Parents' plea to Michael Schiavo: 'Tell us where Terri's ashes are

Sunday Telegraph (UK) ^ | 5-8-2005 | Philip Sherwell

[kingattax]

The family of Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who died in March after her feeding tube was removed, say that they have no idea where her ashes have been laid to rest.

Giving their first interview since the tube was removed at the request of Mrs Schiavo's husband, the family claimed on American television that he was keeping her remains from them.

Bob and Mary Schindler, and their surviving children, Bobby Jr and Suzanne, claimed that Michael Schiavo had ignored a court order that he should keep them informed about her ashes and plans for a memorial service.

Mr Schiavo had said that her ashes would be buried at a family plot in Pennsylvania.

The interview on Fox News on Friday night was the latest skirmish in the bitter battle between the two sides of the family, who waged a long-running court battle over Mrs Schiavo's end-of-life wishes.

"We still don't know where Terri's ashes were laid," Bobby Jr said. "They were court-ordered, they were supposed to tell us, but we have not heard from Michael Schiavo."

Mr Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, could not be reached for comment.

Mr Schindler countered claims by the lawyer that his daughter's death was "gentle" with a harrowing description of her condition after 13 days without food or water.

"She was struggling to breathe," he said. "The inside of her mouth looked like a piece of meat in a meat market. It was like meat that had been left out for a while.

"It was reddish maroon because her mouth was dry and her lips were cracking from the lack of hydration.

"This cannot happen again. If anyone would have witnessed it, they would have been so appalled that they would never allow it to happen again."

He said it had been "gut-wrenching" to watch her deteriorate.

"People were misled that it was a peaceful way for her to die," he said. "All you could see was her cheekbones. Her eyes were sunken in her head."

Terri Schiavo, 41, died in a hospice in Florida on March 31. She had suffered brain damage in 1990 after a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop. She left no "living will" in the event that she became disabled.

Mr Schiavo argued that she would not have wanted to be kept alive after court-appointed doctors diagnosed that she was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. The Schindlers, however, disputed that those were her wishes and argued that their daughter would benefit from extensive efforts to rehabilitate her.

During the interview they referred to the case of Donald Herbert, the New York fireman who suddenly woke up after 10 years in a semi-vegetative state and spoke lucidly to his wife.

Mr Herbert, 43, was knocked unconscious by debris in a burning building in 1995, leaving him blind and mostly mute until last Saturday.

"We immediately thought of Terri," said Suzanne. "What if they had given up on him?"

Mrs Schiavo's case attracted international attention and sparked a heated political and ethical debate as a series of judges ruled against the Schindler family.

The US Supreme Court refused to intervene even after President George W Bush signed a law allowing federal courts to become involved. "The system is just atrocious," Mr Schindler said.

Her family said that they believed she had been the victim of violence when she collapsed at home and her heart stopped. They said that there was no proof that she had collapsed because she was suffering from bulimia, insisting that she had lost weight several years earlier.

Bobby Jr said that the family was only made aware in 2002 of a bone scan taken a year after the incident. This showed that she had broken ribs, vertebrae, femur and knees. Mr Schiavo said that she suffered the injuries during her early treatment.

The family has set up the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to speak out on behalf of others in a similar situation.

"Anyone out there, listening and watching, they should never ever let this happen to anyone else," Mr Schindler said.

[penowa]

Please site some (any) source for your comments.

Sorry, but I SAID "near" and "almost." I see nothing in ANYTHING I have read that says Ahmed "was referring to 'eating unassisted.'" I gave you a quote from Ahmed and he said TO EAT. (no unassisted, no by himself, nothing but he hoped that Herbert would in the future be able TO EAT) If you cannot cite some sources for what you said, please do not bother me anymore because in all the reading I have done, I have seen NOTHING remotely related to what you are claiming and you have repeatedly given nothing but what are apparently your opinions, not facts with a source.

[robertpaulsen]

"Sorry, but I SAID "near" and "almost."

Fine. Say what you will. But then don't compare his condition to that of Terri's.

She wasn't "near" or "almost". She WAS in a PVS.

"you have repeatedly given nothing but what are apparently your opinions, not facts with a source."

That's a flat out lie. Retract it. I cited a source in my post #33. He was able to eat with assistance.

[penowa]

You cited nothing in post # 33. Where can I go to read it other than your post here? Give me a link to your "facts" or it is nothing but your opinion.

