings of Terri and her parents.
- Not allowing Terri access to the love and comfort of her parents - but instead making her lie in bed with only limited exposure to them and few physical comforts.
- The way he handled the funeral
- On and on.
Michael is a murderer in league with the euthanasia movement. I will not support killing of a non-dying woman by this man and what I have seen of him.
You are able to see Michael for what he is - unfortunately there are many who have been fooled by his persona. Some people will never be able to see Michael for what he is - instead they prefer to be his blind supporters.
Dang
A 550+ thread that I stop reading at post 49 after such an asinine reply as this.
Not only did Michael not mention the hearsay evidence for years after Terri's collapse, he did testify in court that he wanted to become a nurse, so he could filfill his vow to Terri by taking care of her for the rest of her natural life, which he predicted to be about another 50 years. Was he lying when he made that vow? Was he lying when he claimed to have made that vow? Was he lying when he retracted that vow and claimed that Terri wanted to be tortured to death? The world may never know, but his actions provide some very strong clues.
"I'm glad to hear that the autopsy is conclusive and uncontroversial, with everybody in agreement. And I am doubly glad to find out that Schiavo's murder was entirely justified after all."
Manner of death- Undetermined. Hardly conclusive.
What's controversial about it?
Who said it was justified?
"Dr. Hammesfahr's a proven liar. Why would anyone take his claims seriously?"
Cause he wears tin-foil on his head too?
"I don't know the man so why would I do that? ;)"
Same reason you would take him the word of someone you don't know. ;-)
Everything I've read on it lists these causes for cortical blindness: lack of oxygen, cardiac arrest, trauma, epilepsy, viral and bacterial infections such as meningitis, or stroke. Do any of those sound familiar?
Nowhere do any of the sites that I read list dehydration as a cause. And actually, when you dehydrate, your body automatically protects the brain. It allows more blood flow to the brain at the expense of the rest of the body.
Understand, the reason the doctors didn't realize Terri was blind was that her eyes were normal. It was the visual cortex of her brain that was damaged. Her eyes moved but her brain was not receiving. Of course you can check this out for yourself. I'm sure you want to be well informed about the whole case. Here's one site.TSBVI
"More importantly what happened to the $700,000 that was supposed to go to treat her?"
Part of the info is in the court records...most of it used to defend himself from his in-laws.
You realize you answered a question with a question? ;-)
I like your tag line.
Oh, please, cut the dramatics and bearing false witness.
I AM well informed about the case, the laws that allowed the murder, the interests promoting the case and the fact that a county judge thumbed his nose at a federal subpoena asking only for a de-novo review of the case before the killing - same as allowed for any deathrow inmate.
I don't need to check minute detail of medical reports to be considered informed. If you wish to assume that makes you well informed while you totally miss the center question of the case is fine by me. It is apparent to any that read the threads.
I'm not bearing false witness.
I was asking you a question. One of your posts made it sound like you thought people were committing suicide.
Backatcha
:)
Her medical records and court testimony are available online. You mean you haven't read them?
No, I was replying to your comment to bvd where you mentioned "do you think it is suicide". (I gave you the exact quote in another post.)
Maybe I misinterpreted your meaning since you first mentioned the suicide then your following statement.
I'm not understanding. You responded to a post about Dr Nelson. At least, I thought so. I didn't mention Hammesfahr. Well, I did about the blind thing. Hammesfahr had said she was legally blind some years ago. Otherwise, I posted mainly about the autopsy only. It may be that I'm being dense because I'm tired. ( and we know freepers NEVER stay up and yap when they should be in bed lol)
ping
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