"Next time it will be easier. It always is. The tolerance of early-term abortion made it possible to tolerate partial-birth abortion, and to give advanced thinkers a hearing when they advocate outright infanticide. Letting the courts decide such life-and-death issues made it possible for us to let them decide others, made it seem somehow wrong for anyone to stand in their way. Now they are helping to snuff out the minimally conscious. Who's next?"
Earlier I posted an unkind remark (since deleted) about certain parties to the Schiavo case. I regret doing that.
My prayers and condolences go out to Mr. & Mrs. Schindler, and their two children who have been by their side throughout this ordeal. I pray that their faith in God, that their faith that Terri is now in the arms of Jesus will give them some measure of comfort.
Scott Peterson murdered Laci Peterson on day before Christmas. So now Laci's parents and family can look forward each year with sorro w and heartbreak to what should be a happy family holiday.
This year, the state of Florida murdered an innocent woman, Terri Schiavo, during the celebration of Easter. Now Terri's family can also look forward to each future Easter holiday with sorrow and heartbreak.
I cannot imagine the grief and pain these two families must be experiencing. They will be in my heart and my prayers always.
One of the best quotes I've heard about what Terri Schiavo would have wanted came from one of her close friends from before Terri's collapse in 1990. Unfortunately, I didn't get her name when she made her statement last night.
What this lady said was "Terri would never have wanted to die like this. Terri would never have wanted to put her mother through the pain she has suffered watching while her daughter starves to death."
On the "Miami Herald" web page this morning I found a letter to the editor that made an amazing conclusion.
The writer says "...Not one [who claimed to be a Christian] prayed for Michael Schaivo -- the one person who has control of this situation -- to have a change of heart."
I am left to wonder if the person who wrote this took a poll of everyone who prays. If so, he or she missed calling me, and several of the people I know, who do pray for Mr. Schiavo.
When people who have no understanding of Christians or Christianity make blanket statements like the quote above, they betray their own lack of knowledge. The main stream media has done a superb job of demonizing people with any Christian religious belief, so it's no surprise to me when I see comments like the quote above.
“I don’t want anyone trying to feed that girl”, Greer thundered from the bench in 2001. Greer’s statement, “the law of the case is that she is going to die”, is part of the court record.
Greer maintains he isn’t biased or prejudiced in the matter of Terri Schiavo.
George Felos just had his face in front of the cameras and said " ...she [Terri Schiavo] looks very calm, very relaxed, very peaceful." This is based on his visit to her execution chamber today.
Well, George, if you were as loaded up on morphine and anti-seizure medications as Terri is, you would look very calm, very relaxed, very peaceful too!
One question, Georgie: Was Terri screaming in her head "Why am I still here"? For those of you that know nothing about the book Felos wrote ("Litigation as Spiritual Practice") here is a small sample:
"As I continued to stay beside Mrs. Browning at her nursing home bed, I felt my mind relax and my weight sink into the ground. I began to feel light-headed as I became more reposed. Although feeling like I could drift into sleep, I also experienced a sense of heightened awareness.
"As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan and scream and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident. In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning.
"I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, ‘Why am I still here … Why am I here?’ My soul touched hers and in some way I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent (P73)."
I am posting the entire letter sent to George Felos and Debbie Bushnell in October of 2004. This was originally posted at Terrisfight(dot)org but seems to have been removed sometime in the last several days. The original file was in PDF format and was on the letterhead of the Gibbs Law Firm of Seminole, Fl. Since I did not download the file, I am unable to reproduce the letterhead but otherwise all text is included.
For those who say Terri Schiavo's parents are in this only for the money, as Michael Schiavo has claimed, read on to see the incredible concessions Mr. and Mrs. Schindler offered.
Here is the text of the letter:
October 26, 2004
Ms Debbie Bushnell, Esq. 204 Scotland St. Dunedin, FL 34698
Mr. George Felos Felos & Felos 595 Main Street Dunedin, FL 34698
IN RE: THE GUARDIANSHIP OF THERESA MARIE SCHIAVO File No. 90-2908GD-003
Dear Ms Bushnell and Mr. Felos:
& nbsp; &n bsp; As the new lead counsel to the cases surrounding Terri Schiavo, we are not aware of any recent attempt to resolve this matter among the family members without continued court intervention. In order to make certain that this avenue of potential resolution is not overlooked, we are providing you with the following proposal from the Schindler family. We would ask that you apprise your client of this proposed settlement offer, provide him with a copy of this letter, and respond to us on his behalf within five days of your receipt of this letter.
& nbsp; &n bsp; The Schindlers' sole desire in making this proposal in that they be permitted to take their daughter and sister home to care for her within their family. The Schindler family members would take on this responsibility at their own expense. In consideration of your client permitting them to take Terri home with them, they would be willing to provide him with any legal guarantees he would desire, including the following:
1) ; The Schindlers would never seek any money from Michael. He could retain any monies or other assets that might remain to him, either from their married life together, from the malpractice awards for himself or for Terri, or any other assets he might have received in the past. They would not seek any financial help from him for any care, therapy, or rehabilitation for Terri.
2) ; The Schindlers fully understand and appreciate that Michael now has a new life with Jodi and their two children. If he would desire to divorce Terri, the family would sign any necessary legal documents to assure Michael that, upon Terri's natural death, he would receive any of Terri's estate that he would inherit were he to remain her husband. Whether or not Michael would choose to pursue a divorce from Terri, the Schindlers would guarantee that he could retain whatever visiting rights he might desire with Terri for the rest of her life.
3) ; The Schindlers would agree to forego any and all future legal claims or actions against Michael or against any of his agants in this matter for any reason.
4) ; The Schindlers would permit Michael's attorneys to draft any agreement regarding this matter that Michael would desire, including the above referenced terms and any other terms he and his attorneys would find appropriate, excluding payment of Michael's previous legal fees or costs.
& nbsp; &n bsp; Now that Michael is a father himself, the Schindlers are pleading with him to consider their love for their daughter and sister and to permit them to take over Terri's care, with their blessings on Michael as he continues to live his own life with his new family.
& nbsp; &n bsp; Please provide a copy of this letter to Michael and respond to us within five days.
Sincerely,
[Signed by David C. Gibbs III] David C. Gibbs III Admitted in Florida, Texas, North Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia
Because upon the first glad Easter day & nbsp; The stone that sealed His tomb was rolled away, & nbsp; So, through the deepening shadows of death's night, & nbsp; Men see an open door ... beyond it, light. & nbsp; ... Ida Norton Munson (b.1877)
Meditation: The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. -- Romans 13:12 (KJV)
The following is a guest editorial written by my best friend:
“Michael Schiavo will be the ultimate loser in this drama. After all, what's the value if you gain the world yet lose your soul?
“For Mr. Schiavo to deny the dignity of Last Rites and Holy Communion is subhuman. But it is easy for a secular humanist with no religious beliefs to impose his will on a profoundly disabled and helpless person.
“I believe that God reserves a special place in hell for people like Mr. Schiavo. It will be a lavishly deserved punishment.”
In an order styled "In RE: The Guardianship Of Theresa Marie Shiavo, Incapacitated" signed March 9, 2005 by judge George W. Greer, I find the following statement of fact by judge Greer:
"...a new evidentiary hearing on Terri Schiavo's condition was couducted in October 2002 and current diagnostic testing procedures and high quality brain scans were undertaken, the results of which were presented to this Court along with any new medical procedures that would significantly improve the quality of her life." (emphasis mine)
This line from Greer's ruling is remarkable! If these "high quality" scans were made in 2002 - where are they now? Where are the medical personnel that made these scans? Were the scans really made or is this statement a(nother) work of fiction on Greer's part?
Since Greer went on to deny the petition, shouldn't he, in light of all the controversy and questions surrounding his judgement, release these medical records? Or at least allow a group of qualified medical doctors to look and confirm his finding of fact?
A website that is known simply as zimp.org has some excellent reference material on the Terri Schiavo case. On two different pages the owner of zimp has detailed the violations of Florida Statutes by Michael Schiavo and judge Greer. The two links offered below will take you to those pages. In my reading of the evidence provided, it appears most of the commentary is directed against Mr. Schiavo. My only addition to the information I link to is that Mr. Schiavo could never have abused the law in such a flagrant manner without the complicity and cooperation of the Florida judiciary, especially judge Greer as so-called "finder of fact."
This page list a general listing of Florida law, links included, with commentary by the author.
This page expands on the information provided in the link above.
All information provided at zimp is easily verified by simple internet searches.
Attorney Felos, death merchant, stated today that in all his years of "visiting" Terri Schiavo he has never seen her look "so beautiful." This after starving her for eight days.
