What if Terri had had...

The Hutchinson News ^ | 6/22/07 | Clara Kilbourn

[kathsua]

Another big step taken

Sarah Scantlin continues her amazing recovery over the past two years by feeding herself lunch

By Clara Kilbourn

The Hutchinson News Grand Prairie

ckilbourn@hutchnews.com

She's feeding herself.

Adding to an incredible series of accomplishments over the past two years, Sarah Scantlin scaled another mountain this week.

On Thursday her father watched for the first time as his daughter, with a spoon clasped snugly in the fingers of her right hand, lifted her arm and moved it toward her mouth.

"It's a miraculous deal," James Scantlin said. "Think of it. For 20 years she was a blank, ... only her involuntary muscles moving."

Betsy and James Scantlin's world turned upside down with a phone call in September 1984.

A drunk driver had struck Sarah as she walked toward her car after leaving an eastside Hutchinson teen hangout.

A newly enrolled Hutchinson Junior College freshman, Sarah suffered a massive brain injury. For months she lay in a coma and on life support in a Wichita hospital.

Hutchinson News Photo Sarah Scantlin and her father James Scantlin talk about her next accomplishment which will be talking on the telephone with him.

By spring, the Scantlin's admitted their unresponsive, but alive, daughter to Golden Plains Health Care Center. Physically, she had lapsed into a vegetative state, bedfast and unable to communicate.

Two decades later, in February 2005, Sarah uttered an 'OK' to a Golden Plains activity director who had outlined an activity and asked her if she understood.

Since then Sarah has endured intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies.

On Thursday, with Deane Patterson, Golden Plains occupational therapy assistant prompting Sarah's hand, together they dipped a spoon into the triple sectioned revolving plate that held Sarah's pureed lunch: a chicken salad sandwich, a thickened glass of water and cottage cheese. A side dish held her graham cracker and milk dessert.

With the spoon filled, and moving on her own, Sarah began the arduous trip from the plate toward her face. At the same time she opened her mouth in preparation for each bite. Over and over she repeated the hand to mouth pattern in a scoop, bite and sip sequence of food and water.

"Sarah's the hardest working patient I've ever had," Patterson said, as she wiped a bit of a spill from Sarah's lips. "No matter what we ask her to do she never says no."

Watching intently, a jubilant James Scantlin praised his daughter.

"Very good, Sis," he said, and added a proud dad's aside. "She's got great coordination there."

He credited Sarah's progress to her determination and Golden Plains staff dedication.

Hutchinson News Photo Sarah Scantlin feeds herself lunch Thursday at Golden Plains Health Care Center, a milestone in the continuation of her recovery from a car accident in 1984.

Their team effort toward helping Sarah feed herself was boosted by Physical Therapy Assistant Justin Thummel who came up with the basic design for an arm support and turned it over to a maintenance director Chuck Hoefer who fashioned the equipment from a discarded camera tripod.

"We told him what we needed and he came up with it," Patterson said.

Between bites, James Scantlin and his daughter shared their world.

"You're just like your dad," he said. "If you want it you can do it, even if everybody said 'You can't do it.' ''

Sarah responded adding a smile.

"Now I can," she said.

06/22/2007; 02:29:56 AM

[kathsua]

What if Terri had had the opportunity to have the family who loved her make decisions about her instead of an unfaithful husband who didn't want her around any more?

[GBA]

No statue of limitations for murder.

[ardara]

Thank God for Free Republic,I don’t see this story being covered in the MSM.God bless Terri and her family.

[srmorton]

And we won't see it in the MSM. They are too interested in their own agenda which requires that the Schindlers be seen as greedy, crazy people who wanted to gain custody of Terri for the insurance money or because they were stupid enough to believe that she was still "in there". Their agenda requires that we remember Michael Schiavo as the loving husband who was only trying to carry out his wife's wishes. Their agenda also requires that the Republicans and other politicians who tried to save her be remembered as right-wing extremists who were trying to interfere in the private affairs of a family. They want the public to buy into the notion that Terri was truly on life support and died peacefully as soon as it was removed.

I will never forget Terri and am looking forward to meeting her in Heaven. This and other stories that have emerged since this barbaric, state-assisted murder of an innocent young woman just proves the necessity to err on the side of life and to believe in miracles because they happen every day!

[dakine]

No “terri” in headline...guess you can change to suit...

[SmoothTalker]

The right choice was made. Let her go. Focus on those who actually could have woken up. It was unnatural to keep her alive as a houseplant for so long.