Posted on 03/20/2005 6:06:29 PM PST by Former Military Chick
He's been vilified on Web sites and talk shows. He's been called a wife-abuser, an adulterer, a money-grubbing murderer.
Death threats have been left in his mailbox.
Throngs of protesters have waved signs and chanted outside his house in Clearwater, Fla., and they have gathered again.
Sometimes, even Michael Schiavo's friends have wondered why, in the face of all that, he didn't just walk away.
It would have been easier for him to relinquish guardianship of his severely incapacitated wife, Terri, to her parents.
So why not give it up, leave Terri's feeding tube in, let her parents care for her? After all, he is living with another woman now and they have two children.
"Because he's sticking by what he promised," Scott Schiavo, Michael's brother, said in a recent interview. "He wants to honor the last thing he can give to her."
Physicians have testified that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state and will never improve. Michael Schiavo has said his wife told him she would not want to live like this.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, formerly of Huntingdon Valley, say she is responsive and can be helped. They say that, as a Catholic, she would choose life at all costs.
On Friday, Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, which has been in place for all but two brief stretches of time since she collapsed in 1990, was removed. It could be brief this time as well. The House is expected today to consider a Senate bill that would allow Schiavo's parents to take their case to federal court.
Throughout the protracted legal battle, the Schindlers have made their religious views, their personal anguish, and their mistrust of Michael Schiavo a public cause.
Intensely private, according to his family and friends, Michael Schiavo has rarely spoken publicly about the matter, out of respect for his wife's privacy. Through his brother, he declined to be interviewed for this story.
However, in recent days he has gone on national TV to reiterate that Terri would not have wanted to live like this and criticize politicians for getting involved in a deeply personal matter.
His brother and friends also have decided that it's time to speak up. The mudslinging, they said, has become too ugly, too nasty.
"I have a friend who I think has been maligned," said Russ Hyden of Gainesville, Fla.
"We're tired of it. We're done. It's time people know who he is," said Scott Schiavo, who lives in Levittown near where the brothers were raised.
The thing is, even if Michael Schiavo wins the final court battle, and Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed, he really hasn't won at all, Scott said.
"He's already lost," he said. "He's already lost Terri."
Social with friends, but reclusive
His brother and friends describe Michael Schiavo as social within his circle of friends, but otherwise almost reclusive. Except for the No Trespassing sign on his front lawn and the armed guards he's occasionally hired to protect his home, he's tried to grasp whatever shreds of normalcy he can.
His friends don't see the demon that protesters who have hurled insults at him do.
Wilma Mackay, a 65-year-old retiree from Palm Harbor, Fla., who watched her husband and brother die of cancer, sees a man who is "the epitome of loyalty."
Bonnie Rowley of Largo, Fla., a friend for about a decade, sees someone who "stands strong on what he believes in, and that is Terri Schiavo. If I needed a health-care advocate, he'd be my first choice. I know he'd be there till the end, and he'd give it one hell of a fight."
Michael Schiavo, 41, was the youngest of five boys. Six-foot-seven, athletic and model-handsome, he met Terri Schindler at Bucks County Community College in 1982.
She had graduated from Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, he from Woodrow Wilson High School in Bristol Township.
Married two years later, they moved to Florida, where, early on the morning of Feb. 25, 1990, Michael Schiavo has testified, he awoke to the sound of a thud and found Terri on the floor in the hallway, unconscious.
They had been married a little over five years.
He has spent three times as long - the last 15 years - first trying to bring her back, then trying to let her go, his friends and brother say.
In the beginning, they say, Schiavo was relentless in his search for his wife's cure. She underwent various therapies.
He rented a house large enough for him and Terri's parents, who had moved to the area.
He made sure she was dressed every day. He applied her makeup and dabbed on perfume, Rowley said.
He went to school to become a nurse, "because he wanted to take care of Terri," Scott said. "He swore that he could get Terri better... . One doctor said: 'Mike, you know what? There's nothing else we can do. The next time Terri gets sick, why don't you just let nature take its course?' And Mike wouldn't do it."
