Guardian Ad Litem Report on Terri Schiavo (everyone should read this)

http://jb-williams.com/ts-report-12-03.htm ^ | 12/03 | Jay Wolfson

[teenyelliott]

The whole problem with this statement is that if she could not swallow, she would have aspirated saliva into her lungs by now, and died. This has not happened. She has been observed swallowing her own saliva, meaning the tests were either mistaken, or improperly done.

From the report;
"The ability to orally ingest food and water – to swallow substances other than saliva, is predicated on a level of cognitive capacity.[break] But to orally eat and drink, Theresa must possess cognitive capacity beyond mere reflex, or she will not only fail to ingest, but could easily aspirate substances into her lungs and be subjected to infections and subsequent death. [break] Three independent sets of swallowing tests were performed early in Theresa's medical treatment: 1991, 1992 and 1993. Each of these determined that Theresa was not able to swallow without risk of aspiration". (Indicates that to swallow saliva is a reflexive action. Eating and swallowing food are cognitive actions.)

[conserv13]

She is not in a vegetative state. Only people who want to see her dead because her appearance makes them uncomfortable, keep misidentifying her as such.

That is not what her doctors say.

[HighlyOpinionated]

If persons unable to speak for themselves have decisions made on their behalf by guardians or family members, the potential for abuse, barring clear protections, could lead to a "slippery slope" of actions to terminate the lives of disabled and incompetent persons. And it is not difficult to imagine bad decisions being made in order to make life easier for a family or to avoid spending funds remaining in the estate on the maintenance of a person.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

There is little difference between liquified food and saliva. Several nurses have sworn out statements indicating that they have fed her, in one instance Jello, and she swallowed said substances without any trouble.

I have problems with doctors that think that their opinion is infallible. 120,000 dead people (due to medical mistakes/according to the CDC) per year disagree. All doctors have in this case is their best guess, but they are trying to pass them off as facts.

[This Just In]

Yes, I would agree. Terri's plight serves as an unfortunate example as to the importance of drawing up a living will.

[teenyelliott]

What about after the malpractice suit?

What about it?

From the report;
"The court established a trust fund for Theresa's financial award, with SouthTrust Bank as the Guardian and an independent trustee. This fund was meticulously managed and accounted for and Michael Schiavo had no control over its use. There is no evidence in the record of the trust administration documents of any mismanagement of Theresa's estate, and the records on this matter are excellently maintained."

This case has been reviewed my many, many doctors, with varying specialties. It has been reviewed and heard legally by between seventeen and nineteen judges. Terri has had three guardians appointed. Why would all of these people ignore any evidence if it was out there? I dare say Terri has had more "due process" than any other incapacitated patient in the history of our country.

[verity]

You only wish you could be half as coherent as Wolfson.

[CyberAnt]

And .. the nurses have said they fed her jello and pudding which she did not spit up.

[teenyelliott]

I hope everyone reads it.

Me too. Of course some will say it is not true, or that Mr. Wolfson is just part of the "death squad".

[outofhere2]

Obviously you're the very dense kind of individual who only reads what he wants to read. It took 10 years before her parents got a hold of her medical records which her husband it has been reported withheld from them. The records indicated broken bones including a broken spinal column news stations have reported. Also, when did bulimia cause broken bones? How stupid can some people be? Well, I guess reading your post I know now. One more thing, for the people here WITH intelligence and use it wisely, Doctors and nurses have been known to make critical mistakes in health care, hence the need for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits and Insurance. Get it Tarantula. Oh, and please try to think before you blindly type on the internet with your nonsense.

[xsmommy]

i've read it, it has not changed my mind in the slightest.

[teenyelliott]

Terri's parents objected to him in the first place.

Per court documents, the above statement simply is not true. Not to mention the fact that Terri has had two other independent Guardians named, as well as the fact that the website you link to has an obvious slant to their information.

I of course am not objecting to anyone wanting Terri to live. I am simply trying to relay fact instead of rumor and propaganda.

[lugsoul]

A waste of time. Most here aren't interested in facts that undermine their view of this tragedy.

It is funny, however, how many of those who scream "Terri should have a lawyer" absolutely reject what was stating so eloquently by Dr. Wolfson - Terri's lawyer.

[AmericaUnited]

You only wish you could be half as coherent as Wolfson.

No, more like Wolfson wishes he was half the man I am. I'll pick someone with morals and courage any day over an elegantly spoken, feckless, shameless, weasel. How pathetic!

[HighlyOpinionated]

Mr. Pearse documents the evolving disaffections between the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo. He concludes that Michael Schiavo's testimony regarding the basis for his decision to withdraw life support – a conversation he had with his wife, Theresa, was not clear and convincing, and that potential conflicts of interest regarding the disposition of residual funds in Theresa's trust account following her death affected Michael and the Schindlers – but he placed greater emphasis on the impact it might have had on Michael's decision to discontinue artificial life support. At the time of Mr. Pearse's report, more than $700,000 remained in the guardianship estate.

SURPRISE! Michael Schiavo's conflict of interest noted by Guardian Ad Litem.

[teenyelliott]

there's reasonable cause to suspect wrongdoing/criminal behavior

By whom, and where is this documented?

[keats5]

Sure, the report has lots of facts, but not all facts are pertinent to the issue at hand. The legal test for withholding medical treatment of any kind is, "What does the patient desire?" Since under Florida law, nutrition and hydration can be considered "medical treatment," under some circumstances, I'll defer to their terminology. (Note, it's not my terminology, and I don't agree with it.)

The only real issue here is what Terri wants. If the doctors have no way of knowing, they must assume she wants to live. The burden of proving that Terri wants to die is upon the person making this claim, in this case the husband.

The court has a duty to hear from anyone who has valid testimony to offer regarding Terri's wishes, be they the family, friends, nurses, etc. The court must also consider the witnesses' credibility and conflict of interests. What is unconscionable here is that the courts favor the testimony of one person, a philandering husband, as opposed to several others such as Terri's parents, siblings and friends. Whereas Michael will be free to marry his lover and mother of his two children should Terri die, the other witnesses seem to have no other motivation, other than love of Terri.

[teenyelliott]

So let her have some water and Jello

I agree with that. I cannot agree with letting someone lay there for two weeks and starve to death.

[Jim W N]

Please show proof that:
1) She has expressed in writing her desire to be starved to death if incapacitated.
2) That there's any legal or moral grounds for doing so even if she has written this.

If these can't be proven, I don't care what these doctors say, especially those who have abandoned their Hippocratic oath.

[teenyelliott]

iN MY 72 YEARS ON THIS EARTH, i, for the first time am ashamed to be called an american

That is sad. Our country is far more than this one case. I will never be ashamed to be an American.