Terri Schiavo's belated vindication (Not the MSM version)

Illinois Conservative ^ | June 20, 2005 | Kevin McCullough

[robowombat]

Terri Schiavo's belated vindication

Monday, June 20, 2005

By Kevin McCullough

OPINION - For those who loved her, the release of the official autopsy of Terri Schindler Schiavo, brought little comfort, but significant vindication.

Of course, as was all too predictable, the mainstream press completely misrepresented the findings, sided with the adulterer formerly known as her husband, and proclaimed shame upon Terri's family.

Mitch Stacy wrote for the Associated Press:

All along, Michael Schiavo said his brain-damaged wife's situation was hopeless - that she had zero chance of emerging from her persistent vegetative state.

On Wednesday, the autopsy backed him up.

Medical examiners determined that Terri Schiavo suffered irreversible brain damage and even blindness, and they found no evidence she was strangled or otherwise abused before she collapsed...

The meme that Stacy continued to spout throughout the day on Thursday was in perfect lockstep with George Felos, the attorney who represented Michael Schiavo, as he systematically sought permission from judges in Florida to put his wife to death legally.

George Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, said the findings back up their contentions, made "for years and years," that Terri Schiavo had no hope of recovery. He said Michael Schiavo plans to release autopsy photos of her shrunken brain.

"Mr. Schiavo has received so much criticism throughout this case that I'm certain there's a part of him that was pleased to hear these results and the hard science behind them," Felos said.

The sad part of all of this early spin-doctoring did very little to bring clarity to the picture of what really happened with Terri, and her potential outcome could be.

Terri's family released their own findings from observation of the official autopsy results. None of which were even acknowledged by the mainstream press, much less refuted successfully by George Felos and Michael Schiavo.

The family maintained:

(1) The report confirmed her condition and disability. (It did not make the claim that Terri was terminal or in any way in danger of becoming terminal.) The report confirmed that Terri was brain damaged and not brain dead, it also indicated Terri could have lived another 10 years or longer with basic care.

(2) The autopsy did not reveal anything regarding "Terri's choice" to be dehydrated to death.

(3) The autopsy made it clear that dehydration was Terri's cause of death and not her brain injuries.

(4) The autopsy confirmed that Terri's heart was strong and working well.

(5) The autopsy ruled out bulimia and massive heart attack as the cause for Terri's injury. (It did nothing to account for the 70-minute gap from when Terri originally collapsed and when Michael originally called for help.)

(6) With bulimia ruled out, according to the autopsy results, the case for Michael's malpractice suit has been completely undermined. (The parents believe that Michael should return the monies won on this claim.)

(7) The autopsy showed that Terri's struggle to swallow was not from a permanent vegetative state, but from muscle atrophy. (Of course, being denied 12 years of therapy might have had something to do with that atrophy.

(8) The autopsy showed that persistent vegetative state is a clinical diagnosis made on a living individual and a medical examiner can not make this determination by examining a corpse.

(9) The autopsy stated that Terri was given morphine for pain. This ran in contrast to the claims that Mr. Felos made consistently that Terri would experience no pain or discomfort.

So what did happen the night of Terri's collapse? Should Michael be sued by the doctors who took the hit for malpractice based the faulty bulimia claim? Will he ever even allow Terri's family to know where her ashes are buried?

It was sad to see the liberals in society cheer on a husband who had a court-sanctioned death wish for his lawfully wedded wife.

It is sadder still to see - even in the loss and blow to the family who truly loved Terri until the end - the arrogance of those who got their way in the matter have to gloat like spoiled children.

The press continuing to spout the Michael Schiavo line in the matter has only confirmed the worst of what they have come to represent.

This Godless age is frightening. We have lost respect for all that is true, good and just. And now those who seek injustice get championed by the voices that should be defending the downtrodden and outcast.

Even in death, Terri's story of injustice screams with injustice. The question is: Will anybody be listening?

© 2005 IllinoisLeader.com -- all rights reserved

[yellowdoghunter]

As Brit Hume said over the weekend......"Was Terri dying? The answer is NO, therefore she was killed".

I thought Brit summed it up pretty well on Fox News Sunday.

[Van Jenerette]

...for class file.

[highball]

The autopsy does, however, put the lie to the cherry-picked videos that her parents used to try and bolster their claims.

If their cause was so righteous, they shouldn't have stooped to doctored video.

[andyk]

"Was Terri dying? The answer is NO, therefore she was killed".

I saw some of that - it was nice to see Brit stick to his guns.

[Voir Dire]

Excellent post!

The sadness of seeing the MS sympathizers gloating about this travesty is indeed sad.

[Gunslingr3]

(7) The autopsy showed that Terri's struggle to swallow was not from a permanent vegetative state, but from muscle atrophy. (Of course, being denied 12 years of therapy might have had something to do with that atrophy.

(8) The autopsy showed that persistent vegetative state is a clinical diagnosis made on a living individual and a medical examiner can not make this determination by examining a corpse.

No. 8 contradicts No. 7. The autopsy cannot determine PVS, and the muscle atrophy is indicative of the fact she didn't swallow for 12 years, nothing more.

Have their been any retractions for the allegations about broken bones, etc. made by those claiming her husband abused her?

[yellowdoghunter]

I wonder when Michael will finally let Terri's biological family know where her remains are?

I wonder why Michael waited so long to tell Terri's family that she would have never wanted "to live like that"?

[marmar]

So if someone puts a pillow over your face, while you are drugged what kind of marks would that leave? Just curious

[eartotheground]

None, but being kicked in the back can cause a spinal fracture and a kidney fracture.