By the way, Mr. Felos, have you caused any airplanes to "almost crash" lately? (for those of you in the dark, reference is made to Mr. Felos' book "Litigation As Spiritual Practice")
For an excellent summary of the money trail in the Terri Schiavo case please see "Terri's money used to pay for starvation death" on WND here.
A few excerpts:
"In April 1993, Terri's money was valued at $776,254. According to a financial planner, it's been estimated that if the principle had not been touched, the fund during the mid- to late 1990s would have grown and at the same time generated an annual income of at least $70,000. This would easily have paid for her care in the finest nursing home in Florida, including rehabilitation."
"No reason was given as to why the local hospice was to be brought into the action, but that became obvious in April 2000 when Schiavo and Felos had Terri removed surreptitiously and without prior court approval from the nursing home where she'd lived since 1994 and relocated at the Woodside Hospice, a facility of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, of which Felos had been a board member since 1996 a fact he did not disclose."
"Every minute, every hour the clock was ticking on Terri and the tab was growing exponentially. The principle of her estate was being depleted quicker than it could generate revenue. But with the financial report closed to the parents, the Schindlers had no idea how much was being spent.
"After the trial [in year 2000], Felos billed on a more regular basis every few months, with a particularly large invoice for the two months following the trial, much of it for "dealing with the media.""
"In June 2000, Felos billed $11,700 for attorney time for the two-month period from Jan. 28 to Mar. 28, with many of the items being essentially damage control measures. These include hours spent with Schiavo doing media interviews, "calls to and from client regarding how to obtain balanced media coverage, media interviews," "numerous calls to and from media representatives and interviews", a call from Schiavo regarding radio talk show and libel issues," and so on."
The talking heads on television and the mainstream media have made frequent references to the fact that Terri Schiavo's hospice care is being paid by medicare, which means all U.S. taxpayers. Usually this factoid is accompanied by loud screeching about the Republicans "cutting medicare benefits" for the "poor, elderly, and disabled."
Why does no one question why judge Greer, in violation of Florida Statute 744.3215 ( Rights of persons determined incapacitated) paragraph (h), allowed Ms Schiavo's medical care trust fund to be depleted by her so-called husband paying enormous legal fees in his inelegant effort to starve her to death?
Leave aside for a moment the fact that Ms. Schiavo was committed to the Sun Coast Hospice in violation of federal law governing admissions to hospice facilities. (See federal law here) Had Mr. Schiavo spent the trust fund money in the way he promised he would in testimony before a jury 13 years ago, Terri Schiavo would not be in need of state or federal medical payment assistance today. The trust fund is/was being administered by a reputable bank in Florida in an account which gave Mr. Schiavo no direct access. The only way for Mr. Schiavo to raid the trust fund was by judicial order. Judge Greer signed such an order. Then, to cover up just what has happened to Ms Schiavo's money, judge Greer has sealed the trust fund records.
Perhaps the federal government should file suit against judge Greer and Michael Schiavo to recover the cost of Ms Schiavo's hospice care.
"A Cabot [Vt.] farmer convicted of starving his cows to death has begun serving a reparative sentence imposed by Washington County prosecutors as part of a plea bargain," reports the Barre-Montpilier Times Argus:
Christian DeNeergaard pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in January. He received a suspended one-year sentence as well as 30 days of work crew assignment as part of a deal with prosecutors. DeNeergaard, 47, may not own or possess livestock during his year of probation and must also undergo alcohol-abuse counseling.
In October, then-Washington County State's Attorney Tom Kelly said he would seek at least some jail time for animal neglect, which claimed the lives of at least 11 cows.
"We think some jail time is appropriate," said Kelly in an October interview. "The cows suffered tremendously."
Even though DeNeergaard won't be behind bars, every American can sleep easy knowing that we live in a society that does not tolerate a man starving a cow to death. [end]
The Terri Schiavo case is hard to write about, hard to think about. Those video images are hard to look at. I see that face, maybe smiling, maybe not, and I am reminded of a young woman I knew as a child, lying on a couch, brain-damaged, apparently unresponsive, and deeply beloved -- freakishly, perhaps, but genuinely so -- living proof of one family's no-matter-what commitment. I watch nourishment flowing into a slim tube that runs through a neat, round, surgically created orifice in Terri Schiavo's abdomen and I'm almost envious. What effortless intake! Because of a congenital neuromuscular disease, I am having trouble swallowing, and it's a constant struggle to get by mouth the calories my skinny body needs. For whatever reason, I'm still trying, but I know a tube is in my future. So, possibly, is speechlessness. That's a scary thought. If I couldn't speak for myself, would I want to die? If I become uncommunicative, a passive object of other people's care, should I hope my brain goes soft and leaves me in peace?
My emotional response is powerful, but at bottom it's not important. It's no more important than anyone else's, not what matters. The things that ought to matter have become obscured in our communal clash of gut reactions. Here are 10 of them:
• Ms. Schiavo is not terminally ill. She has lived in her current condition for 15 years. This is not about end-of-life decision making. The question is whether she should be killed by denying her food and fluids.
• Ms. Schiavo is not dependent on life support. Her lungs, kidneys, heart and digestive systems work fine. Just as she uses a wheelchair for mobility, she uses a tube for eating and drinking. Feeding Ms. Schiavo is not difficult, painful or in any way heroic. That Ms. Schiavo eats through a tube should have nothing to do with whether she should live or die.
• This is not a case about a patient's right to refuse treatment. I don't see eating and drinking as "treatment," but even if they are, everyone agrees that Ms. Schiavo is at present incapable of articulating a decision to refuse treatment. The question is who should make the decision for her and whether that substitute decision maker should be authorized to kill her.
• There is a dispute as to Ms. Schiavo's awareness and consciousness. But if we assume that those who would authorize her death are correct, she is completely unaware of her situation and therefore incapable of suffering physically or emotionally. Her death thus can't be justified as relieving her suffering.
• There is a genuine dispute as to what Ms. Schiavo believed and expressed about life with severe disability before she herself became incapacitated; certainly, she never stated her preferences in an advance directive such as a living will. If we assume that she is aware and conscious, it is possible that, like most people who have lived with a severe disability for as long as she has, she has abandoned her preconceived fears of the life she is now living. We have no idea whether she wishes to be bound by things she might have said when she was living a very different life. If we assume she is unaware and unconscious, we can't justify her death as her preference. She has no preference.
• Ms. Schiavo, like all people, incapacitated or not, has a federal constitutional right not to be deprived of her life without due process of law.
• In addition to the rights all people enjoy, Ms. Schiavo has a statutory right under the Americans With Disabilities Act not to be treated differently because of her disability. Obviously, Florida law would not allow a husband to kill a non-disabled wife by denying her nourishment. It is Ms. Schiavo's disability that makes her killing different in the eyes of the Florida courts. Because the state is overtly drawing lines based on disability, it has the burden under the ADA of justifying those lines.
• In other contexts, federal courts are available to make sure state courts respect federally protected rights. Although review will very often be a futile, last-ditch effort -- as with most habeas petitions from death row -- federalism requires that the federal government, not the states, have the last word. When the issue is the scope of a guardian's authority, it is necessary to allow other people, in this case other family members, standing to file a legal challenge.
• The whole society has a stake in making sure state courts are not tainted by prejudices, myths and unfounded fears -- like the unthinking horror in mainstream society that transforms feeding tubes into fetish objects, emblematic of broader, deeper fears of disability that sometimes slide from fear to disgust and from disgust to hatred. While we should not assume that disability prejudice tainted the Florida courts, we cannot reasonably assume that it did not.
• Despite the unseemly Palm Sunday pontificating in Congress, the legislation enabling Ms. Schiavo's parents to sue did not reflect a taking of sides in the so-called culture wars. It did not dictate that Ms. Schiavo be fed. It simply created a procedure whereby the federal courts could decide whether her federally protected rights have been violated.
In the Senate, a key supporter of a federal remedy was Iowa's Tom Harkin, a progressive Democrat and longtime friend of labor and civil rights, including disability rights. Harkin told reporters, "There are a lot of people in the shadows, all over this country, who are incapacitated because of a disability, and many times there is no one to speak for them, and it is hard to determine what their wishes really are or were. So I think there ought to be a broader type of a proceeding that would apply to people in similar circumstances who are incapacitated."
I hope against hope that I will never be one of those people in the shadows, that I will always, one way or another, be able to make my wishes known. I hope that I will not outlive my usefulness or my capacity (at least occasionally) to amuse the people around me. But if it happens otherwise, I hope whoever is appointed to speak for me will be subject to legal constraints. Even if my guardian thinks I'd be better off dead -- even if I think so myself -- I hope to live and die in a world that recognizes that killing, even of people with the most severe disabilities, is a matter of more than private concern.
