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We Distort and then We Hide |
Posted on 03/29/2005 9:59:08 AM PST by Rick.Donaldson
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."
By Christine Lagorio ©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Counsel.
Quality editing at CBS.
Can there possibly be ANY angle that this story has not been examined at ... could we possibly get a beloved pet's statement please?
She organized the wedding at the Catholic parish her family ha attended since her youth......what does 'ha' mean?
Seeing your from CBS tells me enough. Only do you let the reader know who you are and from what source late in your article. You will not change the readers led into this piece of S**t
Right now, Michaels lawyers are setting up his defense in preparation for a wrongful death charge or attempted homicide, I'm sure.
They're saying Michael himself asked for an autopsy, "So he couldn't have had anything to hide".
(Too bad he'd already said he wanted her cremated within an hour of her death - on record). State law demands an autopsy, so what he wants doesn't matter anyway. I'll bet that pi$$ed him right off!
Not to mention the fact that this article presents her death as a foregone conclusion, a done deal already. Tawdry.
Actually, all news organizations have stories like this on anyone likely to die, or famous enough to require national attention after they do. They get ahead of themselves on purpose so that the moment the event occurs they can release the story without having to write it at that exact moment. In the news business, minutes count.
Don't know if my first post got held up or what--but pointing out that this is an internal story that is being held at the ready for the moment she dies. If it was posted by CBS I would imagine it was by accident. All news organizations have obituaries at the ready on people who are likely to die in the near future or famous people whose deaths would be notable at any time. They just update the story with the dates and any new information (say, cause of death) and then can release it within minutes of the actual event as time is critical in the news business. Hope I clarified a little, my husband works in the news business so I know about this aspect of it.
CBS |
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We Distort and then We Hide |
Every time I see that wedding picture of hers, I feel even sadder. My oldest daughter was married in the nearly identical hat and dress in 1985.
Please let it load -- it's 11 mb.
Have headphones or sound on.
special thanks to lafroste for generous technical and web assistance.
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