Direct quotes from autopsy:

"T11 endplate fracture" (spinal fracture)

"The right kidney has a central, 2-2.5 cm, obliquely oriented cleft/scar"

"The persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state are clinical diagnoses, not pathologic ones"

"diffuse axonal injury...due to a shearing injury after acute trauma"

"neuropathologic examination alone of the decedent's brain - or any brain, for that matter - cannot prove or disprove a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state or minimally conscious state"

"although in the malpractice proceedings the low protein values were suggested as indicators of malnutrition, this is unlikely and not generally charachteristic of Bulimia Nervosa"

"Was she strangled? ...Autopsy examination of her neck structures 15 years after her initial collapse did not detect any signs of remote trauma, but, with such a delay, the exam was unlikely to show any residual neck findings. Even bony anomalies would have likely resolved."

[marmar]

I guess we all think that something else occurred to her. I just pray the truth comes out. I also pray that schiavo has no peace until it does come to light.

[oldenuff2no]

This is a situation that has been feeding the media, and they are still making millions. Still instigating the situation ans sucking out stories.
Michael had to make a horrendous decision. He took every legal step, via the courts, to make sure Terri was properly represented. The court even appointed an Attorney to represent Terri. When all of the facts were in, with all parties being represented, the judge repeatedly found that Terri would not want to live in this condition.
There were a ton of outright lies and manipulated videos that were manufactured by Terri's parents and the media to prolong a terrible situation.
The truth of the medical facts finally came out.
The medical examiners report supported each and every one of the facts that were used by Michael and the court to reach the final decision. The treating doctors, the ones who actually examined Terri were 100% correct in their analysis.
It was Michaels decision to make. That is what the applicable law stated. Her parents would have said anything or done anything to change this because they wanted to make the decision. They did everything they could to manipulate Florida law, and when that didn't work, they tried to incite political opposition to completely ignore the applicable law.
People need to read the history of this matter, all of the history, and pay close attention to the provable truth and facts of the matter.
There were no winners in the families, not Michael, and not Terri's parents or siblings.
The Media got rich off of this story. They kept tossing fuel on the fire and got thousands of hours of talk shows and miles of print for their efforts. Mark Furhman is bring out a book about it.
Money, Money, Money. All going to the media and the other Vultures that are hovering around to get their pound of gold. This should never have been a political situation or presented by the press as being a political choice. The media has displayed their greed in a way that is obscene. And then there is Mark Furhman, the biggest vulture that feeds on human pain that I have ever seen.

[drjimmy]

You will also notice that this story failed to even quote once from the actual autopsy report. That's because many of the claims in the story are not, in fact, supported by the autopsy report. This includes the claim that the report "ruled out" bulimia as the cause for her collapes and that her struggle to swallow was caused by muscle atrophy.

In addition to leaving out that the autopsy gives lie to the broken bones claims, the story also ignored the fact that because she was blind, the highly edited video of Terri following the balloon was bogus.

[Voir Dire]

The autopsy confirmed a compression fracture of L1 that was seen in the first bone scan taken of her.

The report tried to exclude trauma as the cause of the fracture, but also stated that it could have been caused by aggressive CPR or nurses handling. That my friend, is trauma, too.

[Voir Dire]

Suffocation seems to be the most likely cause, IMO.

[itsahoot]

The autopsy does, Nothing, since it was done in secret, you can't know for a certainty anything presented, and no one observed the autopsy, then the body was cremated.

[highball]

That's preposterous, unless you think the entire state of Florida is involved in some sort of massive conspiracy.

I haven't seen any evidence whatsoever that the autopsy was anything other than proper. Nobody has suggested that.

Do you know more about this than her family, more than Jeb Bush?

[TAdams8591]

"The press continuing to spout the Michael Schiavo line in the matter has only confirmed the worst of what they have come to represent."

Exactly.

A brief but excellent piece on the matter, with a powerful ending.

[drjimmy]

The autopsy confirmed a compression fracture of L1 that was seen in the first bone scan taken of her. The report tried to exclude trauma as the cause of the fracture, but also stated that it could have been caused by aggressive CPR or nurses handling. That my friend, is trauma, too.

Let me quote directly from the autopsy report, my friend:
"Multiple radiographs taken during her February-May 1990 Humana Hospital-Northside admission reported no fractures of the spine, and this is the most significant evidence that the L1 fracture of her spine diagnosed in the 1991 bone scan was a later complication of osteoporosis and not a complication of traumatic injury related to her initial insult."

"Mrs. Schiavo had no traumatic injuries observed or recorded by her initial treating physicians despite numerous physical exams and radiographs. Contusions, abrasions, recent fractures, and, particularly, healing fractures would have been visualized during her initial months of treatment (via her physical exams and multiple radiographs) and attempted rehabilitation."

"By far, the most likely explanation for the bone scan findings in Mrs. Schiavo are prolonged immobility induced osteoporosis and complicating H.O.[heterotopic ossification] in an environment of intense physical therapy."

[Voir Dire]

You are quoting the report out of context.
First, the ME even allowed that the L1 fx could have been caused by aggressive CPR (on the date of injury) and he also said it could have been from handling her body.

Next, it is unlikely that the osteo that allegedly resulted in a fracture occurred in 11 months when she was getting therapy, and was not documented as such.
Additionally, without removal of the feeding tube, and if conditions such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections -- common in bed-ridden patients -- were treated, Terri Schiavo could have lived another decade, according to the medical examiner's own estimate.


Your evaluation of the report is shaded, as was the conjecture of the ME. Many of the actual findings, such as microscopic analysis and actual condition on death may have been accurate, but opining from court records, as he did, is open to varying interpretations.

Finally, the ME opined that asphyxiation may have occurred. Although he did not see a RECORD that any marks were found on her body, it is very possible that suffocation could have occurred without strangulation (eg by use of a pillow).
This report does not rule out many possibilities, other than the fact that the bulemia theory in the medmal case was a fraud and a sham.