Posted on 06/19/2005 6:04:50 PM PDT by wagglebee
Dr. William Hammesfahr, nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work in Medicine, has been recognized by agents for Medicare, the federal government, and others for new approaches to helping the brain injured.
Dr. Hammesfahr has been identified in helping patients with chronic brain injuries from many causes actually leave long term disability, and return to work.
Dr. Hammesfahr was identified the first physician to restore deficits caused by stroke.
Dr. Hammesfahr has released the following statement in response to the autopsy report on Terri Schindler Schiavo:
We have seen a lot on the autopsy of Terri Schindler Schiavo in recent days, that I feel needs to be addressed. To ignore these comments will allow future 'Terri Schiavo's' to die needlessly after the wishes of clinicians and family are ignored.
Considering that there were so many physicians and therapists who were willing to step forward to treat Terri Schiavo, from university based practitioners to those in private practice, it clearly shows that the mainstream medical community across the board, those involved in treating patients, knew that they could help Terri.
The record must be set straight. As we noted in the press, there was no heart attack, or evident reason for this to have happened (and certainly not of Terri's making).
Unlike the constant drumbeat from the husband, his attorneys, and his doctors, the brain tissue was not dissolved, with a head of just spinal fluid. In fact, large areas were "relatively preserved."
The purpose of the therapies offered by so many, from major universities, brain injury centers, and from private practice physicians, is to improve and restore quality of life, and function, which the mainstream medical community clearly tried to get to her.
I have had a chance to look at Dr. Nelson's analysis of the brain tissue, and essentially, as a clinician, these are my thoughts.
The autopsy results confirmed my opinion and Dr. Maxfield's opinions, that the frontal areas of the brains, the areas that deal with awareness and cognition were relatively intact. To use Dr. Nelson's words, "relatively preserved." In fact, the relay areas from the frontal and front temporal regions of the brain, to the spinal cord and the brain stem, by way of the basal ganglia, were preserved, thus the evident responses which she was able to express to her family and to the clinicians seeing her or viewing her videotape. The Spect scan confirmed these areas were functional and not scar tissue, and that was apparently also confirmed on Dr. Nelson's review of the slides. Dr. Maxfield's estimates of retained brain weight were apparently accurate, although there may have been some loss of brain weight due to the last two weeks of dehydration.
Dr. Maxfield and myself both emphasized that she was a woman trapped in her body, similar to a child with cerebral palsy, and that was born out by the autopsy, showing greater injury in the motor and visual centers of the brain. Obviously, the pathologists comments that she could not see were not borne out by reality, and thus his assessment must represent sampling error. The videotapes clearly showed her seeing, and even Dr. Cranfoed, for the husband, commented to her that, when she could see the balloon, she could follow it with her eyes as per his request.
That she could not swallow was obviously not borne out by the reality that she was swallowing her saliva, about 1.5 liters per day of liquid, and the clinical swallowing tests done by Dr. Young and Dr. Carpenter. Thus, there appears to be some limitations to the clinical accuracy of an autopsy in evaluating function.
With respect to the issue of trauma, that certainly does not appear to be answered adequately. Some of the types of trauma that are suspected were not adequately evaluated in this assessment. Interestingly, both myself and at least one neurologist for the husband testified to the presence of neck injuries. The issue of a forensic evaluation for trauma, is highly specialized. Hence the wish of the family to have observers which was refused by the examiner.
Ultimately, based on the clinical evidence and the autopsy results, an aware woman was killed.
s/Dr. W. Hammesfahr
[Dr. Hammesfahr was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1999. The Nomination was for work started in 1994. In 2000, this work resulted in approval for the first patent in history granted for the treatment of neurological diseases including coma, stroke, brain injury, cerebral palsy, hypoxic injuries and other neurovascular disorders with medications that restore blood flow to the brain. It was extended to treat successfully disabilities including ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette's and Autism as well as behaviorally and emotionally disturbed children, seizures and severe migraines.]
Definitely.
Indeed Dr. H has a lot of baggage. Until a real MD comes forward without the baggage and claims that the ME is all wet, giving Hammesfahr any publicity seems far more damaging than helpful to the Schindlers, who themselves appear to disagree with the findings.
Sorry Peach. I don't see any links you posted to me. If you repost them to me, I will reply.
You've stated it well, MAC. After all the trials and lawsuits, the best they could come up with is two discredited doctors.
What has always concerned me is that the Schindlers praised MS and his care for Terri. Until money became involved. Mr. Schindler stated under oath he wanted some of that money. You've met my husband and we've talked about this matter. There is just no way that my husband, who adores my father, would give him money from a lawsuit that resulted from malpractice involving me. Just wouldn't happen.
No problem.
The links are in post #14 on this thread.
What 2?
See Post #14 on this thread for information and links about Dr. H.
The other doctor was actually a radiologist that the Schindlers hired. Unfortunately, he couldn't distinguish between a coma and PVS at trial.
I saw it. That's one. Who is 2?
Who?
#509.
I don't know much about him except that he's older, kindly, well spoken (according to transcripts of the trial) but it was pretty embarrassing when he couldn't distinguish between coma and PVS patients.
He offered his opinion on her neck. The ME is obviously wrong that she could not swallow. So he could be wrong about her neck also. The M.E. admitted there would be little evidence if she was st ranged after 15 years. He also never examined her when she was alive.
Could you be more specific what you want me to address?
Dr. Maxwell.
May I ask if he could not provide documentation simply because the treatment was new and untried for Terri's particular medical circumstance? That using it on Terri would have been experimental?
It seems to me that a doctor who helped 90% of his stroke patients could well be justly optimistic that his methods could also help a brain injury like Terri's.
Well, you got the Max part right.
And Dr Cheshire was never discredited. MS refused to allow him to physically examine Terri so that's no discredit to him.
Some 400 posts back or so yesterday you wrote something to the effect "go Dr. H". I wrote you're kidding, right?
He's discredited. And from there, I think we miscommunicated.
And read about PVS. There are two sides of our brain. One side controls swallowing and one doesn't. The side of Terri's brain that was damaged permitted her to swallow her own saliva. But nothing else.
I wasn't the person that you quoted. I don't know who you intended to send your response to, but I'm glad to rebut.
Hammesfahr claimed on his website that he was nominated for a Nobel Prize. That was not the truth.
He was also caught twice charging his patients for work not performed. For this, he was censured and fined by the Florida Board of Medicine, ordered to pay court costs and had to perform 100 hours of community service. Sound reputable to you?
On the stand, he was completely discredited. He was unable to support his claims that he could create "remarkable progress," claims he made on television.
He's a quack. Plain and simple. If a known liar and cheat is the best you can do, then....
You asked a good question. I remember from the transcripts that even before the trial, the doctor was told to bring in documentation to support his contention that he had helped patients like Terri.
He didn't bring in any documentation to prove that, despite being ordered to do so. There is no record of his helping any patients who had been PVS.
Also, medical testimony from other doctors who practice in the field and actually treat PVS patients regularly is that after 3 years of intense therapy, if there is no improvement, there is no hope.
Terri had intense treatment for 3 years and there was no improvement.
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