[BykrBayb]

I don't know of anyone who ever sneered and mocked the situation.

Let the drinking games begin! Please don't tell me you didn't see this thread, or the many others in which the WPPFF sneered and mocked the murder of Terri. How about this thread, that was started in support of Terri, and taken over by the WPPFF. They were exceptionally vile, and they posted with great frequency, on almost every Terri thread. It's not possible to have missed every single one of their posts. Here's another post mocking the murder of Terri. Oh wait, I'm sure you've seen that one. It's from you. So are this one and this one.

[BykrBayb]

Complete horsecrap. Scans prove nothing. Autopsy is due out shortly it would be best to wait for the results.

Why were the bone scans taken in the first place if the broken bones shown on the scans don't prove the bones were broken?

[BykrBayb]

The only "law" greer ever followed was his own. It went something like "The law of this case is that Terri Schiavo will die." Who remembers the exact quote, word for word? I'm sure I got pretty close.

[Hildy]

Are you a Dr. If not, than you have no idea what you're talking about.

[blueriver]

And these folks want remains why?

Did you ever hear of visiting a loved ones grave site? Or is that not a reasonable thing for them to want to do according to you?

[demkicker]

Why do you even click onto Terri Schiavo threads? Do you like showing this forum what a jerk you are? I don't suppose you'd be upset if Terri was your daughter and you'd have to live through hell watching her husband use the legal system to neglect and deprive her of therapy, and finally starve her to death. You would of course, not want to know where your daughter was buried either, would you? Fine then, but have the decency to get the hell off of this thread. It is pathetic and remarkable that anyone would be so cruel to parents not to share this information and I pity your inability to have compassion for the Schindlers.

[BykrBayb]

It takes a doctor to know whether multiple broken bones are a normal part of therapy, don't you know. /sarcasm

I wonder how long Terri will have to be dead before the WPPFF is satisfied.

[Cobra64]

Listen pal. My parents were divorced when I was five years old. I grew up in a boarding scholl 90 miles away from home. During the summers, I was in camps. I was 15 years old when my brother was dieing of leukemia. My familty and I were draining blood to keep my brother alive. Platlet levels were shit. My brother was bleeding through his pores. White cells and red cells wer totally out of balance.

So, get off my case.

Have you pompous jerks ever been through this two year process? Ask yourself that friggin question.

[BykrBayb]

This, from the grammar police.

[AnimalLover]

BTTT

[Atomic Vomit]

Wierd self pity posing as a response there, snake.

As your brother slowly bled out through his pores over those two years would you have wanted him starved and dehydrated to death in order to reduce his suffering?

Is this the gist of your post and of your "philosophy"- that because people suffer as they die they should die sooner?

Do you wish your brother had died sooner in order to reduce his suffering or your suffering?

Oh, and you were righteously busted by bykrbayb. You lied in post #22 and your lie was exposed, with links, in post #44.

Now that we know you are willing to lie to make a point it follows that the pity me story you created about your brother can't be believed either.

Perhaps you are just in denial and not just a liar. Either or, both traits, denial and lying, are neccesary in order to ridicule what was done to a helpless person.

Ridicule this- she was just as helpless as Terri Schindler was. A butcher sliced off this little girl's shoulder in a botched abortion. Go ahead, make fun of those who think what was done to her is wrong also.

AV

[demkicker]

So what was the purpose of telling your personal story? It has absolutely nothing to do with this discussion about Michael Schiavo's refusal to tell Terri's parents where he's placed her remains.

You want compassion for what your family had to endure watching your brother slowly die? Fine. I'm very sorry you had to go through such a terrible ordeal. But I resent your crass remarks over the continuing conversation about the Terri Schiavo case.

Here's a little tip: When one shows compassion, one usually receives it in kind.

[demkicker]

Congrats for calling Cobra64 out. That was a good bust! Speaking of busts, I'm leary of anyone who sells Bullet Bras over the internet (check out his home page).

[BykrBayb]

Thanks.

[BykrBayb]

LOL - That's a profile of a very confused person!

[BykrBayb]

That photo is still haunting me. I don't know how anyone can design a drinking game around that act. How can anyone describe that as beautiful, and peaceful? Don't answer that. I don't want to know. I already know more about evil than I ever wanted to know.

[Cobra64]

Sorry.