OmahaBound
06-15-2005, 12:00 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159606,00.html
i fear bringing this up again considering how the initial debate lasted forever, but this is pretty much the end of the story so it can't be ignored.
plus it might be amusing to read some more debate on the topic....dance, puppets, dance!!!
Autopsy: Schiavo Was Not Abused
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Terri Schiavo (search) died from dehydration and was not abused before her 1990 collapse, an autopsy report revealed Wednesday.
The report also showed there was no evidence Schiavo was given harmful drugs or other substances before her death. The severely brain-damaged woman, who was at the heart of a right-to-die battle, died March 31, 13 days after being disconnected from her feeding tube.
Jon Thogmartin (search), the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner, told reporters that Schiavo would not have lived after her feeding tube was removed even if she had been fed or given liquids by mouth.
"Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death whether she was fed or hydrated by mouth or not," Thogmartin told reporters.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had fought their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo, in court for seven years over her fate. The Schindlers also had wanted to give Terri Schiavo nutrition through her mouth after her tube was removed.
The autopsy revealed there was no conclusive evidence that Schiavo had an eating disorder. The report said Schiavo drank a lot of tea and caffeine could have led to her heart attack in 1990, which resulted in a persistent vegetative state.
"There's nothing in her autopsy report that is inconsistent with a persistent vegetative state," said Dr. Stephen J. Nelson, a medical examiner who assisted in the autopsy.
Thogmartin also said Schiavo was blind, her brain was half its normal size and she was suffering from severe osteoporosis at the time of death.
"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain. ... This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons."
The autopsy was unable to reveal much about what led to Schiavo's collapse in 1990. Thogmartin said a review of hospital records of her collapse showed she had a diminished potassium level in her blood. But he said that did not prove she had an eating disorder, because the emergency treatment she received at the time could have affected the potassium level.
The cause of her collapse has never been definitely proven, but testimony in a 1992 civil trial indicated that she probably was suffering from an eating disorder that led to a severe chemical imbalance.
The Schindlers, though, don't believe she had an eating disorder and have accused Michael Schiavo of abusing his wife, a charge he vehemently denied.
Speaking before the report was issued, Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said the Schindlers continue to engage in a "smear campaign against Michael to deflect the real issues in the case, which were Terri's wishes and her medical condition."
Bill Pellan, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office, said Tuesday that Thogmartin reviewed police reports, medical records and other documents in trying to determine the cause of her brain damage.
During the long legal battle, numerous abuse complaints made to state social workers were ruled unfounded.
Michael Schiavo convinced the courts his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially with no hope of recovery, contending that she made statements to that effect before her collapse.
Her parents doubt she had any such end-of-life wishes and also disputed that she was in a persistent vegetative state. They believed she could get better with therapy.
i fear bringing this up again considering how the initial debate lasted forever, but this is pretty much the end of the story so it can't be ignored.
plus it might be amusing to read some more debate on the topic....dance, puppets, dance!!!
Autopsy: Schiavo Was Not Abused
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Terri Schiavo (search) died from dehydration and was not abused before her 1990 collapse, an autopsy report revealed Wednesday.
The report also showed there was no evidence Schiavo was given harmful drugs or other substances before her death. The severely brain-damaged woman, who was at the heart of a right-to-die battle, died March 31, 13 days after being disconnected from her feeding tube.
Jon Thogmartin (search), the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner, told reporters that Schiavo would not have lived after her feeding tube was removed even if she had been fed or given liquids by mouth.
"Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death whether she was fed or hydrated by mouth or not," Thogmartin told reporters.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had fought their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo, in court for seven years over her fate. The Schindlers also had wanted to give Terri Schiavo nutrition through her mouth after her tube was removed.
The autopsy revealed there was no conclusive evidence that Schiavo had an eating disorder. The report said Schiavo drank a lot of tea and caffeine could have led to her heart attack in 1990, which resulted in a persistent vegetative state.
"There's nothing in her autopsy report that is inconsistent with a persistent vegetative state," said Dr. Stephen J. Nelson, a medical examiner who assisted in the autopsy.
Thogmartin also said Schiavo was blind, her brain was half its normal size and she was suffering from severe osteoporosis at the time of death.
"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain. ... This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons."
The autopsy was unable to reveal much about what led to Schiavo's collapse in 1990. Thogmartin said a review of hospital records of her collapse showed she had a diminished potassium level in her blood. But he said that did not prove she had an eating disorder, because the emergency treatment she received at the time could have affected the potassium level.
The cause of her collapse has never been definitely proven, but testimony in a 1992 civil trial indicated that she probably was suffering from an eating disorder that led to a severe chemical imbalance.
The Schindlers, though, don't believe she had an eating disorder and have accused Michael Schiavo of abusing his wife, a charge he vehemently denied.
Speaking before the report was issued, Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said the Schindlers continue to engage in a "smear campaign against Michael to deflect the real issues in the case, which were Terri's wishes and her medical condition."
Bill Pellan, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office, said Tuesday that Thogmartin reviewed police reports, medical records and other documents in trying to determine the cause of her brain damage.
During the long legal battle, numerous abuse complaints made to state social workers were ruled unfounded.
Michael Schiavo convinced the courts his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially with no hope of recovery, contending that she made statements to that effect before her collapse.
Her parents doubt she had any such end-of-life wishes and also disputed that she was in a persistent vegetative state. They believed she could get better with therapy.