Clearly, Congress's Palm Sunday legislation was not the broader type of proceeding Harkin and I want. It does not define when and how federal court review will be available to all of those in the shadows. To create a general system of review, applicable whenever life-and-death decisions intersect with disability rights, will require a reasoned, informed debate unlike what we've had until now. It will take time. But in the Schiavo case, time is running out.
The writer is a disability rights lawyer in Charleston, S.C. Her memoir in stories, "Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales From a Life," will be released next month. This article is reprinted from Slate magazine.
U.S. District Judge James Whittemore has shown once again how deeply vested he is in the culture of death. Death must win - no matter the price. The United States 2005: Death, no liberty, and the pursuit of even more death. All hail the new leaders of America - the judicial tyrants - long live the tyrants!
Ever wonder why judge Greer denies every motion filed by Mr. & Mrs. Schindler? Is there a conflict of interest between the judge and lawyer Felos?
While browsing campaign contributions to judge Greer in 2004 (link here) I noted the law firm of Felos & Felos. While it was not a large amount, $250, it still calls into question the impartiality of judge Greer.
Several years ago I was involved in a legal action in a local court. I found out the judge hearing my case was taking campaign contributions from my opponents' attorney. It was enough to have the judge recused on the grounds of conflict of interest. Why can't this rule be applied in the case of Terri Schiavo?
Attorney George Felos is now listed as available talent with Eagles Talent Connection, Inc., a Speakers and Entertainers Bureau of South Orange, New Jersey. In their online booking site, Eagles Talent offers the speaking services of Mr. Felos for fees ranging from $10,001 to $15,000. Among the topics listed as presented material, Mr. Felos includes "The Terri Schiavo Saga: From Family Fight to Constitutional Crisis".
Nothing finer than cashing in on the tragedy of his client's ward. And since the trust fund records were sealed by his buddy judge Greer, we may never know how much of Terri Schiavo's trust fund has been paid to Mr. Felos in legal fees.
In the end, Schiavo and his wife received a total of about $1-million in a verdict against one doctor who treated Mrs. Schiavo and from a settlement with another doctor.
"Michael didn't say to the jury, "Oh, by the way, I intend to kill my wife next year,"' said Pat Anderson, an attorney representing Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said, "It's true Michael never affirmatively said Terri would never want to be kept alive if there was no hope. Then again, he didn't lie. Nobody ever asked him the question."
Source: Schiavo's wishes recalled in records
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer Published November 8, 2003
I was asked to examine Terri Schiavo per the request of the Second District Court of Appeal. They requested that current information about her present medical condition be obtained. They also requested that an evaluation be performed to ascertain treatment options.
HPI:
Ms Schiavo was in her usual state of good health until 2/25/90, when her husband reported that he was awakened from sleep approximately 6 Am by her falling. He reports that she was unresponsive.
Paramedics were called, and aggressive resuscitation was performed with 7 defibrillations en route.
In the Emergency Room, a possible diagnosis of heart attack was briefly entertained, but then dismissed after blood chemistries and serial EKG's did not show evidence of a heart attack. Similarly, a pulmonary or lung cause of the disorder was ruled out in the Emergency Room after normal blood gases and Chest X-Rays were obtained. The possibility of toxic shock syndrome was also entertained. The diagnosis of the cause of her condition was unknown. Her admission laboratory studies showed low potassium level, markedly elevated glucose level, and a normal toxic screen without evidence of diet pills or amphetamines.
The abnormal potassium level and sugar level were found on admission to the Emergency Room and were successfully corrected by the hospital staff over the next several days. The patient had a difficult hospital course with the development of poorly controlled seizures and prolonged coma state requiring, for a time, ventilator support. However, the staff noted improvement, and it was recommended by several physicians that she be discharged to an intensive rehabilitation center.
She was eventually transferred to Mediplex in Bradenton for intensive rehabilitation. She was poorly responsive. However, after a brain stimulator was placed in 11/90, the staff started to report greater interactions of the patient with her environment, including intermittently apparently following commands, turning her head to voice, tracking visually, etc.
This pattern continued even after discharge to a nursing home, although her course from that time on included multiple medical problems including recurrent urinary tract infections and hospitalizations, at times with severely low episodes of blood pressure due to a lack of treatment of urinary tract infections ordered by the husband and subsequent urinary sepsis requiring hospitalization.
During 1998, she was evaluated by Dr. James Barnhill, neurologist, who testified that he examined her for ten minutes and determined that she had no chance for recovery, and was in a persistent vegetative state. He also identified that her skull was filled with spinal fluid; there was no brain present on the scans. All responses he identified were reported as "reflexes." He obtained no blood pressure nor did anyone else, apparently, on the day of his exam, the closest documented blood pressures being obtained two days earlier and five days later. No tests including Urinary Tract infection evaluations, blood tests, EEGs, evoked potentials, or new CT/MRI exams were ordered.
One year later he again reconfirmed his earlier diagnosis. He felt no tests of any sort were needed for evaluation.
In the spring of 2000, three physicians, including Dr. Jay Carpenter, who is a former Chief of Medicine at Morton Plant Hospital, filed affidavits after observing Ms. Schiavo. All three physicians stated that it is visually apparent that Ms Schiavo is able to swallow and, in fact, does swallow her own saliva.
The patient continued with no physical therapy, communication or speech therapy, or routine medical screening evaluations and treatment such as dental care, mammography, gynecological exams or pap smears during this time.
In May 2002, access to the patient was allowed for two physicians appointed by the family. At that time, my observation of Terri Schiavo in person occurred, having previously viewed videotape that was first shown at her first trial.
The examination
Medical examination and evaluations were performed on Ms Schiavo on September 3 and 4 with ideographers present.
Medical reviews of the charts provided were carried out, from which the above history is obtained.
On September 3, I spent from approximately 11AM until 4PM with Ms. Schiavo, returning the next day to also observe Dr. Maxfield and complete my portion of the exam (which duplicated that of Dr. Maxfield, so I observed without myself specifically repeating that part of the exam that same day).
The exam was videotaped at my request.
The exam started with the setting up of the video camera by the videographers, with Mr. Michael Schiavo present. I then came into the room and introduced myself to Ms. Schiavo. The patient was looking at the ceiling in a chair. She had a wide-eyed look to her. She appeared to be aware of my presence with slight facial changes and tone changes in her body, She did not look at me, or turn to look in the direction of my voice, continuing instead to look directly forward. Her mother then entered the room, coming toward her and speaking her name. The daughter immediately showed awareness of the presence of her mother, looking for her, then finding her visually when the mother was approximately 8 inches from her face. She then smiled and made sounds. Her father also entered the room with further apparent recognition by the daughter.
The first part of this exam included observing her interactions with her mother and her father. Here she clearly was aware of them and attempted to interact with them: the sounds, facial expressions, and searching out and tracking them. There are several previous reports by medical personnel and others of her responding to live piano music. Accordingly, I asked the mother to bring a tape of piano music. Two separate pieces were listened to. The first she appeared aware of the sound, but would not sing or interact significantly. The second she did interact making sounds with the music. She stopped making these sounds, when the music stopped.
During this time, she would move her head and track her head and eyes to the sound of music, or her mother's voice.
I started my exam first on her right side, introducing myself and then examined her contracted right arm, the goal being to get a blood pressure, as neurological abilities are very sensitive to blood pressure. She looked at me and would track me with voluntary facial and upper torso movements.
I later moved to the left arm and attempted to release contractures there. In order to get significant relaxation of the arm to a degree necessary to obtain a blood pressure, I worked for approximately 35 minutes to release the contractures enough to get arm extension to approximately 140 degrees. During this time, the patient would track the mother or the father, depending on who was interacting with her. Interestingly, she appeared to respond to her mother or father by tone of voice. At one time, after working on her arm for approximately 20 minutes, and no further extension of the elbow was to be had, the father walked up and started speaking reassuringly to his daughter. The elbow immediately extended approximately another 20 degrees. This was during a time period that I had been talking with Ms. Schiavo, and the music was also running. Yet with neither the addition of the music nor my voice did the elbow extend. With the father coming to his daughter and speaking, she immediately extended the arm further. At other times, he would speak more sharply to her, and she would immediately tighten, and appear to lose her spot of visual focusing, and her expressions would change. At times during and immediately after this part of the exam, she would also appear to voluntarily move her right upper extremity.
Multiple takes of her blood pressure were taken, and there were several readings of "error." During the reading of her blood pressure, I also palpated the median artery at the wrist. In general, the systolic readings on the blood pressure cuff correlated well with the wrist palpations. Thus, the systolic readings are probably fairly accurate, although the diastolic readings cannot be independently confirmed. Three readings were successfully obtained 96/65 pulses of 70, 107/78 pulse of 72, and 101/71 pulse of 70. The pulse was erratic by both machine and palpation. The blood pressure errors occurred due to spasticity in the arm being evaluated.
