Posted on 03/21/2005 5:30:51 PM PST by LoneRangerMassachusetts
I just phoned Judge Whittemore's office and left a message for his judicial assistant, Kristin Esposito, Judicial Assistant, 813/301-5880.
I said the following:
Judge James Whittemore could make a Solomonesque decision in the Terri Schiavo case by not restoring the feeding tubes but by permitting caring people to feed her by mouth. If she is truly brain dead, she will die. If she is not, she could demonstrate her will to live.
As I didn't reach the Judge, I'm afraid he will make a bad decision. Perhaps, if you agree with me, you could broadcast this idea. Maybe someone will hear and deliver it to him.
I want Jeb to act. Send soldiers, NOW.
You should never ever contact a Judge, especially a Federal Judge to influence his ruling. You can get into alot of trouble doing this. I am sure that you feel as helpless as the rest of us.
Calling the Judge isnt going to do anything. A judge doesnt make his/her rule on public pressure, thats what politics is for. As for feeding her manually, you cant.. She cant swallow.
Without candy coating this.. either the judge orders the tube back in, or she dies.. She is strong though.. she lasted 6 1/2 days back in october.. we have a good 2 days left..
Since the Florida legislators refuse to come to the aid of their own constituent, somebody HAS TO!!
This judge...wow..scary.
That sentiment, seen around here too much, is so damn absurd that I wonder whether it's being spread by DU infiltrators.
What is Jeb going to do?
Terri would do better if the Judge ruled based upon the law rather than public opinion.
I'm afraid yours helps no one.
First, please post how you reached him. And second, Judge, listen, it's obvious what you are doing. You are waiting, hoping Terri will die, and you will not have to decide. It is a chicken's way out. This, Judge, is your moment of truth. Are you a man or a mouse? Only you can answer that question. This case will make or break the rest of your life. If you decide against Terri, or refuse to decide, you have decided, and your life will never recover. If you rule in favor of reinserting the tube, you are a man, not a mouse, and your life will reflect the strength, the power and greatness that is present only in the form of potential now. Are you man enough to do what must be done?
She can swallow. She swallows her saliva. One of her nurses signed an affadavit that Teri swallowed water from ice chips and jello that they snuck to her.
She can't? How do you know?
My understanding is that Terri never had swallowing tests done nor any therapy toward this end....seems like Michael denied her this care.
If they're going to stop feeding her via the feeding tube, at the least they ought to offer her food and water by mouth....but then again, the court seems to have forbidden this approach too.
She absolutely does have the swallow reflex. She is able to swallow her own saliva...1 1/2 to 2 liters of saliva per day.
'I want Jeb to act. Send soldiers, NOW.'
'That sentiment, seen around here too much, is so damn absurd that I wonder whether it's being spread by DU infiltrators.'
I'm all for helping to save Terri....but, I've wondered the same thing too.
WestSylvanian wrote:
She can swallow. She swallows her saliva. One of her nurses signed an affadavit that Teri swallowed water from ice chips and jello that they snuck to her.
Go nursing staff!
I have read that her husband will not allow anyone to videotape Terri. What a monster!
Here is another MD's report.
He tried to testify for her and was ignored.(William M. Hammesfahr, M.D.) It is basically his final conclusion of Terri's condition. I have left out parts because it is lengthy but I think you can get the jest.
If any one tries to tell you this MD is a quack like I have seen on other threads..ask yourself why our state reps/mds voted yes. Are they all quacks too? 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 (eye) 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...
*snip*
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.
*snip*
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.
*snip*
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.
*snip*
____________________________ William M. Hammesfahr, M.D.
This is time for the Militia! Minuteman alert!!!
You know NOTHING!
Recommendation for those wishing to do something. Go to helpterri.com and contact the list of Florida State Senators. We need three to reverse sides for a law to be passed in Terri's benefit.
Florida is not a common law state
ok
This same nurse also stated that Teri pulled her covers aside and pointed to her diaper to indicate that she soiled it. She also let them know when she was suffering discomfort associated with her period. She supposedly has been administered pain medication. How did nurses know she was in pain? She communicated it somehow. She is not aware of anything? Bullsh-t!
How about placing her in the Federal witness protection program?
It sounds absurd, but I'm sure there are creative minds at work on this. It will take a bold decision to save her life.
I say send in the Federal Marshalls and place Terri in protective custody until the federal courts are done.
If this judge sits on this, Terri will die and there will be no chance for her to appeal his decision.
Hopefully the nursing staff will shepherd her along until the judge comes to his senses. Pray.
Really? Ok. YOU mess with a Federal Judge. We'll watch. Of course if you anger him, it could cost Terri more than you.
Great idea! If the Attorney General's Office can go get a little boy in Florida to return him to Cuba, surely they can go get a lady to protect her from murder! Please President Bush, find a way!
Whitemore was appointed by clinton. A dimocrat> What else you expect?
Next, make a pact that we will be absolutely SURE - bottom line no doubt that no dimocrat gets back on top in DC ever again....
Bad idea. Very Very Bad Idea.