Death and defining moments
Many of the defining moments of Michael Schiavo's life have revolved around death.
In 1988, his grandmother was hospitalized with a serious illness. She had signed a "do not resuscitate" order, Scott Schiavo said, but when she worsened in the middle of the night, no one looked at her records.
"It took them I don't know how long to get her breathing again. They stuck a ventilator down her throat." To little avail. "She was brain-dead," Scott Schiavo recalled.
All the family could do was wait until medications that kept her heart beating wore off. It took a day and a half, he said.
After the funeral, the family went to the Buck Hotel in Feasterville. Scott and Terri were sitting next to each other at a large table, where the conversation turned to how upset their grandmother would have been at her final hours.
Terri turned to him, Scott Schiavo said, "and she said, 'Not me, no way, I don't want that.' She says, 'If I'm ever like that, oh, don't let me. Pull that tube out of me.' " Scott Schiavo said he testified about the incident in 2000.
Several years after Terri collapsed, Michael Schiavo's mother was diagnosed with cancer.
Eventually, medical complications required the removal of her feeding tube, Scott said. "It's not like we said: 'Turn it off.' "
She was kept "peaceful and out of pain" until she died, Scott said.
Then their father died.
Eventually, Scott said, his brother realized he would have to let Terri go, too.
The Schindlers - who did not respond to a request for an interview made through their lawyer - have been distrustful of his motives partly because, they have said, no one mentioned Terri's wishes until years after her collapse.
But, Scott said, "it's not something you think about while Mike's trying to save her life... . It's something that people do when there's nothing left to do."
This particular fight has not come without a price.
"I give Mike all the credit in the world, because I would have snapped already. I know how bad it hurts me when I hear people talking about him and downing him," Scott Schiavo said.
Most of all, Scott said, "the thing that tears him up is he worries at nighttime, if he's working. He's afraid for the kids and Jodi."
Love and moral dilemmas
Michael Schiavo met his girlfriend, identified in court records as Jodi Centonze, about a decade ago.
Initially, Rowley, who was Centonze's friend, didn't know what to think. The court battles had not yet heated up, but she knew the situation with Terri.
When Rowley met Michael Schiavo, what she noticed first was his "great smile, a gentle smile."
Gradually, her respect grew. "He could have stepped off and divorced Terri five years ago, when this really hit the court. And got married and started his family that way," Rowley said.
The couple has two toddlers - a daughter and a son. Michael Schiavo works in the medical unit of the Pinellas County Jail.
Both Centonze and Michael Schiavo had to face "their own moral dilemmas as far as having children out of wedlock," Rowley said. "But the two of them weren't getting any younger... So does that make him a bad person because he did that? Did he fluff his responsibility to Terri at any point? No."
It is Centonze, Scott Schiavo said, who now does all Terri's laundry. "She's been unbelievable. She supported Mike in everything he did... . She's gone with Mike to visit Terri. She's helped Mike clean Terri up."
Centonze has been a flashpoint for Michael Schiavo's critics who think it is a reason to disqualify him to be Terri's guardian. His living with Centonze "abrogates the covenant of marriage," said Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, who was among the demonstrators outside the hospice on Friday.
Looking back on it now, Scott thinks his brother "just wanted somebody to love him." He equates it with a widower who remarries, "but it doesn't mean that that person stopped loving their spouse that passed on. Mike was very lonely. I mean, he was a 26-year-old kid" when Terri collapsed.
"It's hard to imagine the circumstances he lived under," friend Russ Hyden said. "There was no closure, yet there was no companionship either. That's the worst possible scenario."
Hyden had met Schiavo in 1991. Hyden's pregnant wife had been diagnosed with cancer. A mutual friend thought they "might have something in common. And we did."
But it was more than that they were both going through "life-changing ordeals," Hyden said. "We both liked to play a little golf. We enjoyed each other's company."