A general physical exam was also performed, although pelvic, breast, rectal, fundoscopic, sinus and ear exams were not performed. Technical difficulties prevented the fundoscopic exam from being performed.
The general physical examination and the neurological examination tended to be performed in an extremity-by-extremity fashion, as her cooperation was best by focusing on specific regions, and then not coming back to those regions at a later time. Moving rapidly and from side to side tended to result in apparent confusion and stress in the patient, manifested by increased tone and less facial interactions, eye contact, and less accessibility to her limbs due to the increased tone causing contractures to redevelop.
The general facial exam was significant for acne, probably due to a chronic stress induced steroid responses. No bruits [Ed. note: An abnormal sound heard that would be made by internal organs, as the heart and lungs, to aid in the diagnosis of certain disorders.] were identified. Cranial nerves were intact, and the patient was able to swallow and handle all secretions.
The neck exam was abnormal. She had severe limitation of range of motion in the flexion, and to a lesser degree in extension. Indeed, I was able to pick up her entire torso and head and neck area with pressure on the back of her neck in the suboccipital region. These findings of cervical spasm and limitation of range of motion are consistent with a neck injury. No bruits were identified.
Lung exam showed scattered wheezes in the right lung fields. No rhonchi [A coarse rattling sound somewhat like snoring, usually caused by secretion in a bronchial tube.] or rales [An abnormal or pathological respiratory sound] were identified. Cardiac exam was normal to my exam. Interestingly, the significant arrhythmias identified by the electronic cuff, as well as my palpation of her wrist exam was not identified during this cardiac portion of the exam, suggesting the arrhythmia is intermittent.
Abdominal exam showed good GI sounds throughout, and was non-tender. No masses or aneurysms were palpated.
Extremities exam showed severe contractures in all four extremities. On the left upper extremity, she initially showed 4/4 on the Allen's spasticity scale about the wrist, fingers, and the elbow. However, with approximately 40 minutes of massage and release, the exam in this upper extremity showed spasticity on the Allen's scale, and at times, later in the exam, would show 2/4 on the Allen's exam. The right upper extremity also showed 4/4 on the Allen's scale, and also improved with efforts at muscular tension release. However, time did not allow me the same degree of effort on her right upper extremity, and thus I am unsure of the degree of relaxation available in this area.
In the lower extremities, she has 2/4 about the hips and the knees, meaning full range of motion, but spasticity still present. However, about the ankles, she is 4/4 and I could obtain no improvement in the range of motion.
With levels of 3/4 and 4/4 spasticity, it is frequently difficult to determine the degree of voluntary control if any a patient has over an extremity. The internal spasticity and stiffness of the limb, makes gauging voluntary efforts very difficult. Efforts that may be easily seen or felt in a patient with no spasticity may be completely missed or only able to be identified from sophisticated testing in a patient with 3/4 or 4/4 levels of spasticity.
Spasticity generally is due to neurological injuries, and is aggravated by lack of physical therapy and muscle stretching. To understand spasticity, it is important to understand what is normal with muscle activity.
In a normal person, a leg, arm, or other part of the body moves because a muscle contracts and moves a nearby bone. However, muscles exist on both the front and the back of joints. When the muscles in the front of the joint move, the bone moves forward. When the muscles on the back of the joint move, the bone moves backwards. If the bone is your arm, then when the biceps contracts, the arm bends. When the triceps contracts, the arms straightens. Another characteristic of normal is that when one set of muscles contracts, the opposite muscles relax. Thus, when the biceps contracts, the triceps relaxes and vice versa.
In spasticity, that relaxation of opposing muscles does not occur. Thus, even if the biceps tries to contract to move a muscle, the opposing contractures of the triceps, prevents motion. In severe cases, like Ms. Schiavo, the contractures of the opposing muscles may be so severe, that voluntary motion appears very weak or non-existent. In fact, in some of her muscle groups, the severity of the contractures has grown so severe, that even an outsider cannot move the joint.
The Allen's scale is a 0-4 scale with 0 as normal or no spasticity. The scale is as follows:
0 Normal, no spasticity
1 Slight spasticity, palpated by the physician, but full range of motion of a joint
2 Moderate spasticity, but full range of motion. Here the examiner may be allowed to use a great deal of his own muscle contraction to straighten a joint. If the joint can be straightened to its full range of motion, this is a 2.
3 Severe spasticity, but some motion can be identified. Full range of motion does not exist.
4 Severe spasticity, no range of motion.
Pulses in these extremities were symmetrical. Skin was intact in these areas.
The patient wore a diaper, and this was not removed for the exam.
Back exam was carried out and there were no evident areas of tenderness, masses, or other abnormalities seen.
The first two hours of the exam, focusing on cognitive awareness of her surroundings, was carried out in a chair. The last one hour on videotape was carried out in her bed. In neither position did she have difficulty handling any saliva or secretions. Only briefly, for a few minutes at a time, did she appear to tire and lose the ability to respond, track or interact with her surroundings. She had no tube feedings or water during the entire time of the exam.
Alertness: The patient was alert throughout essentially the entire exam.
Responsiveness: The patient would immediately respond to sound, tone of voiceand to touch and pain. With respect to responding to those around her, she had limited responsiveness to me personally until approximately 45 minutes into the exam. She started to look at me, against her traditional right gaze preference, about the same time that we started getting significant relaxation in her contracted left arm (the arm that had been contracted for several years.) She appeared to identify the sound of my voice, with the relaxation of the arm. From that point, she would generally look toward the sound of my voice when heard, attempt to find me visually, then track the sound of my voice in its movements, or track me if I was within approximately one foot of her eyes. Prior to that time, she did not track me, or try to locate me visually. When playing music, she had a clear preference to the specific sound track played, and would listen to piano music, but change levels of listening depending on the track played. Her attention to the music would not wander during the track she preferred. She would pick out her mother's voice or her father's voice separate from the music or other voices or sounds in the room, and re-fix her gaze to those people. She would tend not to blink when watching those people. She ignored her husband's loud foot-tapping that went on for approximately five minutes at one point. She also ignored his voice and did not try to seek him out visually when he would at times interject comments during the exam or immediately afterwards.
During various portions of the exam, she would be moved or have her position readjusted. She continued to handle her saliva during this time, never being observed to choke on her saliva.
Following Commands: At various times during the exam, I asked her to close her eyes, or open her eyes widely, look towards her mother, or look towards me. At times, she appeared to properly follow these commands. Interestingly, some of the commands, such as close your eyes, open your eyes, etc. she tended to do several minutes after I gave her the command to do so. She had a delay in her processing of the action. However, when praised for the action, she would then continue to do the action repetitively for up to approximately 5 minutes. As we had moved on to other areas of the exam, at times she was continuing to do the previous command, then at inappropriate times since the focus of the exam had changed. During different portions of the exam, I would ask her to squeeze my hand on command, or, in the lower extremities, to pick up her right lower leg to command. The upper extremities are contracted and weak. She appeared to squeeze my hand, and then relax her grip, in the upper right extremity, possibly in the upper left extremity. I am unsure if she was doing it to verbal command, or in response to body language; however, it was voluntary activity and not reflex. In the lower extremities, she showed these same abilities, marked on the right and to a lesser degree on the left (voluntary control over the ankles could not be determined due to the severity of the contractures there). However, in the right lower extremity, I again gave verbal commands, but also noted that she would oppose activity voluntarily. Thus, moving a hand against a thigh would elicit an equal and opposite reaction from her. She would gauge the degree of pressure, and counteract it equally. This is not a reflexive movement. With respect to her lower leg, we were able to clearly show that on videotape. I had her push her lower leg against my hand; my hand was on the top of her leg. Removing my hand suddenly, allowed her leg to suddenly continue voluntarily rising up and be seen on videotape. We had her do this repetitively on videotape.
Her right lower leg is quite strong. Other areas are either not as strong, or have such high spasticity brought on by neglect that voluntary activities are able to be felt, but difficult to show large degree of motion that are represented on videotape so well. The voluntary control is there, but does not show up well on videotape, as the range that the motion goes through is less.
Cranial Nerve Exam: Cranial nerve function is present and appears normal in all groups tested. The fundoscopic exam and ophthalmic nerve function could not be tested directly. She tracks well and voluntarily. She does not exhibit "Doll's Eye" motion, an abnormality seen in coma patients whose eyes move back and forth like a doll's when their head is moved.
Coma patients cannot direct their gaze to specific things and maintain their gaze on those things regardless of head motion or motion of the object.
