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.]
For someone who hasn't answered my one question yet, that's pretty lame. You have a great day too.
Not sure if it says when the amputation was done, but was done prior to 1/24/2000. Michael's testimony is a pdf document, 89 pages, and takes a long time to load. On page 42 Michael is questioned about the amputation.
A. Terri has had numerous, numerous urinary tract infections. She has had the left little toe removed due to osteomyelitis.
Q. What is that?
A. Bone infection that was caused by a pressure sore.
But that is just not possible Mrs. Schiavo had a pressure sore resulting in the amputation of her toe prior to December 2003--because Peach said so, that's why. The court documents must be wrong.
:-D
See? You can answer a question. You think the doctors, nurses and guardian ad litems were lying when they said that Terri never had a bedsore in over 13 years.
That wasn't so difficult, was it?
Your telepathy isn't working properly, because you continue to falsely state what I think. You have been proven wrong--again. Get over it...or get a new tin foil hat.
Posted by Peach to NautiNurse
On News/Activism 06/23/2005 12:58:59 AM EDT · 878 of 904
It's darned near a miracle she never had them before 12/03 so it's not an accusation I'm making.
You brought up the bedsores as though Wolfson shouldn't be believed.
Posted by Peach to NautiNurse
On News/Activism 06/23/2005 1:04:15 AM EDT · 884 of 904
Oh, and it's not IF the bedsores occurred post 12/03.
Gosh, even Christopher Reeves had bedsores and I don't think anyone can complain that he didn't receive the best of care.
http://www.paralysis.org/Health/HealthList.cfm?c=15
:::rolling eyes:::
I don't recall Christopher Reeves' wife, attorney, or Jay Wolfson writing reports and going on national talk shows claiming he never had bedsores. Otherwise, nice analogy to the price of tea in China. You are over your head in this discussion, Peach, but I'll bet you can dig yourself deeper into the hole.
Answers my question posed in #894 ... Peach's musings. How sad to willingly play apologist for a monster like MS.
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