Terri Schiavo?s Autopsy Report Leaves Unanswered Questions

Jews For Life ^ | 6/16/05 | Bonnie Chernin Rogoff

[Fiddler]

Now that Terri Schiavo’s autopsy report results are in, the left-wing media death squad elitists are demanding apologies and retractions from those of us who criticized Michael Schiavo and the Florida system of “justice.” Regarding one of my articles, “Michael Schiavo: Loving Husband or Monster?” it was inevitable that I would receive the obligatory hate mail from verifiable nutcases. Here’s one of my favorites:

“I do not like you & I do not think that Jesus does either. Du (sic) unto others as you would have done to you. Apologies should go to Michael Schiavo & the the FLA court system and you should get on your knees & beg JC for forgiveness.”

Wow. Forget the bad grammar and spelling – didn’t Jesus heal the sick? Didn’t he defend the downtrodden? If he were alive today, I’ll bet Jesus would have been at Terri’s side to save her life from the corrupt Florida government officials that wanted her dead and helped her husband kill her.

In an outrageous display of bias, the mainstream media is reporting that the autopsy results favor Michael Schiavo’s contention that his wife was “brain dead.” They are 100% wrong. First, the results obtained by Pinellas County Medical Examiner Dr. Jon Thogmartin are incomplete and inconclusive, and the case is remaining open. Second, The Empire Journal reports that the ME was relying mainly on records provided by Gary Fox, one of Michael Schiavo’s medical malpractice attorneys, and that many of the documents were destroyed or missing. Third, Terri was left to rot in a bed for 15 years with no medical care or any efforts to rehabilitate her.

Most important, Dr. Thogmartin was examining a corpse that had just undergone 13 days of extensive dehydration, and that accelerated the deterioration of Terri’s body that was already in progress once her feeding tube had been removed.

The autopsy shows that Terri was profoundly disabled. We already knew that some doctors testified she was in a “vegetative” state, and other medical experts disagreed. We knew Terri collapsed as a result of oxygen deprivation to her brain. As for the new mind-blowing “revelation” that Terri was blind, let’s not forget that Dr. Thogmartin is making that analysis after viewing her body as it appears in 2005. The video in which Terri is seen Terri tracking a balloon was filmed three years ago. Her family knew she was visually impaired. With an extensive brain injury and no therapy for 15 years it is not inconceivable that Terri’s current blindness may have happened suddenly, or as a result of a gradual downward progression of her overall condition, or as a result of the dehydration.

What is a surprise is that Dr. Thogmartin found no evidence of bulimia or of a potassium imbalance that would have caused Terri to collapse on February 25, 1990. There is no evidence she had a heart condition before that date, either. Michael Schiavo made the talk show rounds, asserting that Terri's profound disability resulted from undiagnosed bulimia. That means Michael Schiavo lied. The false bulimia charge left many people with a negative view of Terri’s character, and for that Michael Schiavo should be ashamed. One Michael supporter I spoke with had such contempt for Terri based upon her alleged eating disorder he actually said she deserved to die back in 1990.

Regarding the lack of blood flow and oxygen to Terri’s brain, The Empire Journal recounts that the ME did not rule out that the initial injuries could have been caused by smothering. Significantly, had Terri been treated with antibiotics for all her infections she could have lived another ten years.

To date, we do not know what happened to Terri Schindler-Schiavo on February 25, 1990. We can now rule out bulimia and a potassium imbalance. Questions abound. Michael Schiavo said on Larry King Live that Terri collapsed at 4:30 a.m. There was a 70 minute gap between the time Terri collapsed and the time 911 was called. Why the delay? EMS arrived at 5:52 a.m. Why did Michael not administer CPR to his wife immediately? Why was a police report filed, indicating circumstances looked suspicious? Does this mean Michael attempted to murder his wife by strangling her? No. However, the circumstances and extent of Terri’s brain injury certainly support that theory!

It is very disturbing that so many records are missing. If George Felos or another of Michael Schiavo’s lawyers selectively destroyed documents that would have provided more insight into Terri’s initial collapse, gradual decline or potential chances of recovery then the facts may remain hidden and unprovable. Perhaps a crime was covered up; perhaps not. Maybe we’ll never find out. At least the case remains open and that’s all the solace the Schindler family has.

Copyright 2005 by Bonnie Chernin Rogoff. All rights reserved.

[floriduh voter]

bttt.

[BykrBayb]

One Michael supporter I spoke with had such contempt for Terri based upon her alleged eating disorder he actually said she deserved to die back in 1990.

I've seen that attitude parroted a lot. Even if Terri did have an eating disorder, it wouldn't have justified killing her. She was hated to death for her disabilities.