She can do these things. She appears to see things best at approximately the 8-12 inch area. She was best able to track large reflective objects like aluminum balloons or sparkling lights (for which a focal length limitation is not an issue.)
This is a patient who has very poor language abilities. Her interactions with the world, as well as her ability to convey thought will depend in large part on her visual abilities and limitations. Thus a complete opthamological exam and evoked potential exam needs to be performed. This needs to be performed in comfortable situation and the patient needs to be comfortable with the examiner and the examinations. I would estimate that at least one day should be allotted for the exam and should be carried out her in room.
Sensory Exam: The patient was tested to light touch, pressure, and sharp touch and pain in all four extremities and on her face. The pain portion in the extremities was conducted by pinching the nail beds of her hands and feet. She clearly feels pain as the videotapes show.
On the face, noxious stimulation including cotton swab up the nose and gag sensation and papillary touch with cotton evidenced a pain response. These were more than just reflexes, as she appeared to be annoyed by these painful responses long after they had stopped, and would not smile at me again for the rest of the day. She certainly feels pressure, as was discussed earlier, and opposes pressure with voluntary motor activity. When using a sharp piece of wood, which she found uncomfortable, and going over her entire body (except diapered areas and breast areas), we found that sensation is present everywhere. Sensation on the right side as evidenced by moaning or tightening up muscles or withdrawal and was more prevalent than on the left.
We found that she had two sensory levels. The first is the side-to-side asymmetry, where she feels more on the right than the left. The second is a major increase in pain approximately C4 and cephalic to the head. This is consistent with a spinal injury and spinal cord injury near this level.
Motor Exam: As discussed earlier, it is difficult to measure motor strength on the classical scales. The classical motor strength scale is a 0-5 scale and is described as patient's voluntary motor strength score /normal which is represented as a 5. Thus a person with no voluntary motion would be 0/5 and a person with normal voluntary motion is a 5/5. Normal motor strength requires relaxation of the muscles around the muscle being tested. Thus, if grip squeeze is being tested, the muscles that straighten the fingers must relax in order to have a good squeeze. If those muscles don't relax, they tend to keep the fingers straight, and thus give a weaker squeeze than if they did relax. When the muscles near the area being tested don't relax, that is called spasticity, and makes the exam less accurate. At times the spasticity is so severe that a muscle tested may not be strong enough to overcome the opposing muscles, and no evidence of voluntary muscle movement is seen even though there is in fact voluntary control over those muscles.
This is the problem that we have with Ms. Schiavo. She clearly has voluntary control that is good control over her facial musculature. Formal testing of those cranial nerves showed no weakness or facial asymmetry.
In the upper and lower arms, however, the spasticity is severe. She at times would voluntarily move her right arm/ hand complex against gravity, which is considered a strength of 3/5 or greater by convention. When squeezing my hand and relaxing on the right side, she had approximately a 2-3 (-)/5 but range of activity was severely limited by spasticity. On the left side, it appeared weaker. In the upper extremities, she would oppose pressure on her, or try to move her arms with approximately 3/5, but not to command (probably due to the aphasia). The right side was stronger than the left.
The leg motion on the right was generally approximately 2-3/5 in all groups except around the ankle. However, when opposing my hand in the lower leg, she was 3+ -4-/5 and the voluntary action caught on videotape was clearly a strong 3/5 or better. On the left side the strength appeared to be more of a 2/5 range in all groups, but due to the difficulty of the exam, may actually have been stronger than this.
The convention of the 0-5 scales for testing voluntary motor strength is as follows:
0 No voluntary movement
1 Trace movement able to be felt
2 Movement of an extremity if gravity is removed. Thus if movement of a leg occurs in a bed while a patient is lying down, but he cannot move that same area up off of the bed, this is considered 2/5.
3 Movement against gravity
4 Movements against examiner's actively resisting the patient's muscular activity
5 Normal
The scale has some additional aspects, in that a - or + sign may further allow an examiner to delineate a specific number into sub-gradations.
Reflexes: Were 2+ throughout on the left side, and slightly brisker on the right side. The reflexes to my exam were slightly brisker in the upper extremities than in the lower extremities. These reflex findings may be related in part to differing level of tone due to spasticity. No clonus was identified. The reflexes at the pectoralis muscles were 2++ and symmetrical. Reflexes at the ankles could not be obtained due to the severe contractures. Babinski exam did not show abnormal reflexes, probably due to the severity of the contractures in the feet. Both glabellar and palmomental reflexes were mildly abnormal.
Impression:
The patient is not in coma.
She is alert and responsive to her environment. She responds to specific people best. She tries to please others by doing activities for which she gets verbal praise. She responds negatively to poor tone of voice. She responds to music.
She differentiates sounds from voices.
She differentiates specific people's voices from others.
She differentiates music from stray sound.
She attempts to verbalize.
She has voluntary control over multiple extremities
She can swallow.
She is partially blind
She is probably aphasic and has a degree of receptive aphasia.
She can feel pain.
On this last point, it is interesting to observe that the records from Hospice show frequent medication administered for pain by staff.
With respect to specifics and specific recommendations in order to carry out the instructions of the Second District Court of Appeal:
From a neurological standpoint: The patient appears to be partially blind. She needs a full opthamological evaluation and visual evoked potentials done to flash and checkerboard patters. The opthamological examination is to evaluate her retina and her ophthalmic nerve to try to determine the cause of her visual limitations and if any treatment exists. The evoked potentials looks at the nerve between the eye and the visual centers in the brain, to see if there is treatable damage and the type of damage, if any in these areas. This is important, as for individuals to interact with her, and possibly teach her better ways of communicating with others, they must know what sort of limitations she has. This even extends to whether she can see people or objects in specific areas of her vision, and what size objects need to be to be accurately seen. Additionally, if one were to properly examine her, it would help if one knew the full extent of these test results.
Communication: She can communicate. She needs a Speech Therapist, Speech Pathologist, and a communications expert to evaluate how to best communicate with her and to allow her to communicate and for others to communicate with her. Also, a treatment plan for how to develop better communication needs to be done.
Rehabilitation Medicine: The patient has severe contractures. She needs a specialist to evaluate these and develop a treatment plan.
Endocrine: The patient has clinical evidence of an abnormally functioning endocrine system. Her blood pressure is abnormally low. Many patients with severe neurological injury have low blood pressure due to an abnormally functioning endocrine system. The reason for this should be determined and corrected, as with a more normal blood pressure, she is likely to have even better neurological functioning. She has facial acne consistent with hormonal abnormalities.
ENT: The patient can clearly swallow, and is able to swallow approximately 2 liters of water per day (the daily amount of saliva generated). Water is one of the most difficult things for people to swallow. It is unlikely that she currently needs the feeding tube. She should be evaluated by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist, and have a new swallowing exam.
Mammography needs to be performed.
Spinal Exam: The patient's exam from a spinal perspective is abnormal. The degree of limitation of range of motion, and of spasms in her neck, is consistent with a neck injury. The abnormal sensory exam, that shows evidence of her hypoxic encephalopathic strokes (right side sensory responses are different from left) also suggests a spinal cord injury at around the level of C4. Her physical exam and videotapes also suggest a spinal cord injury is also present, as she has much better control over he face, head, and neck, than over her arms and legs. This reminds one of a person with a spinal cord injury who has good facial control, but poor use of arms and legs. It is possible that a correctable spinal abnormality such as a herniated disk may be found that could be treated and result in better neurological functioning. This should be looked for, as may be treatable. Thus, there may be an injured disk or spinal cord; the disk injury is more treatable, the spinal cord injury, if present without a disk injury, may be more difficult to treat. A person with a spinal cord injury and hypoxic encephalopathy will need different treatment and rehab recommendations than one who just has a hypoxic encephalopathic.
Interestingly, I have seen this pattern of mixed brain (cerebral) and spinal cord findings in a patient once before, a patient who was asphyxiated.
A urological consultation should be obtained: I disagree with Dr. Gambone's view that the patient's bacteria in the urine may be ignored. In my experience, colonization of the bladder can very distinctly affect the patient's neurological status and affect their rehabilitation. The patient needs a urological consultation both to examine the bladder issue, resolve if there are possibly colonized and kidney stones (that may be the source of recurring bladder infections). Also, one significant mechanism of diagnosing and finding and diagnosing spinal cord injuries is through sophisticated bladder EMG and other testing. This should be done.
The neurosurgeon who placed the implant should be contacted for recommendations.
A neurological examination can only be carried out in the context of a complete understanding of the patient's physiology, including current blood tests. Thus the tests that Dr. Gambone did months ago, before we had access to the patient, should immediately be repeated.