Hyden scoffs at the accusations about Schiavo taking the malpractice money awarded to Terri. "If there was so much money, where was that money when I first met Mike? Why wasn't he driving a big car and living in a big home? He was driving a Jeep and living in an apartment."
Hyden's wife lived for almost three more years. He and Schiavo spoke or saw each other several times a week.
"He was always great with my kids," Hyden said. Hyden's daughter was 2, his son 7, and Michael brought them gifts.
"He spent a great deal of time helping me put my family back together," Hyden said. "Perhaps it was because his had fallen so tragically apart."
Sympathy for Terri's parents
In a way, Michael Schiavo has said he can sympathize with Terri's parents. "I have children, and, you know, I couldn't even fathom what it would be like to lose a child," he said in an interview on Nightline last week.
But, he continued, "they know the condition Terri is in. They were there in the beginning. They heard the doctors. They know that Terri's in a persistent vegetative state. They testified to that at the original trial. Fifteen years - you've got to come to grips with it sometime."
He said Terri would "always be a part of my life.
"And to sit here and be called a murderer and an adulterer by people that don't know me, and a governor stepping into my personal, private life, who doesn't know me either? And using his personal gain to win votes, just like the legislators are doing right now, pandering to the religious right, to the people up there, the antiabortion people, standing outside of Tallahassee?
"What kind of government is this? This is a human being. This is not right."
In a way, Michael Schiavo's world still revolves around Terri. He calls every day and visits several times a week, Scott Schiavo said. He can still talk to her, even if she doesn't talk back.
Michael Schiavo yesterday told CNN that he had a "sense of relief" now that the feeding tube had been removed and he promised to "stay by her side" till the end.
"This is her time...," he said. "I will love her and I will hold her hand."
--------------------------
Contact staff writer Sandy Bauers at 610-701-7635 or sbauers@phillynews.com.
Congress tries again to stop Schiavo death
Timeline of the Terri Schiavo Case
Recent court rulings and other materials related to the Terri Schiavo case:
5 Wishes a Site that helps one prepare if one is unable to speak for themselves.
Your question about letting a baby starve to death because they can not feed themselves and might be seen as a burden is a very good one.
There are obvious differences ethically speaking but maybe only in an ethical sense.
I do not support the removal of Terri's feeding tube but as a defence and the only defence I could offer on Michael's behalf is that he is honoring his wife wishes.
Having said that he does lose all credibility when he takes on a mistress and fathers children with her.
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
I pray I never find myself in his situation.
I can not for the life of me understand why he did not just divorce her unless he doesn't believe in divorce on some religion ground. Which I can understand. But if he has those kind of religious beliefs then having his wife starved to death should factor in a little higher than divorce.
I would probably be a vocal Michael supporter if it weren't for his infidelity.
Like I said earlier in this thread I have no reason not to believe what this article says. I don't know him or Terri or any of the parties involved and what his brother says about him and his reasons for why he is doing this seems more logical than many of the other theories I have heard expressed.
Indeed, which is why I think those who are defending hino take the insults hurled at him so personally as if the insults are being hurled at them...hmmm.
Thank you Miss Behave. That was a fabulous article. I have worked in the medical field for many years so I have seen all kinds of illness, and I have also seen all kinds of miracles.
You know, I am a firm believer of carma, "what goes around, comes around", and I have seen carma many times and have to be honest in some cases enjoyed it immensely. Lol and wink, wink with a smile.
I worked with urology for some time and saw people that were supposedly not going to live long and are still alive and kicking, only difference is they do it with a better outlook in life. It always makes me happy to see what of my patients that was told the possibilities and how they overcame them. So I know it can happen. I just feel real good for Terri, and I think with all the patients and love that her family and friends can mustard up she will be atleast smiling again and maybe even laughing and talking, one can only hope and pray.
This is a question that has bothered me whenever anyone brings up these compression fractures and the Michael tried to kill her theory.
I call 911 and say my wife has collapesed and is unconscious. She is taken to the hospital and examined.