[MilspecRob]

What a bunch of Hewe

[GloriaJane]

"She was hated to death for her disabilities."

Sad..... but true.

[FreeRep]

I've noticed that everyone that was for killing her were living.

[Sioux-san]

Let us not forget that Terri told friends that Michael threatened to leave her if she ever got fat again. What a man!

[Bones75]

"She was hated to death for her disabilities."

Aw, come on now. That is not a fair statement. Nobody "hated" Terri. Not trying to start a "thing".. I'm just sayin'.

[k2blader]

You must be intelligent enough to understand it was not love that killed her.

[BykrBayb]

Nobody? You can't be serious.

[sinkspur]

Regarding the lack of blood flow and oxygen to Terri’s brain, The Empire Journal recounts that the ME did not rule out that the initial injuries could have been caused by smothering.

He also didn't rule out that they could have been caused by the fright of discovering green Martians in her kitchen.

This is a disingenuous line by the writer, meant to cause the reader to imagine that MS strangled his wife, when there is absolutely no evidence to support it.

[Bones75]

"Nobody? You can't be serious."

Well, nobody that I know. Can you point me in the direction of a person who "hates" Terri Schiavo personally?

All I have seen is people with different ideas about what is best for her... none of which matter because it is not our decision, nor is it Jeb Bush's.

[Bones75]

Emotions do not kill people.

[BykrBayb]

See if you can spot the one on this thread.

[Howlin]

It's forum policy to ping the person you're trashing.

And she doesn't hate anybody; she just disagrees with YOU, which you insist is hate.

[k2blader]

Indeed. Now follow that logic a little further. People kill people.

People killed Terri.

[BykrBayb]

Were you able to find one on that thread? Who was it?

[bvw]

In the end he did kill her. He and Greer murdered her in full public view.

BTW, sink, her suffocation is evidence in support of it. Like a bullet in the wall is supporting evidence of murder when a body lies near, Terri's collapse into unconsciousness by suffocation is fairly significant support for a strangulation theory.

[Howlin]

That baiting crap isn't going to work on me. I followed your LINK directly to her.

[k2blader]

So if people killed Terri, and they did, some of us are just wondering why. I think "hate" is a reasonable guess.

[Reddy]

Did anyone notice how the MSM placed a beautiful pre-collapse picture of Terri next to the article about the autopsy results (supposedly exonerating Michael), yet when Michael was having her murdered all of the pictures of Terri in the MSM were more recent of her (looking gaunt and drawn)? I noticed a very beautiful picture of her with the article today in my local paper and also on the front of USA Today. A picture I had never seen before, and I've been to her website.

Interesting that the MSM would use the older picture of her looking her best when printing the autopsy results (again, supposedly exonerating Michael), but during the dehydration/starvation process they only allowed pictures of her looking ill? Could it be the MSM was trying to sway the public by purposefully printing pictures of her at her worst- after all, who would allow a beautiful woman to be starved and dehydrated? Blatant left-wing propaganda.

[BykrBayb]

"Her" who? Did I send a link to the post I had opened, instead of to the general thread? Oops.

[sinkspur]

There was no suffocation.

[k2blader]

Perhaps you should follow your own advice?

[flaglady47]

"Perhaps you should follow your own advice?"

I am, I'm out of here. Did my duty to warn sane people of the nutz they will encounter on this thread. So, adios, and have fun emoting amongst yourselves.

[virgil]

TS was always a human being and never was she a "vegetable". The people who killed her would like you think of her as a vegetable. Its very convenient.

[Tom D.]

This autopsy should put an end to a large part of the argument; Mrs. Schivao was in a persistent vegetative state, or at the very least, the only evidence we have was to that effect.

What the real argument here was about two things:

1) The process that the Court used to get to the end. Mr. Schiavo was not acting like Mrs. Schivao's husband. He had fathered a child by another woman and was in general not acting like a husband. That he held the strings to her life and death and that he got to trump his in-laws was beyond the pale; and,

2) Mrs. Schivao did not look like she was in a persistent vegetative state. She seemed to react to stimuli.

It is not clear to me how Mr. Schiavo got the right to make the final call, but every court seemed to agree that the trial judge had not been so far off base that it was reversible error. Additionally, it is not clear to me how Mrs. Schiavo could follow a balloon around with her eyes, yet be completely blind.

Despite both of those problems, those who persist that every court was wrong and that Mrs. Schiavo could have made a recovery are on the losing side of the argument. I firmly believe that most of the folks on this forum would "pull the plug" on their loved ones if they knew that the object of their affection was in the state that all of the evidenced indicates that Mrs. Schiavo was in. I know that there are those who have no faith in the autopsy report, but that is the evidence we have. Anyone can always question any report from an official source, but unless there is some reliable counter-evidence (other than speculation about what might have been) then we have nothing. Something always beats nothing.

