[retMD]

The time to decide to allow a love one to die is at and during the period of initial hospitalization.

I have to disagree with this. Up until the last few months of my husband's illness, I held onto the hope that he might recover, despite knowing odds all too well. If I had had to make such a decision for him, I would have waited until there could be no doubt that he would not improve.

There are stages of grief, and acceptance comes last - after denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. I do not agree with Michael Schiavo on some things, but I can understand the need to try everything for his wife (which the reports I've read say he did in the early days) before accepting the harsh truth.

[bjs1779]

William P. Cheshire Jr. - Mayo Clinic neurologist who 'observed' Terri after 5 days of dehydration.

From his affidavit:

“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. … 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. 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.” --3/23/2005

Cheshire

[Diplomat]

There are stages of grief, and acceptance comes last...

Except in Michael's case, acceptance came after he accepted money on behalf of his ailing wife.

Nobody is judging you, do not use this evil man as a prop to make you feel better about the difficult decisions you have made in your life. Again, the fact remains that he could have remembered his wife's wishes at any point during the first few years that he was suing the doctors who had formerly treated his wife. The man is a liar. If you take money intended for the medical care of your spouse, I say spending it on attorneys so you can kill her is despicable and evil. And I'll bet you he knows it too.

[Ohioan from Florida]

Please tell me why Michael did not go take Terri right up to Shands Hospital in Gainesville after being awarded money for her rehab. It is a mere two hours drive, and less by ambulance or helicopter, and is what the doctor who implanted her stimulator suggested that he do as soon as he could afford to have her seen by the specialists there.

Michael stopped all of Terri's rehab and therapy shortly after the money was in the bank (Jan. 1993). The only thing that changed between Nov. 1992 (Michael's testimony for the trial), and the cessation of rehab and therapy (Feb. 1993) was $$ in the bank. What part about that do you not get???? In November he's telling a jury he wants to take care of Terri for the rest of her life (and asks for money to care for her for 20 years, mind you), and within 4 months ceases her therapy. How dim are you??? Surely this is not how you treated your husband.