Posted on 03/29/2005 8:24:22 AM PST by Sunshine55
This story originally appeared on the CBS News website on Monday, March 28th at the following URL
You can find a PDF version of the original CBS story here .
Short, Sad Life Of Terri Schiavo NEW YORK, March TK, 2005 This story was written by CBSNews.com's Christine Lagorio
Surrounded by stuffed animals and medical equipment in her small hospice room in Pinellas Park, Fla., Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo died TK.
Known as Terri Schiavo, the severely brain damaged Florida woman spent her last months in the glare of the public eye as a few still images and several seconds of video of her repeatedly broadcast around the world. She appeared made up and dressed, although the 41-year-old had not enunciated a word nor made any choices since the 1990 heart attack that left her body and mind ravaged.
Since 1998, when her husband Michael Schiavo first tried to have his wife's feeding tube and hydration stopped after she'd been declared by doctors to be in a "permanent vegetative state," Terri Schiavo's life has been played out in countless courts, the halls of congress and even in the executive office of United States — President Bush was roused in the middle of the night to sign emergency legislation. The Vatican has even commented on her case.
But Schiavo grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, a shy girl who giggled easily, but who hated to stand out in a crowd.
"She was quiet," childhood friend Sue Pickwell told The Washington Post. Pickwell served as a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding to Michael Schiavo. "She didn't like the limelight. How ironic is that?"
Terri Schiavo was locked in battle with her own personal image as far back as anyone can tell. She was an overweight child who only gained pounds through adolescence, reaching at least 200 by her senior year of high school. She loved popular magazines and idolized celebrities such as David Cassidy, Starsky and Hutch. She only showed her boisterous side to a handful of close friends.
Those close friends have been telling newspapers that Terri never excelled in school. She sometimes talked about becoming a veterinarian, but got barely passing grades while in Catholic school. Her interests during school years are unclear, though she shied away from boys and parties.
Once in college, she stuck to old friends. She married the first man she ever kissed. She organized the wedding at the Catholic parish her family ha attended since her youth, Our Lady of Good Council. She was a month shy of her 21st birthday when she walked down the aisle.
Terri Schiavo's life as a newlywed exemplifies her small-town dreams. After Michael and she returned from their honeymoon at Disney World — a place the Post reports she equated annual visits to as living "a good life" — the Schiavos lived in the Schindler's basement because they couldn't afford to pay rent. Despite barely getting by, Terri Schiavo cut herself off from some close friends because her marriage became her life.
But when the pair moved to Florida two years later, Michael got a job managing a restaurant at nights and Terri worked at an insurance company during the day. She made a few friends and began to lose a significant amount of weight.
Most accounts say she ate regularly, or even ate large portions. But medical experts say her loss of weight was too rapid, and probably due to an acute case of bulimia, which led to an imbalance of electrolytes that caused her heart to stop.
On the evening of her heart attack, according to lawyer Gary Fox, who represented Michael Schiavo in a successful medical malpractice suit against two doctors who failed to diagnose Terri as bulimic, Terri and Michael had eaten a large meal. One account says that after they had finished, Michael rushed to the bathroom upon hearing thumping coming from behind the door. When he opened it, Terri was lying on the floor.
"She had purged, apparently, or vomited, binged, which is what bulimics do," Fox said.
The account of the incident is unclear, but by the time an ambulance arrived early on a February morning in 1990, Terri Schiavo had suffered severe brain damage. She fell into a coma on Feb. 25, 1990, and had been in a persistent vegetative state since.
But Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have hotly disputed that medical diagnosis. They repeatedly say they see signs of life and get muted responses to questions when they visit their daughter's hospice room. But because the pair lacks legal guardianship of their daughter, the courts have repeatedly ruled they are not authorized to make decisions regarding her life, death, or funeral proceedings.
The feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive had been removed twice and then reinserted, once through an emergency court order and once on the order of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The third feeding tube removal, March 18, was ordered by a Florida judge granting the husband's petition. It ultimately led to her death, TK days after feeding stopped.
Michael Schiavo, who was at the bedside of his wife Terri when she died, told Larry King that he lives now with another woman with whom he has two children.
"I can love more than one person," he told King. "Everybody can do that."
According to friends and relatives, Michael Schiavo was Terri's only love. His big-but-tight-knit family took in Michael's bride, and she befriended his siblings, including his brother, Scott.
"It's so sad they've turned this wonderful person into a sideshow," Scott Schiavo told the Post. "It's such a shame. It really is. The one that's hurt the most here is Terri."
Unfriggin believable. When Glenn opened his show this morning he was so choked up I thought it was real. Now I realize he was choked up with anger.
Are there any free internet streams to listen to Beck?
Whats the matter with getting a jump on the gun? There aren't too many people who can say she's not going to die. Some of the info is wrong, but that's nothing unusual when it comes to MSM.
Interesting article that seems to dwell on Terri to just put Michael in a good light.
KLIF-AM (ironic with K-Life as call sign)
they play him 9-12 CST
"Those close friends have been telling newspapers that Terri never excelled in school. She sometimes talked about becoming a veterinarian, but got barely passing grades while in Catholic school. Her interests during school years are unclear, though she shied away from boys and parties."
What purpose does this paragraph serve. My hunch is that CBS wants to diminish her life. It shows absolutely no respect or reverence by CBS.
Greer and Felos paid CBS to do it.
Dewey Wins! Ridiculous.
That lead exposes it as a fraudulent article to anyone who's been following the case, and has read that Michael forbade anything decorative or cheerful in the room.
The tone of this piece is incredibly snarky. Why didn't the writer say what he really meant:
Dumb, underachieving white trash porker lapses into coma during embarrassing barfing episode. Hubby pulls plug and moves on 15 years later.
I swear, I'm getting to the point where I wouldn't watch CBS if they had an exclusive on the Second Coming.
I'm happy to learn that her husband was at her side when she passed away. Does anybody know whether he brought his common law wife and their children to console him?
How romantic. /return to reality
According to some, she died 15 years ago, when she had her 'heart attack'. So this article would be in keeping with that vein of thought.
Needless to say, I disagree. Vehemently.
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