EEG: I have reviewed the EEG recently obtained. The EEG has large amounts of artifact. The technician's attempted to remove artifact by filtering. Unfortunately, filtering also affects and reduces evident brain electronic activity. This EEG is not adequate and should be repeated. It should be repeated at the patient's bedside, with the patient in a non-agitated state.
SPECT scan: A SPECT scan prior to and after several days of Hyperbaric Trial should be obtained. Such a Hyperbaric Oxygen trial does not constitute treatment, as the length of time of such hyperbaric is inadequate to render any treatment. However, it is a useful technique to assess the likelihood of improvement using hyperbaric oxygen. I would defer to Dr. Maxfield on the specifics of testing, but believe that it is generally accepted by those in the field who have experience with hyperbaric treatment, that Dr. Maxfield's recommendations in this area are accurate.
Statement of Schindler Family in Response to Offer of Mr. Robert Herring
March 11, 2005
It was with tremendous surprise that we learned yesterday of the offer to save the life of our daughter, Terri Schiavo, by Mr. Robert Herring. We learned through news reports that Mr. Herring, through his attorney Gloria Allred, had offered a sum of one million dollars to Michael Schiavo to let Terri live and return her to us - her immediate family.
Written words can simply not express the gratitude our family now feels for Mr. Herring and his most generous offer to save the life of our dear daughter and sister, Terri Schiavo.
We are not at all surprised that Mr. Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, will not allow him to entertain such an offer. It seems to us that the case law has become far more important to Mr. Felos than making any attempt to mediate the matter outside of the courts.
It also seems clear to our family that Mr. Schiavo has neither the inclination to discuss the matter with our family – as we have proposed previously – nor the desire to move on with his own life with his new family. After he has denied Terri therapy for so many years and denied our family any opportunity to help her, we can only come to the conclusion that he is not comfortable with the prospects of her regaining her abilities to speak and communicate to us the reasons for her condition.
Clearly, Terri's situation has touched the hearts of many people. Mr. Herring's generous offer is surely one of the most incredible we've seen, but it is also illustrative of how good people can not sit idle when a grave injustice such as this is taking place.
We thank Mr. Herring sincerely and we regret that the spirit of his charitable proposal has been dismissed out of hand by Mr. Felos and Mr. Schiavo.
Terri Schiavo's husband is rejecting a one (m) million dollar offer by a San Diego-area businessman who wants to keep the brain-damaged Florida woman alive.
Robert Herring announced yesterday he would pay Michael Schiavo the money if he transfers the legal right to decide his wife's medical treatment to her parents. For nearly seven years, he's been fighting to get permission to stop his wife's artificial feedings so she can die. Her parents oppose removing the feeding tube. The businessman said yesterday the offer will remain on the table until Monday, but Schiavo's attorney is calling the proposition "offensive."
He says other such offers -- including one for 10 (m) million dollars -- have already been made and rejected by Schiavo, who contends he once promised his wife he would not keep her alive by artificial means before she suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago. (Source: KESQ News)
So now the question must be asked - What is Mr. Schiavo afraid of? Does he fear that therapy may allow Ms Schiavo to tell what really happened to her 15 years ago? Was Terri's condition really caused the way he said it was???
The one thing I cannot understand about this case is why Mr. Schiavo won't let Terri's parents assume guardianship of their daughter. It would be a simple matter to divorce her and let Terri's family take over her care. They don't even want any of the settlement money Mr. Schiavo recieved in his malpractice suit. And after all, Mr. Schiavo has already started another family with his current live-in lover. Why can't he just move on?
The sad truth of this story is that Terri Schiavo is not being kept alive by any heroic means. No machines are involved. She only has a feeding tube attached three times a day - otherwise she is on her own. And a vast majority of doctors believe Terri would be able to eat on her own if she was allowed therapy. By Mr. Schiavo's logic we should kill every man, woman, child, and infant who are not able to feed themselves.
So next Friday, Terri Schiavo not be allowed to eat. She will starve to death. The starvation process will be a slow and painful death. Mr. Schiavo, his rat-faced attorney, and judge Greer should all be forced to sit in Terri's room 24 hours a day from the time the feeding tube is taken away to however long it takes Terri to starve to death. Let them witness the the result of their actions. What would be real justice would be to deprive all three of them food and water while they're on this death watch.
(CNSNews.com) -- A spokesman for the family of Terri Schindler Schiavo said Thursday the Florida judge presiding over her case "ignores the state's laws and orders the premeditated killing of a disabled Florida woman by her husband."
Pamela Hennessy, media director for the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, in a press release Thursday called on disability and eldercare advocates to press for Circuit Judge George Greer's "immediate impeachment."
"If there is a single person following this who doesn't believe Judge Greer has legislated from the bench, trampled Florida's laws and deprived Terri Schiavo of her retained rights, they are simply not paying attention," Hennessy said in a statement.
According to the foundation's press release, on Tuesday and Wednesday Greer issued three orders that the foundation said all but assures Schiavo's death. First, Greer ordered that the family may not introduce oral nutrition and hydration following the removal of Terri's gastric feeding tube.
The foundation pointed out that Florida Statute 744.3215 (Rights of Persons Determined Incapacitated) requires that incapacitated people cannot be deprived of food and water.
"Ordering that Terri Schiavo may not receive nutrition or hydration naturally is against the law, in the opinion of the Foundation," it said in a statement.
Second, according to the foundation, Greer ruled that no further neurological tests may be conducted on Terri, using functional MRI to determine if she is in a "persistent vegetative state," as Greer found in 2002, or if Terri is "minimally conscious."
The foundation pointed out that Florida Statute 765.404, which defines persistent vegetative state, requires that the condition be determined and diagnosed as permanent prior to the withdrawal of life-prolonging means. Also, Florida Statute 765.309 prevents mercy killing and assisted suicide.
The foundation unless the "true neurological condition of Terri Schiavo" is determined prior to the removal of the feeding tube, Greer's order amounts to "a directive for her guardian to commit either a mercy killing or assisted suicide."
And third, "Greer denied an order from a judgment based on his error in dismissing pertinent testimony in 2000 that would assist the court in determining Terri Schiavo's true end of life wishes," the foundation added.
It pointed to Florida Statute 765.404, which says clear and convincing evidence of the ward's intent for medical treatment must be established.
"The only evidence in support of removing Terri's feeding tube was the self-serving hearsay testimony of her guardian (which is not admissible under FS 90.602) and hearsay from two members of his immediate family," the foundation said.
"Greer systematically ruled that testimony from Terri's friends and family was unreliable or not credible. His failure to consider all evidence of Terri Schiavo's attitude towards life-prolonging measures, in the Foundation's opinion, is a clear violation of Florida Statutes," it concluded.
Statement from Gloria Allred, Attorney-at-Law, Representing Robert Herring, Sr.:
We are here today to announce that our client, Robert Herring, Sr., is making an offer to Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, which could save Terri's life.
Terri Schiavo is currently in a coma in Florida. [Ed. Note - Ms Shiavo is NOT in a coma nor in a persistent vegetative state. See Terri's Fight.] Michael Schiavo has asked the court for permission to disconnect her feeding tube, which would result in her death. Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schiavo, have opposed the request. After a long court battle the court has set March 18, 2005 for the removal of Terri's feeding tube.
It now appears that the court process is ending, and that the legislative process has failed to stop the removal of the feeding tube.
This situation has deeply moved and distressed our client Mr. Herring who has been observing the case in the media, as millions of others have for about a year.
Mr. Herring is a successful, socially responsible entrepreneur who spent more than 30 years in the electronics industry as the founder and owner of HERCO Technology. In 2000, Mr. Herring sold HERCO Technology to a New York Stock Exchange listed firm.
In 2003, Mr. Herring founded WEALTHTV, a lifestyle and entertainment television channel. He is a supporter of and a believer in stem cell research and the medical breakthrough that are occurring in this area. He is married with 5 children and 19 grandchildren and lives in the San Diego area.
He recognizes that unless something is done immediately, Terri Schiavo is not likely to survive very long after March 18th. Knowing that time is of the essence and realizing that he is fortunate enough to be able to help, he has decided to take action.
He contacted me and retained my law firm to convey the following offer to Terri's husband. If Mike Schiavo agrees to transfer the legal right to decide all of Terri's current and future medical desicions to Terri's parents, then Mr. Herring will pay Mr. Schiavo the amount of 1 million dollars (subject to court approval of Terri's parents as her conservators or guardians).
The million dollars was deposited into my law firm's client trust account yesterday and this morning we communicated this million dollar offer in writing to Mr. Schiavo's attorney.
This offer will remain open until Monday, March 14, 2005 at 5:00 p.m.
Mr. Herring thinks there might be hope for Terri Schiavo and wonders why there is a rush to death, especially in view of the advances being made in medical research. He feels that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't make this offer and he sincerely hopes that it will be accepted.
