Terri Can Eat With A Spoon

World ^ | Bob Jones

[mr_griz]

AFTER ALL THE YEARS, ALL THE fighting, all the bitter recriminations, there were remarkably few tears on Oct. 15 when Terri Schiavo finally had her feeding tube removed. Maybe the crowd of 80 or so gathered outside the hospice facility in western Florida were too angry to cry, or too numb.

For her part, Carla Sauer was just too tired. "I've been pulling for Terri since 1995," she said as she sank uncertainly onto a three-legged stool to rest the sandal-clad feet she'd been standing on for five hours. "I still can't believe it's come to this."

"This," apparently, is the end of the line in the long fight to keep Ms. Schiavo alive. A Florida judge on Oct. 14 refused two final appeals from her parents, clearing the way for the removal of the feeding tube that's kept her alive for a half-dozen years. Without the tube, the 39-year-old will slowly starve to death. It should take about 14 days.

That's precisely the outcome her husband, Michael, has been pushing for. Claiming that Terri has been a vegetable since she collapsed after a heart attack in 1990, Mr. Schiavo says he is simply honoring a request made by his young bride: That he not allow doctors to prolong her life through artificial means.

Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, doubt she ever made such a request. But even if she did, they argue that a feeding tube is not the same as artificial life support. Her vital organs function on their own, she smiles and laughs at the sound of her loved ones' voices, and she has no terminal illness that threatens her life. If she simply has someone who cares enough to feed her, she could live for another 50 years—a condition not terribly different from that of thousands of other severely disabled persons.

"She's not a vegetable," Ms. Sauer insisted as she rested her tired feet. "She knows voices, she responds. She can follow commands, and she tries to communicate by blinking her eyelids 'yes' and 'no.'" And then there's the most important detail of all: "We used to feed her with a spoon, and she swallowed on her own."

That was seven years ago, when Ms. Sauer was a nurse at a rehab facility in Largo, Fla. At that time, Ms. Schiavo was getting physical therapy and full-time attention from skilled nurses. But the facility charged $4,000 a month, as Ms. Sauer recalls, and Mr. Schiavo soon chose to discontinue his wife's therapy and move her into the much cheaper hospice system. She's languished there for six years, tethered to a feeding tube while a fierce legal battle swirled around her.

The Schindlers argued that they should be named as Terri's guardians, in part because Mr. Schiavo now has a new girlfriend and a young child. Just because he's ready to move on with his life, they said, he should not be allowed to end Terri's. When a series of judges sided with Mr. Schiavo, the Schindlers appealed to the court of public opinion: They smuggled a video camera into their daughter's room—against a judge's orders—to show the world she could still laugh and smile and respond to affection.

With Terri now dying slowly, that video may be the Schindlers' final memory of their daughter. Rather than watching by her bedside, they are parked in a camper across the street. Bob Schindler has been charged with contempt of court, and he and his wife cannot visit their daughter without Mr. Schiavo's permission—or his lawyer.

The family tragedy, as painful as it is to watch, is only a part of a larger picture. Advocates for the disabled fear that Terri Schiavo's death could set a chilling precedent. "This is deplorable," Joni Eareckson Tada told WORLD in the midst of a whirlwind of press conferences and rallies. "What's happening here is just a part of a larger effort to class persons with severe cognitive disabilities as non-persons. Terri is not brain dead, she's not in a coma, she's not terminally ill. We have people who attend our weekend retreats who are more severely disabled. Yet the courts have washed their hands of this. Medical personnel are forbidden to deliver any food or water. She's being denied her right to humane treatment under state law.

"This case is a watershed for people with disabilities," Mrs. Tada said. "Removal of the feeding tube means you are promoting active euthanasia. As a quadriplegic woman, that's a frightening precedent."

[SwordofTruth]

I would like some of those screaming "starvation" to explain to me how pulling a feeding tube is different than pulling a breathing tube. One provides air, one provides food, both are "artificial

Look at the title of this thread. How does it feel to make a fool of yourself in public?

[Don Joe]

Why do you keep wasting both our time writing me, but failing to actually say anything.

Because you are a disruptive troll, and I don't have the ability to nuke your account, you silly boy.

[Don Joe]

Not prominent enough for me, right now. They seem shy of publicity.

WTF are you raving about? What the hell do you expect them to do? Storm the studios of CNN with a list of demands?

Pathetic...

[Don Joe]

hypothetical

Ahhhh Yes! Hypothetical threats?

Interesting excuse.

I've never seen the truth dismissed as an "Interesting excuse" before. You wouldn't happen to be a Democrat, would you?

It's either that, or a troll. I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and consider that the jury is still out.

[Don Joe]

The reality is, that other than the court decisions there is no evidence presented on the internet media for the Michael side of this argument.

Are you blind???

Other than WorldNetDaily, a small handfull of other conservative sites, and a few fora such as FR, the totality of the web-carried news media is entirely pro-Michael.

It tells me that this is a manipulated media war instituted by the girls family and that the evidence needed to justify the son in laws position is being withheld due to legal privacy concerns and lawyers advice.

And that statement tells me that you are blind -- or, on a mission.

[Don Joe]

Terri is in such danger now that if the governor waits until Monday to step in, she will suffer and decline anyway, but he will look like 'he tried to save her'.

IMO that is precisely what he's hoping for.

