Sure he was. Check it out. He was representing the Florida Department of Children and Families. That's why he was even permitted to observe Terri. (Very few people were ever allowed to visit.)
Here is the essence of his reasons for finding Terri to be most likely in a minimally conscious state. (He could not state his view more certainly than that because, remember, he was not permitted to do testing, only observing.) (This is from a WND story based on Dr. Cheshire's affidavit.)
[Dr. Cheshire] cited seven reasons to doubt the prior diagnosis of PVS in Terri Schiavo:
# He found her facial expression brightens and she smiles in response to the voice of familiar people such as her parents or her nurse. Her agitation subsides and her facial demeanor softens when quiet music is played. "When jubilant piano music is played, her face brightens, she lifts her eyebrows, smiles, and even laughs." Cheshire said several times he witnessed Schiavo laugh when someone in the room made a humorous comment.
# She fixates her gaze on colorful objects and human faces for up to 15 seconds at a time and occasionally follows with her eyes as objects move from side to side. "When I first walked into the room, she immediately turned her head toward me and looked directly at my face. There was a look of curiosity or expectation in her expression, and she maintained eye contact for about half a minute." Cheshire said she also appeared to attempt to speak to him.
# Although he did not hear her utter distinct words, the doctor said "she demonstrates emotional expressivity by her use of single syllable vocalizations and cooing sounds. In reviewing previous affidavits, he noted that as late as 2003, the patient was heard to tell nurses to "stop" during certain procedures.
# He noted that in a previous examination by a neurologist, the patient appeared to try to follow certain commands – such as closing her eyes. She also raised her right leg four times when asked to do so in 2002 under examination.
# In that same 2002 examination by a neurologist, captured on videotape, Schiavo was turned on her side and probed with a sharp piece of wood. She reacted with sounds of discomfort. After that procedure, the neurologist commented to her parents that they would have to roll her over on her other side. Schiavo vocalized a crying sound in response. "It is important to note that, at that moment, no one is touching Terri or causing actual pain," he writes. Rather, he says, she appears to comprehending what was said and anticipating pain.
# According to the definition of PVS, he writes, patients do not have the capacity to experience pain and suffering. Yet, he concludes, after reviewing her medical records, pain issues frequently arise. "The nurses at Woodside Hospice told us that she often has pain with menstrual cramps." The pain and agitation subside when she is given ibuprofen. "If Terri is consciously aware of pain, and therefore is capable of suffering, then her diagnosis of PVS may be tragically mistaken," he concludes.
# "To enter the room of Terri Schiavo is nothing like entering the room of a patient who is comatose or brain-dead or in some neurological sense no longer there," he writes. "Although Terri did not demonstrate during our 90-minute visit compelling evidence of verbalization, conscious awareness, or volitional behavior, yet the visitor has the distinct sense of the presence of a living human being who seems at some level to be aware of some things around her."
"As I looked at Terri, and she gazed directly back at me, I asked myself whether, if I were her attending physician, I could in good conscience withdraw her feeding and hydration," he wrote. "No, I could not. I could not withdraw life support if I were asked. I could not withhold life-sustaining nutrition and hydration from this beautiful lady whose face brightens in the presence of others."
. . .
For the record, there are many other affidavits from neurologists, therapists and other medical professionals that cast doubt on the PVS diagnosis. Some, based on hands-on experience, held out hope for some degree of rehabilitation for Terri. All of the affidavits called for real, up-to-date imaging and testing, but Michael would not permit it.
Terri was determined to be absolutely blind at autosy. Cheshire's comments are almost all due to watching the parents videos. Id I examine someone, I can tell if they are blind. If this guy, the doc, couldn't do that, then he's a quack.
"For the record, there are many other affidavits from neurologists, therapists and other medical professionals that cast doubt on the PVS diagnosis."
For the record, none of them were competent to make such a determination. For the record there were none out of only 2, or 3 docs, that were correct in what they said.