We commend Mr. Herring on his creative and decisive attempt to peacefully resolve this legal dispute over Terri.
We look forward to Mr. Schiavo's response.
Click here to see the letter of confirmation of the $1M deposit from the National Bank of California
------------------------- - Statement from Robert Herring, Sr.:
I became interested in the Terri Schiavo story some two years ago, and have followed the ups and downs in this tragic situation closely. After viewing video of Terri on television, I came to the belief that there was hope for her. As events have proceeded in the legal battle, it became clear to me that if something was not done for Terri, that all hope for her would be lost.
It was at this point that I decided to take action to try and bring a positive resolution to a very distressing situation. I therefore have made an offer to Terri's husband in the amount of $1,000,000 to relinquish his custodial rights to Terri's parents in an effort to keep the hope for Terri alive.
I believe very strongly that there are medical advances happening around the globe that very shortly could have a positive impact on Terri's condition. I have seen miraculous recoveries occur through the use of stem cells in patients suffering a variety of conditions.
I decided to contact Gloria Allred to assist me in keeping this hope for Terri alive due to her long history of protecting and being an advocate for those in need of help. I believe that by making this public offer it will encourage people around Mr. Michael Schiavo to help him with a decision that will be most beneficial to Terri. This is a decision that must be made immediately to keep Terri alive.
I have had no contact or association with either Mr. Michael Schiavo or Terri's parents or family. I am a neutral party as it relates to any dispute between them. I am not a medical expert, and do not have opinions on her specific condition. I am however aware that her condition, and potential for recovery is in dispute amongst learned medical professionals.
I am not affiliated or associated with any cause or organization. I am a private individual who is looking to bring hope to Terri's family.
It appears that the court battles may be coming to an end. With a date of March 18th quickly approaching, and no other viable hope for Terri to be able to keep her feeding tube, I felt compelled to act.
Thieves steal empty safe and wind up doing victims a favor
The AP reports the following from FOSTORIA, OH:
Thieves broke into an agency that serves the poor and made off with a safe. The only catch -- the safe was empty.
"It is really quite comical," said Susan Simpkins, director of the Fostoria Bureau of Concern. "It was very heavy, and they did us a favor by taking it."
She said the agency had wanted to throw out the safe but it was too big to move.
The thieves entered the agency through a back door after it closed for the day on Feb. 28 and took the safe, which was in the office.
They did manage to grab a small amount of money from the office's petty cash supply, police said.
ROME, March 9 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Press Released Statement on Terri Schindler-Schiavo from Fédération Internationale des Associations Médicales Catholiques -- World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations:
Save Terri's Life
Terri Schindler-Schiavo is condemned to die of starvation and dehydration unless a new court decision intervenes.
She is not guilty of any crime, except to be a burden for her husband and for a selfish society. She is not even clinically in a permanent vegetative state, but she has been refused a re-examination of her clinical condition.
The legal basis for this inhuman decision is that she allegedly had once expressed the wish not to be fed "artificially". However, her parents and siblings contend that this is not her will and that she, in fact, would follow the clear teaching of the Catholic Church about assisted nutrition and hydration. They raise the possibility that her husband and legal guardian has manifestedly abused her.
However, the real core of the problem is the attempt to decide about the right to life of a human being, not on the basis of her/his personal dignity, but on an external evaluation of the quality of life.
The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations is deeply concerned for the possible consequences of such a precedent setting decision in the United States system of law. In fact, if Terri, an innocent person, can be condemmed to death, every person whose life will be considered of insufficient "quality" by a guardian or the court will be in danger of euthanasia performed by withdrawal of basic and ordinary care.
The importance of this case goes beyond this deplorable circumstance. It will open the floodgates to euthanasia in the United States, at all ages, without even a legislative decision.
The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, aware of the risks of this decision for both society and the future of the medical profession, strongly appeals to the United States authorities to react immediately and effectively to save Terri's life and to avoid the inevitable consequences.
The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations appeals to the Bishops of the United States to mobilize every resource and influence of the Catholic Church to counteract this impending tragedy.
Following the teaching of Pope John Paul II and the evidence of medical sciences, we believe that no human being, including those in the permanent vegetative state, can be denied the respect due to a human person by provision of food and water, without which any person, regardless of his/her state of health, would be condemned to death.
Such a perversion of medicine will be the source of discrimination against other human beings, with enormous risks for human rights and democracy.
Gian Luigi Gigli, M.D. & nbsp; &n bsp; &nb sp; Rome, 6 March, 2005 President of FIAMC
Today is the day that Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), M.D. and Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) introduce the Incapacitated Person's Legal Protection Act, which would afford incapacitated individuals due process protection of habeas corpus. The bill numbers are H.R. 1151 in the House and S. 539 in the Senate. This legislation was drafted narrowly to affect only those individuals who do not have a living will and whose lives hang in the balance due to judicial proceedings. These bills need immediate action to protect the life of Terri Schiavo.
A Florida state court has ordered the removal of Terri's feeding tube on March 18th, which will result in her slow death by starvation. Terri suffered a serious brain injury in 1990, but is able to track movement in her room and responds to the presence of friends and family. Since the time of her incapacitation her parents have been by her side and have fought for her life through endless rounds of legal battles. The one person who is pushing for the removal of Terri's feeding tube is her estranged husband. Congress has acted effectively in recent years to protect the rights of the disabled, and this new legislation is in that same spirit. Terri Schiavo is the current focus of controversy, but the lives of thousands of other fellow citizens, disabled or aged, about to be discarded or all too "disposable," are also at stake.
DON'T BE TERRORIZED BY SENATOR LAUTENBERG, SAYS CITIZENS COMMITTEE
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is putting his anti-gun spin on a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on firearms purchases by suspected terrorists during a five-month period last year to push his gun control agenda, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
Sen. Lautenberg announced that he will introduce legislation requiring the National Instant Check System (NICS) to retain records of gun purchases by suspected terrorists for at least ten years.
"In Sen. Lautenberg's warped view, anyone who buys a gun is a suspected terrorist," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb. "Based on his past record, he is looking for any avenue to justify a back door gun registration scheme so that if he could get even one of his gun ban bills passed, he will know where to go to collect them all. The report demonstrates that the NICS system works. The GAO clearly notes that only 44 out of more than 3.1 million gun transactions showed valid matches to 36 different people whose names are on terrorist watch lists. Of those, 35 transactions were allowed to proceed, six were denied, and three were subject to pending resolution.
"Remember," Gottlieb noted, "none of the people who successfully purchased firearms has been charged with, or convicted of any crime, yet their names are on a watch list. How does somebody's name get on one of those lists? How is it removed? Lautenberg wants to keep records on these people for ten years. Where is the ACLU? If this involved anything but a gun purchase, the ACLU would be in hysterics over invasion of privacy issues."
"Actually," added CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron, "the report indicates that procedures have been changed already to further reduce the potential that the wrong people will obtain guns. Unfortunately, no system will ever be one hundred percent fool-proof. Even if we adopted all of the gun controls Frank Lautenberg has ever advocated, we would only disarm honest citizens, not criminals or potential terrorists, and he knows it.
"However, there is more to this story that Sen. Lautenberg won't mention," Waldron added. "The report says an estimated 650 NICS transactions generated initial hits on terrorist watch lists during the GAO study period. Yet, the vast majority of those hits did not result in valid matches. The bottom line is that the NICS system works and Sen. Lautenberg is trying to say it doesn't so he can demand that we keep records on people who may have broken no laws. Should we deny them the exercise of a civil right? If we do, what's next? Do we take away their other rights? Will we hold them in confinement without trial? How far do we go? Where does it stop?"
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil. 9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; 24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever. 30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice. 31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them. 33 The LORD will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 34 Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 35 I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. 36 Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
This past Christmas Eve day, 2004, I went to visit Terri Schiavo with her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, her sister, her niece, and Attorney David Gibbs III. The visit took place at the Woodside Hospice for about 45 minutes just before noon.
When I knew I was going to visit Terri with her parents, I had no idea what to expect. I was prepared for the possibility that the Schindlers love their daughter and sister so much that they might imagine behaviors by Terri that aren't actually evident to others. The media and Mr. Schiavo clearly give the impression that Terri is in a coma or comatose state and engages only in non-purposeful and reflexive movements and responses. I am a mother and a grandmother, as well as one of the Schindlers’ attorneys, and I could understand how parents might imagine behavior and purposeful activity that is not really there. I was prepared to be as objective as I could be during this visit and not to be disappointed at anything I saw or experienced.