Let me reiterate: I thought that the process was lousy. Mr. Schiavo was not the most credible guy to be making this call, but from all credible evidence, the result is not wrong to most of our fellow citizens.

If we want to have a fight, there are other places to have it that offer better chances to convince the folks who we need to convince.

[BykrBayb]

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by "nobody."

[Howlin]

Here is your link to this post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1424517/posts?page=22#22

And here is the link to her post that you posted:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1424025/posts?page=268#268

They look alike, don't they?

And yet you post this: " Did I send a link to the post I had opened, instead of to the general thread? Oops."

You are so busted. Again.

[BykrBayb]

Then I was right when I speculated that I had provided a link to the post I had open and was currently looking at, and not to the general thread. What's your point?

[Howlin]

My point is that you accused somebody on this forum BY POST of hating Terri and didn't have the common courtesy to ping them to defend themselves. (Not to mention then trying to weasel out of it with one of the worst "fakes" I've ever seen on FR.)

Of course, nobody expects any more from you. Nor is anybody surprised.

[BykrBayb]

No, I asked if somebody could find the one on that thread. What part of THREAD do you not understand? I did not identify anyone by post, or by name, or by anything else other than the thread they were on. I have no control over who you think it was.

[Howlin]

That might work on the 'non-thinkers' around here, but the rest of us know an out and out lie when we see it.

[bvw]

Ignorance! The autopsy (page 5, para 1.f) admits that asphyxia is a possibility. That's suffocation.

[BykrBayb]

Why are you so obsessed with me that you have to follow me around and overanalyze my every post? There was no conspiracy in my post. You can take off the tin foil.

[sinkspur]

Little green martians are a possibility too. Anything's a possibility.

Singling out strangulation is disingenuous.

[Howlin]

OMG, the 'victim" role does NOT suit you at all.

Be a big girl and stop whinning.

And don't flatter yourself; who on earth would want to follow you around?

[bvw]

MO.

[unbalanced but fair]

Iy also says there is no evidence of it. Of course there are all kinds of possiblities without evidence. Some people seem to think that means these possiblilties actually happened. I'm sure you are not one of them.

[bvw]

Pattern of behaviour. MO.

[BykrBayb]

Who said anything about being a victim? I just feel sorry for you, that's all.

[sinkspur]

Pattern of behaviour

There's no pattern of behavior.

You're mindset is bizarre.

[bvw]

The evidence is the collapse. Her unconsciousness. The ME is trying to explain or understand how she collapsed. He admits asphyxia (suffocation) amoung only a few -- very few -- named possibilities.

[bvw]

Micheal's behaviour. Extremely controlling. Strangulation -- as an MO of a murderer -- matches that personality, as I understand. Strangling someone is the ultimate way of asserting control, dominance, over someone else.

[AnimalLover]

I am VERY upset with the present course of action
in getting to the bottom of the evil done to Terri.
Following is a copy of a Letter to The Editor of my
local newspaper:

Today's Breeze (June 16) ran the article titled:

Autopsy backs husband in Schiavo case

I sincerely believe you should do further investigation because there
is something very wrong here!

l. How is it that all the medical records required for the autopsy were
supplied by the husband's lawyers?

2. What about the conflicts of interest with Judge Greer, the husband's
lawyers not to mention his insurance company, the hospice, Sheriff Rice,
police and county Attorney General McCabe to mention a few?

3. You ran a similar article sometime ago involving the same subject
of brain cell creation that could regenerate neurons. An article
similar to the one published in "LIFESITE"

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jun/05061406.html

Scientists Create Brain Cells, Predict Possible Rapid Development of Treatments for Alzheimers and Parkinsons

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - American researchers have found a method of growing batches, or lines, of fully mature brain cells. This has often been predicted as the end of such neurological diseases as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. The ethical new technique mimics the brain’s own natural process of changing stem cells into neurons. For the moment, the research has .............................................

I think we all owe it to Terri to get the correct information out.

[sinkspur]

Pure speculation with no basis in fact.

[bvw]

Many facts. The murder that occurred is a prime one. The circumstances of her forced starvation another. Odometers another -- that's a rumor. Behavious at Philadelphia radio stations another.

Starve your daughter in front you? That is a vile thing -- murder by the most evil of control freaks.

[unbalanced but fair]

Sorry, a collapse is not particular evidence of anything. It is a symptom or a result of a variety of causes. That is why the report says there is no evidence. But you can choose to believe whatever you wish.