Sure she can! A Nobel prize nominated doctor who specialized in brain damage said she swallows up to 2 liters of saliva a day. He spent 11 hours examining her.
There is no machine vacuuming up her saliva. Nursing home employees have spoon fed her, until Michael Schiavo put an end to that practice.
She can swallow.
What a great suggestion!
IF Terri feels no pain and Terri can't think, then WHY
is Michael Schiavo trying to put her out of her misery?
You won't get in trouble for contacting the judge, as long as you don't make any threats. However, you are wasting your time and your breath. The judge isn't going to be influenced by anything you say. Loading up their voice mail and e-mail isn't going to help Terri and could hurt her by keeping the judge's staff from doing the work that needs to be done on her case.
[He that was ones euylle / shalle euer be presumed & holden for euylle.]
well it is unethical to contact a Judge....he hears both side and then he or she reviews the case and makes a decision. It was bad enough when they wrote Greer...he complained about it and it only ticked him off. To contact a Federal Judge (appointed by a president) to influence a decision is unethical and just plain wrong. I am a former police dispatcher and I have warned people not to call. It is a no win situation and it not only can hurt Terry, you can end up with the Feds on your doorstep. I read some of the posts on this thread and some of these people sound crazy!
"She cant swallow. "
That's up for debate. I've read that Michael will not let anyone feed her even though she has been fed orally before. She is swallowing her saliva.
U.S. Marshals should be dispatched to Florida ASAP to safeguard the civil rights of this individual, who has had NO REPRESENTATION in legal proceedings involving her for 15 years, and whose civil rights are being abridged to the point of her death, N O W.
If there ever was adequate justification to send Federal troops to support school integration in Selma, there certainly is adequate justification to protect Terri in the same way, N O W.
SEEMS TO ? no, Judge Greer made his execution order very clear, remove the tube and NOTHING by mouth.
Isn't it ironic that congress and the president dropped what they were doing to help this woman and the judge knows that every minute counts and he's taking his sweet time? Sounds like a political judge to me.
34 As for feeding her manually, you cant.. She cant swallow.
Fact is, we don't know that. There are conflictin opinions and expreiences.
What I don't understand is if Bush does a law the Democrats don't like then usually some previously unknown federal judge in Idaho or New Hampshire or somewhere then rules the law to be illegal and they have to get the decision overturned.
Why can't we find some other federal judge order the feeding tube back in?
We play by the rules and the Liberals don't.
Ahhhh...but she can.
Excerpted from Here:
Three medical professionals who had cared for Terri in the past filed affidavits accompanying the lawsuit, disputing Michael Schiavo's claims that his wife was in a "Persistent Vegetative State," which is the requirement under Florida law for a feeding tube to be removed. The medical experts also chronicled a long history of alleged denial of care and therapy by Schiavo.
Carolyn Johnson, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), cared for Terri in a nursing home in the early 1990s. She described her shock at being ordered not to provide the same care for Terri as a patient in the same room with a similar brain injury was receiving.
"I learned, as part of my training, that there was a family dispute and that the husband, as guardian, wanted no rehabilitation for Terri," Johnson explained. "Once, I wanted to put a cloth in Terri's hand to keep her hand from closing in on itself, but I was not permitted to do this, as Michael Schiavo considered that to be a form of rehabilitation."
Another CNA, Heidi Law, cared for Terri at a convalescent center in the mid and late 1990s. Law described similar orders she received not to encourage Mrs. Schiavo's recovery.
Law directly disputes Michael Schiavo's claim that Terri is in a Persistent Vegetative State, as well. In her affidavit, she detailed how she routinely provided Terri with a wet washcloth filled with ice chips to keep her mouth moistened and, on at least three occasions, fed Terri flavored gelatin. "I personally saw her swallow the ice water and never saw her gag. [Another CNA] and I frequently put orange juice or apple juice in her washcloth to give her something nice to taste, which made her happy," Law recalled. "On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri small mouthfuls of Jell-O, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely."
> You are waiting, hoping Terri will die, and you will not have to decide. It is a chicken's way out.
I, too, fear that Terri's death is this judge's hope and agree with you that it's a chicken way out.
However, Terri, HINO and several doctors and hospice employees are still under subpoena orders to appear for two Washington committee hearings; on 3/25 and 3/28. The terms of those subpoenas require that no harm come to any subpoenaed witness(es) -- most especially Terri.
It would be very surprising if this federal judge didn't know about these subpoenas.
I hope David Gibbs brought up the subject of those subpoenas when he addressed Judge Whittemore yesterday. Major lost argument and opportunity if he didn't. Does anyone know what points Gibbs stressed to Whittemore?
It is different this time. In many ways.
I agree. I am just sick and angry. I can't sleep. Have even the "good" people become so weak and dispirited that they can do nothing? What's the damn good of all the special sessions, and flying in to DC to sign bills, if the entire federal government screeches to a halt because one judge says "No, I don't think so."
It just seems like a horrible nightmare.
Don't any of these people have any courage?
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