I was truly surprised at what I saw from the moment we entered the little room where Terri is confined. The room is a little wider than the width of two single beds and about as long as the average bedroom, with plenty of room for us to stand at the foot of her bed. Terri is on the first floor and there is a lovely view to the outside grounds of the facility. The room is entered by a short hallway, however, and there is no way for Terri to see out into the hallway or for anyone in the hallway to observe Terri.
From the moment we entered the room, my impression was that Terri was very purposeful and interactive and she seemed very curious about the presence of obvious strangers in her room. Terri was not in bed, but was in her chair, which has a lounge chair appearance and elevates her head at about a 30-degree angle. She was dressed and washed, her hair combed, and she was covered with a holiday blanket. There were no tubes of any kind attached to her body. She was completely free of any restraints that would have indicated any type of artificial life support. Not even her feeding tube was attached and functioning when we entered, as she is not fed 24 hours a day.
The thing that surprised me the most about Terri as I took my turn to greet her by the side of her chair was how beautiful she is. I would have expected to see someone with a sallow and gray complexion and a sick looking countenance. Instead, I saw a very pretty woman with a peaches and cream complexion and a lovely smile, which she even politely extended to me as I introduced myself to her. I was amazed that someone who had not been outside for so many years and who received such minimal health care could look so beautiful. She appeared to have an inner light radiating from her face. I was truly taken aback by her beauty, particularly under the adverse circumstances in which she has found herself for so many years.
Terri’s parents, sister, and niece went immediately to greet Terri when we entered the room and stood in turn directly beside her head, stroking her face, kissing her and talking quietly with her. When she heard their voices, and particularly her mother's voice, Terri instantly turned her head towards them and smiled. Terri established eye contact with her family, particularly with her mother, who spent the most time with her during our visit. It was obvious that she recognized the voices in the room with the exception of one. Although her mother was talking to her at the time, she obviously had heard a new voice and exhibited a curious demeanor. Attorney Gibbs was having a conversation near the door with Terri’s sister. His voice is very deep and resonant and Terri obviously picked it up. Her eyes widened as if to say, “What’s that new sound I hear?” She scanned the room with her eyes, even turning her head in his direction, until she found Attorney Gibbs and the location of the new voice and her eyes rested momentarily in his direction. She then returned to interacting with her mother.
When her mother was close to her, Terri’s whole face lit up. She smiled. She looked directly at her mother and she made all sorts of happy sounds. When her mother talked to her, Terri was quiet and obviously listening. When she stopped, Terri started vocalizing. The vocalizations seemed to be a pattern, not merely random or reflexive at all. There is definitely a pattern of Terri having a conversation with her mother as best she can manage. Initially, she used the vocalization of “uh’uh” but without seeming to mean it as a way of saying “no”, just as a repeated speech pattern. She then began to make purposeful grunts in response to her mother’s conversation. She made the same sorts of sound with her father and sister, but not to the same extent or as delightedly as with her mother. She made no verbal response to her niece or to Attorney Gibbs and myself, but she did appear to pay attention to our words to her.
The whole experience was rather moving. Terri definitely has a personality. Her whole demeanor definitely changes when her mother speaks with her. She lights up and appears to be delighted at the interaction. She has an entirely different reaction to her father who jokes with her and has several standing jokes that he uses when he enters and exits her presence. She appears to merely “tolerate” her father, as a child does when she says “stop” but really means, “this is fun.” When her father greets her, he always does the same thing. He says, “here comes the hug” and hugs her. He then says, “you know what’s coming next---the kiss.” Her father has a scratchy mustache and both times when he went through this little joke routine with her, she laughed in a way she did not do with anyone else. When her father is ready to plant the kiss on her cheek, she immediately makes a face her family calls the “lemon face.” She puckers her lips, screws up her whole face, and turns away from him, as if making ready for the scratchy assault on her cheek that she knows is coming. She did the exact same thing both times that her father initiated this little routine joke between the two of them.
The interactions with her family and our appearance in her room appeared to require some effort and exertion from Terri. From time to time, she would close her eyes as if to rest. This happened primarily when no one was paying particular attention to her, but we were talking among ourselves. After a few minutes or when one of the visitors approached her and started to talk directly to her again, Terri would open her eyes and begin her grunting sounds again in response to their conversations. Although I approached her, leaned close and stroked her arms and spoke to her, she did not verbally respond to me.
Terri’s hands are curled up around little soft cylinders that help her not to injure herself. I understand that these contractures are likely very painful, although there was a time when Terri was receiving simple motion therapy when her hands and arms relaxed and were no longer as constricted. When the therapy was discontinued by order of her guardian and the court, the contractures returned. These contractures would apparently be avoidable if Terri were given the simple range of motion therapy she previously received. It is very sad to observe firsthand these conditions that make her life more difficult, but that would be correctable with little effort.
When we were preparing to leave, the interactions with Terri changed. First, she went through the joke routine with her father and the “lemon face.” When her niece said goodbye to her, Terri did not react. Nor did she react to me or to Attorney Gibbs when we said our goodbyes to her. When her sister went to her to say goodbye, Terri’s verbalizations changed dramatically. Instead of the happy grunting and “uh uh” sounds she had been making throughout the visit, her verbalizations at these goodbyes changed to a very low and different sound that appeared to come from deep in her throat and was almost like a growl. She first made the sound when her sister said goodbye and then, amazingly to me, she made exactly the same sound when her mother said goodbye to her. It seemed Terri was visibly upset that they were leaving. She almost appeared to be trying to cling to them, although this impression came only from her changed facial expression and sounds, since her hands cannot move. It appeared like she did not want to be alone and knew they were leaving. It was definitely apparent in the short time I was there that her emotions changed—it was apparent when she was happy and enjoying herself, when she was amused, when she was resting from her exertion to communicate, and when she was sad at her guests leaving. It was readily apparent and surprising that her mood changed so often in a short 45-minute visit.
I was pleasantly surprised to observe Terri’s purposeful and varied behaviors with the various members of her family and with Attorney Gibbs and myself. I never imagined Terri would be so active, curious, and purposeful. She watched people intently, obviously was attempting to communicate with each one in various ways and with various facial expressions and sounds. She was definitely not in a coma, not even close. This visit certainly shed more light for me on why the Schindlers are fighting so hard to protect her, to get her medical care and rehabilitative assistance, and to spend all they have to protect her life.
I realize that Terri has good days and bad days. There are obviously days when she does not interact with her family, as they had previously told us. There are also apparently days when Terri is even more interactive and responsive to them than she was on the day I visited. Since this visit I am more convinced than ever that the Schindlers are not just parents who refuse to let go of their daughter. There really is a lot going on with their daughter and potentially, it seemed obvious to me, Terri could improve even more with appropriate care and 24 hour a day love that can only come from a dedicated family. As I watched her, my foremost thought was that on the next day, Christmas, Terri should not have been confined to her small room in a hospice center, nice as that room was, but that she should have been gathered around the Christmas dinner table enjoying the holiday with her family.
The president of the Springfield, Ill., chapter of the Million Mom March faces charges of having drugs and an illegal handgun in her home. Press reports said the gun's serial number had been scratched off.
Annette Stevens became a gun control activist after her son was shot to death several years ago. She told a newspaper the gun belonged to her late son, and when she found it, she didn't know what to do with it, so she put it in a drawer.
Police reportedly found the gun and illegal drugs while executing a search warrant at Stevens' home in connection with a spate of drive-by shootings in the area. Stevens insists the search was illegal.
Second Amendment groups were quick to note the irony of a gun control activist being arrested on gun charges.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) called it a classic case of "liberal elitists" who "cannot walk their own talk."
"I find it incredible that someone representing an organization that pushes legislation that only punishes law-abiding gun owners would possess such an illegal weapon," said Richard Pearson, ISRA's executive director.
"Surely she must be familiar with US gun laws and those in Illinois, considering the position she holds. Does she think the law does not apply to her due to anti-gun affiliation? It's the height of hypocrisy!"
Press reports said Stevens did not have the ID card required of Illinois firearms owners.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms called it ironic that "this poster mom for gun control" has admitted keeping an illegally altered handgun in her home while she's campaigned to deprive other citizens of their firearms.
"If Stevens is so convinced guns don't belong in society, then why didn't she immediately turn that gun over to the police when she found it more than two years ago?" asked CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
"Why did she keep it? What's wrong with this picture? Ms. Stevens is about to learn that supporting gun control is like keeping a vicious dog. They sometimes bite the hands that feed them."
"In the kind of Draconian anti-gun society Stevens and her cohorts are trying to create," Gottlieb continued, "it wouldn't matter if she were innocent as she claims. Under the laws her group supports, gun owners are essentially considered guilty until they prove themselves otherwise."
CCRKBA said gun laws supported by activists such as Stevens do nothing to prevent crime - but go a long way in eroding the rights of law-abiding citizens.
