Dr. William Maxfield compared Terri's 1996 CAT scan to her 2002 scan and testified that Terri's brain tissue appeared more localized and uniform. "It tells me that the brain tissue on the [2002] study has a more normal appearance," Maxfield testified, adding that hyperbaric oxygen therapy, similar to Hammesfahr's recommendation, could lead to improvement, the AP reported. http://www.nrlc.org/news/2002/NRL11/shiavo.html
But, wait! The Felos trolls shriek, "The physicians who testify that Terris isn't PVS and her condition could be improved through rehabilitation offered no specific area of possible improvement!"
"Neurologist Dr. William Hammesfahr predicted a treatment he developed for stroke patients could restore her ability to speak." (Uh oh...wouldn't want that!) http://www.saintpetersburgtimes.com/2002/11/23/TampaBay/Judge__Schiavo_can_t_.shtml
But, wait! The Felos trolls SCREAM, "Dr. Hammesfahr is a quack! His license is on probation for being a quack!"
This particular troll tactic is really insidious. The trolls pretend to have read the legal opinions and findings of fact that prove their claims. According to them, they're the only ones privy to the legal facts which, of course, they accurately present and we are too emotional to comprehend. There's a really big problem with this particular "fact", though. It's a lie!!
Maybe the trolls haven't read the findings of fact in the Hammesfahr case? Perhaps we should direct them to the true facts?
1. Death ghoul Felos couldn't have been too happy that an appeals court overruled his stooge, blind Judge Greer and ordered Terri's feeding tube to be restored the first time Michael tried to starve her to death. Blind Judge Greer was forced to consider new evidence that Terri might not be in a PVS and could possibly benefit from therapy.
2. Just a mere few weeks before Blind Judge Greer would be hearing the new evidence (coincidence? Ha!), George Felos announced to the media that Hammesfahr "engaged in false, deceptive or misleading advertising" involving "a treatment that is contrary to current neurological knowledge" and had been charged by the Department of Health in an administrative complaint. "I can't see how anyone could believe that Dr. Hammesfahr's treatment could help Terri Schiavo when the state of Florida in essence considers it to be bogus," said attorney George Felos. (You tell me, Terri's Army, do you think it's just remotely possible that Felos had something to do with that administrative complaint? You're getting warm.) But, what extremely relevant information did Death Ghoul Felos leave out of his media smear of Dr. Hammesfahr? How about the little fact that the complaint against Dr. Hammesfahr was pending investigation? There had been no decision and Felos saying that "the state of Florida in essence considers Dr. Hammesfahr's treatment claims bogus" was a bold faced lie. http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/22/TampaBay/Schiavo_case_doctor_t.shtml
3. So, did the state of Florida's board of medicine investigation determine that Dr. Hammesfahr's treatment claims were "bogus", as Felos claimed? (And, isn't it interesting that the trolls on this thread use the same word as Felos..."bogus"?) Here's what the trolls (and Felos) would rather you didn't know: Not only is this a lie, but the administrative judge, Susan Kirkland, in her voluminous, nearly 90 page findings of fact concluded that: "Dr. Hammesfahr is the first physician to treat patients successfully to restore deficits caused by stroke". Further, in her findings of fact, Judge Kirkland stated that Dr. Hammesfahr's treatment protocol and claims had been extensively peer reviewed by
A. Diane Hartley, court recognized expert in Physical Therapy, who testified that of the 242 patients she was asked to analyze and evaluate, 221 had improved with their only treatment being that of Dr. Hammesfahr. The very treatment the complaint alleged was "bogus".
B. Dr. Alex Gimon, court recognized expert in Neuropsychology and Brain Injury, testified that of the total study group of 332 of Dr. Hammesfahr's patients that Dr. Gimon evaluated, "most had marked imprvoement within the first 15 days of treatment" that the complaint had challenged as "bogus".
C. Judge Kirkland evaluated a published peer reviewed article about Dr. Hammesfahr's first 67 patients treated for stroke, most who had no improvements for over a year using conventional therapy. Yet, after undergoing treatment with Dr. Hammesfahr, "over 80% showed major improvement with the ability to do new activities around the house and in life that did not exist before starting treatment with Dr. Hammesfahr".
Contrary to the "bogus" claims made by the Felos trolls, the Florida state board of medicine found absolutely no evidence that Dr. Hammesfahr's claims of treatment successes were false, deceptive or misleading! (Quite the opposite as you can see)
So what is the basis of the "adminstrative" probation imposed on Dr. William Hammesfahr that the trolls are all atwitter about? Felos' dirt diggers found ONE (count 'em...one) Hammesfahr patient who had been billed for $3,000 worth of treatments, but received only $2,000 worth of treatments. The board decided that there was a $1,000 billing error and Dr. Hammesfahr received probation for that! (Please tell me, friends of Terri, do any of you know of a physician that does his own billing?) For documentation of everything stated above, http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/FinalOrders/03-17-03/DOH-03-0182.pdf
By all credible accounts, including the Florida Department of Health whose opinion was rendered by Judge Kirkland, and the Florida Board of Medicine that rendered the final decision, Dr. Hammesfahr's medical treatment successes are brilliant, if unconventional.
Dr. Hammesfahr has thorougly examined Terri (and has offered his rehabilitative treatments FREE of charge to Terri). It was his opinion and testimony that treatment could restore Terri's ability to speak! (Uh oh...don't want that!) In his day-long testimony before Blind Judge Greer, video was shown of Hammesfahr examining Terri throughout the day. The doctor repeatedly testified that the tape shows her responding to commands, including commands that she move her eyes and legs.
How did Blind Judge Greer rule in regards to Dr. Hammesfahr's remarkable and proven successes, his opinion of Terri's condition, and his certainty of her ability to improve?
"In Greer's order, the Pinellas probate judge labeled Hammesfahr a "self-promoter," who testified that he had treated patients worse off than Mrs. Schiavo yet "offered no names, no case studies, no videos and no test results to support his claim." http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2002/10/15/TampaBay/Doctor_testifies_he_c.shtml
I have my own opinion about where most of the trolls are coming from, what their goal is here on FR, and even who they actually are. But, I think most FReepers and most advocates for Terri's right not to be killed can reach their own conclusions.