In other words, his elaborate minuet of "waiting, hoping" is the Country Club rendition of, "When is that bitch gonna die?"

[Don Joe]

I am not defending the husband except to point out that the court has not removed his legal standing and has not acted on the accusations.

Could it be that they are not true?

I am not defending Bill Clinton except to point out that the Senate has not voted to impeach him from the office of President of the United States, and has not acted on the accusations.

Could it be that they are not true?

[Don Joe]

This event with Terri is an unbelievably atrocious thing...and it cries out for something to be done. We need Patrick Henry's, John Paul Jones, Nathan Hales, and Oliver Perrys of our day.

Unless we get statesmen of that measure elected to office, this country is finished, kaput.

Any attempt to "take it to the streets" will result in an even greater tragedy.

[Don Joe]

For me, nothing presented so far absolutely convicts him.

So, because nothing you've seen "absolutely convicts" him, the death sentence must be carried out on her?

Your logic is cold, brutal, and... flawed.

[MHGinTN]

HERE'S my assessment, and I'm not backing down on the indictment until I see evidence otherwise. This governor is F-E-C-K-L-E-S-S and it is becoming more blatant with every passing hour that he sits on his hands while Terri declines.

[Don Joe]

I know a little bit about law enforcement in Florida, and they are pro's. It is hard for me to believe that in the span of thirteen years, that they could not have built a circumstantial case with these purported claims.

Then you don't know much, because "law enforcment" is part of the executive branch, and plays no role in civil litigation -- in the judicial branch -- of the type that is killing this innocent woman.

[Don Joe]

"It will not harm him in the least to let her live

That is only true if several other things are true. There's a potential chain of dependencies here to choke a horse.

* If he had any part in her "accident", he will be harmed if she lives.

* If he had any part in the "conversion" of funds intended for her rehabilitation, he will be harmed if she lives.

* If he stands to gain financially via insurance money, book or movie revenue, or otherwise, he will be harmed if she lives.

These factors -- any of them, if true -- would IMO create a motive for him to be quite motivated to assist her in not living.

[Don Joe]

Respectfully to you, I would contend the courts in Florida are sunk to the near-lowest level with the liberal infestation witnessed so clearly during the 2000 election thievery tried by Gore, et al.

Don't let him hijack the debate. He's already reframed it, very artfully. He didn't defend the courts, he reframed it as a defense of law enforcment.

A very dirty debate tactic, generally abhorred except by leftists and their ilk.

[sfRummygirl]

I was refering to people that were asking the same questions over and over. I do not agree with you that this is a 'family matter'.

[Schwaeky]

He wouldn't lose his governorship. Though not the most popular governor, he would not get impeached by the legislature (at least not removed from office). As long as there is life there is hope. My opinion--f**k the florida courts.. They can go to hell where they belong.

i doubt he would even lose his job as governor, no matter what action he took. but if he doesn't take action he'll have blood on his hands...

quite frankly, he talks like wyatt earp, but governs like Fredo Corleone. We need a Sonny, someone who will go to the mattresses on this!!!

[Graymatter]

LEGISLATURE.

Will someone please re-post the email/fax of state legislators?

[Graymatter]

From
http://www.cnsnews.com/pdf/2003/aff2.pdf --
affidavit of Carla Sauer Iyer:

"The atmosphere throughout the facility was dominated by Mr. Schiavo's intimidation. Everyone there, with the exception of several people who seemed to be close to Michael, was intimidated by him. Michael Schiavo always had an overbearing attitude, yelling numerous times such things as 'This is my order and you're going to follow it.' He is very large and uses menacing body language, such as standing too close to you, getting right in your face and practically shouting...
"Michael said again and again that Terri should NOT get any rehab, that there should be no range of motion whatsoever, or anything else...
"Terri's medical condition was systematically distorted and misrepresented by Michael. When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as 'mommy,' and 'help me.' 'Help me' was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times. Terri would try to say the word 'pain' when she was in discomfort...
"I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in her chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but by my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart. Every time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri's, someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always demanded to see her chart...The reason I wrote so much was that everybody else seemed to be afraid to make positive entries for fear of their jobs, but I felt very strongly that a nurse's job was to accurately record everything...
"Throughout my time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused on Terri's death. He would say 'When is she going to die?' 'Has she died yet?' and 'When is that bitch gonna die?' These statements were common knowledge at Palm Gardens...When she wouldn't die, Michael would be furious. Michael was also adamant that the family should not be given information...I recorded Michael's statements word for word in Terri's chart, but these entries were also deleted after the end of my shift.
"Any time Terri would be sick, like with a UTI or fluid buildup in her lungs, colds, or pneumonia, Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die. He would say something like, 'Hallelujah! You've made my day!' He would call me, as I was the nurse supervisor on the floor, and ask for every little detail...and would call back frequently asking if she was dead yet. He would blurt out 'I'm going to be rich!' and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died...
When Michael visited Terri, he always came alone and always had the door closed and locked...He would typically be there about 20 minutes or so. When he left Terri would be trembling, crying hysterically, and would be very pale and have cold sweats. It looked to me like Terri was having a hypoglycemic reaction, so I'd check her blood sugar. The glucometer reading would be so low it was below the range where it would register an actual number reading. I would put dextrose in Terri's mouth to counteract it..."