She is in a coma.
The doctors find these compression fractures and conclude that her condition is a result or likely result of these injuries.
What do you think would happen next?
As her husband they will give me her medical records and send me on my way home?
Or they will contact the police and tell them they suspect my wife has been assulted and even worse they suspect that someone has attempted to murder her?
Why then did this never happen in Terri's case?Once her parents found out about them why did they not file charges and have the records subpoenaed?
I've heard it said that he would not let them have them.
It's not his choice to let them have them it is a legal matter and they can be gotten from the hospital/treating doctors.
This is why I think this is a bogus story.
What are your thoughts?
The "timeline" on the website is NOT about every single little item that has happened. As he points out, his interest is in Florida LAW. It's not a website about/by/for the Schiavo case (if you browse the site, you'll see this is one of many cases he's discussed). He calls it a "rough" timeline, not definitive, complete, detailed, etc. It lists "major" events that are relevant in understanding the LEGAL case. All the items you list may have been brought out in court, which would be part of the transcripts and he does have links to those. Things like, "Mike threatens to sue the Schindlers" may be true, but unless he filed a lawsuit, it's a he said, she said kind of thing.
Like I said before, I think he should let her parents take care of her, obviously there are more tests that need to be done. That doesn't mean we should automatically convict the guy. Given the volatility of the situation and how emotional it obviously is for everyone, I'm sure if the Schindlers' comments, life and conduct had been scrutinized as thoroughly as Schiavo's has with everyone only concerned with making them add up to more "proof" of a crime they've already convicted them of committing, I'd bet they could be made to look pretty bad, too.
Cindie
I think this is the great unanswered question on this case, and I too am very curious to know how these fractures were sustained.
....You know, it's embarassing to see Freepers calling somebody a murderer with absolutely no proof.
......
We should sit by and allow a woman to be killed, her constitutional rights taken from her? Why would an innocent man treat her parents as he has, not provide dental care, not take her outside for 3 years?
Why would an innocent man refuse to consider the wishes of the parents? Why does he put them through this torture?
Guess I would rather err on the side of causing embarrassment than err on the side of sitting by and allowing euthansisia to be practiced on innocent people.
Why are we supposed to ignore the facts we see in Michael's actions? Is he allowing Terri due process of law? Or is there a strong suspicion that the euthansia forces AND Michael have an "arrangement".
Bumping that.
Greer refused to let DFC look into the matter.
This does not answer the question about why those at the hospital did not report this to the police.
Her collapse and being admitted to the hospital happened long before Greer was ever part of this story.
Apperently the hospital saw no evidence of foul play.
Michael Schiavo is a dirtbag.
They were allowed no input on the quality of care there. They might have advised him against it and saved him all the trouble.
Michael has blamed the Federal level, the State level, now he is blaming the very hospice he decided to take her to, which was the one where his lawyer was a member of the BOD.
Why didn't his lawyer advise him to move Terri somewhere better? They weren't getting their money's worth? Seems the lawyer would want that so Michael could afford to keep paying his bill.
He decided her life/death issue by himself, according to his switch in testimony, so why can't he decide the divorce by himself.
Besides, anyone can file for divorce, without the other person's knowledge or permission. Once you file, then you tell them to see you in court. Since Terri can't appear, Michael gets whatever he wants in the settlement, as this is the law.
I was commenting Friday how this has to be the biggest conspiracy of all time.
Let's look at the list of conspirators.
Micheal
Felos
Greer
The doctors who diagnosed her a PVS
The Gardian ad litum who agreed with the PVS diagnosis
The pinellas County Sheriff
Hospice
MSM
It has been said that Greer and Felos have a financial stake in the hospice which makes no sense that they would want Terri dead because it is to their advantage to fill beds not empty them.
The Gardian ad litem is anti Terri's Law so he lied.
Hospice migh have drugged her before the Gardian ad litem came so she couldn't respond.
The MSM repeats the lies that she is PVS because they are part of the culture of death.
The doctors who diagnosed her as PVS because they are part of the culture of death.
Felos because he is pro euthenasia.
It would also be to Felo's advantage to keep Terri alive until he milked all the settlement money.
I'm sure I've forgotten someone but you get my point.
The majority opinion expressed here is so far fetched that it is completely unbelievable.
Why people just can't make the simple argument that Terri should not be killed because it is morally and ethically wrong and leave it at that I do not understand.
Instead they insist on building these wild conspiracy therories which discredits them is just plain stupid.
I know there are a great deal of emotions over this case but you and many others are doing yourself and ultimatly Terri a disservice and libelling many in their wake.
This case has made FreeRepublic look as kooky as our friends at DU.
I don't say much in these threads.
I'm the kind of person who wants to see the good in everyone. Always innocent until proven guilty. I want to understand why people do what they do even if what they've done is wrong or strange.
I read this article and tried to put myself in his place. And in her family's place.
But something's not right. Something doesn't make sense.
He says he is getting death threats. People are picketing outside of his home. He's afraid for the safety of his children and the woman he loves.
Why would a rational, caring man put his family in such unnecessary danger and through stress? This entire situation has been at the forefront of their lives for years. Why risk the peace and security of his family?
If he believed the Schindlers would hurt Terri in some way, I'd understand his vigilance. But that's ludicrous. Apparently he's convinced that she's a vegetable. They can't possibly hurt her, just care for her. That's all they want, that is clear to everyone!
He is torturing them. He knows the one thing they want most in the world is to save her and keep her with them. Why is he trying so hard to take her away from them? Either he hates them or he has an ulterior motive. Why else would he put his lover through this, his siblings, his friends, his children?
If he just divorced her and walked away, no one at all would be hurt. It would eventually be forgotten, shoot, to some he'd be a hero. His children won't grow up in the shadow of it, he'd be free to marry the woman he loves, life would finally go on.
If he persists, Terri will die and her family is devastatingly hurt. His name will be scorned and hated for a long time. What is gained?
If all of this turmoil is for Terri's sake, he is doing wrong by his family and by his children. If it were all about Terri, he wouldn't be with another woman. Any man that devoted isn't out having kids and a life with someone else.
It just doesn't make sense.
I am sorry, but you are completely wrong.
She is in that hospice, because of Michael.
She is being executed, because of Michael.
Judge Greer did not file the cases he has presided over.
Your logic sounds just like Michael's. Blame everyone else for Terri dying.
Ask yourself, if the Judge allowed Michael to take funds out of the ESTATE, which the judge is the guardian of, then he implicity approved Michael filing suit to have Terri put to death. That means the Judge agreed with the concept, before he heard the evidence and made the ruling.
Isn't that rather odd? Unethical?
It's because of his testimony in the lawsuit.
It's because of his treatment of her. Contrary to his claims of how well he treated her, the preponderance of evidence indicates he despised her, and wanted her dead quite soon after he got the lawsuit settlement.
Those witnesses, volunteered to give their affidavits, and they have absolutely nothing to gain.
Michael has money, remarrying, no time out to have to deal with Terri, or the Lawyer, or the media.
He has contradicted himself, and tried to blame everyone else for 'his problems'.
He keeps her room dark and cold, has had personal effects removed.
He doesn't want her given water by mouth as she may choke to death.
At least it would me more merciful than dehydrating and starving her to death over a likely two week period.
The evidence was there, it was ruled not credible, because it interfered with the decision the judge already made when he allowed Michael to have the money to pay for the lawyer to file the case.
They also testified that 'Andy' never got yelled at. She was happy to do Mike's bidding and change patient charts to please him. They seemed to have a 'close' relationship. They testified Michael seemed to be destroying all their notings on her patient chart.
This doesn't seem like someone 'angry' over poor treatment of Terri.
Whatever the details are, it is clear that this case was not handled by the book. I totally forgot about the changed patient charts - that alone is damning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.