Appeals court to consider Schiavo request

I thought the Schiavo case had been settled, but I guess not:

Appeals court to consider Schiavo request:
In a rare legal victory for Terri Schiavo's parents, a federal appeals court has agreed to consider their request for a new hearing on whether to reconnect their severely brain-damaged daughter's feeding tube.

"Severely brain-damaged" is putting it lightly. How about devoid of all cortical function? Basically anything that makes a human unique (i.e. memory, emotion, intellect, and all other higher functions) are gone, with no hope of regaining them. This 2002 CT scan shows massive atrophy (shrinking) of the brain, that even I, as a medical student with 1 neuroimaging lecture under my belt can diagnose it.


CT Schaivo
Media Credit

The individual Terri Schaivo actually died many, many years ago with the death of her cerebral cortex. All that is left is a shell of automatic reflexes…

In other news, Vermont is looking more and more attractive, so the same thing doesn't happen to me.


Email Email to Friend PrintPrint

Sonja Says:

do you think it has cost a lot of money to keep her alive all these years, or is it not really that much food/machine cost? (not that i´m advocating killing people because it´s too expensive t keep them alive!..but then again it´s not really killing, since they are basically dead without the machines…so letting them die I guess is better put..)

Carsten Says:

Yes, health care in the US is expensive, on the order of thousands of dollars a day for hospitalization. However, she is the recipient of a multi-million dollar malpractice verdict (for not diagnosing her eating disorder, which lead to the electrolyte imbalance, heart attack, and eventual brain death) which is supposed to be used for her care.

In my view, she has been dead for the last 15 years, and her parents have been selfish in that they wanted to keep her “alive” for their own emotional needs. While I empathize with the parents, withholding nutritional support is just recognizing that a meaningful recovery is not possible, and allows her parents to finally have closure.

In reference to your other argument: there are some ethicists that would agree with you. From a purely utilitarian point of view, this patient is in a persistent vegetative state (having no cerebral function), and has no meaningful chance of recovery. Therefore, it would be wrong to waste resources to keep the patient biologically functioning (but not alive) for 15 years, for no purpose other than the emotional needs of the parents. Those financial, and other, resources could be better utilized by treating patients who actually have a chance at getting better.

Sonja Says:

Wow, didn´t know that about the ED - but that´s not really the hospital or doctor´s fault for not diagnosing it is it? I mean, if she wanted it to be diagnosed, then she would have been…I´m sure she knew she had a problem and if she told the docs everything, then they probably would have been able to diagnose it, or? Did she have anorexia? Sounds like this family must know the ins and outs of the legal system by now!

Carsten Says:

I’m not really too sure of the details of the malpractice case - I think the argument was that the doctor should have known something was wrong if the electrolyte balance was that screwed up…

Sonja Says:

I just read in Stern that it was a Kalium deficiency that caused her heart to stop - but I´m not sure what Kalium is in English and since I´m at an internet cafe wasting valuable money, I´m not gonna look it up and hope that you do and let me know :grin:

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Carsten Says:

Kalium = Potassium

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sonja Says:

or just move to oregon if vermont doesn´t pass it…oh and yeah, that brain looks pretty empty :sad:

Carsten Says:

But Vermont has Ben and Jerry’s :-)

Sonja Says:

haha, yeah, but so does everywhere else, since they´re sell-outs :grin:

Carsten Says:

… Even in Grenada (though it is $6.59/pint). At least in Vermont it’s free at their factory tour :-)

 
 
 
 
Carsten Says:

Update: Terri Schiavo has died

Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman who became the centerpiece of a national right-to-die battle, died Thursday morning, nearly two weeks after doctors removed the feeding tube that had sustained her for more than a decade.

Wednesday, the Schindlers lost what their lawyer described as their “last meaningful legal appeal” in their desperate battle to have their brain-damaged daughter’s feeding tube reinserted.

More at CNN.com

May she finally rest in peace.

Sonja Says:

Did you hear the latest accusations and legal issue about whether to do an autopsy to figure out the cause of death since the parents are accusing the husband of abusing her somehow, and causing her death?

Carsten Says:

Yeah. That has been an issue all along with the family saying that multiple fractures on medical imaging was indicative of domestic abuse. I never pretended to like the guy, but an autopsy really isn’t needed to prove the cause of death. It’s self-evident that the cause of death was dehydration due to a lack of nutritional support… Trying to prove that that the husband was abusive, leading to the eating disorder, leading to the hypokalemia and subsequent MI and brain death would be difficult, and the only reason to an autopsy would be to have evidence for criminal/civil proceedings against the husband. But knowing the current strife in the family, I wouldn’t rule this out.

Sonja Says:

But I also just read that he could have divorced her and he could have gotten rich because someone offered him a lot of money to just leave her in the care of the parents…so why would he do that if he didn´t love her? I also read that he has a girlfriend and they have kids together and he´s constantly being threatened

 
 
 
Mom Says:

RIP
but I’m not sure, if a lethal overdose, like they do in certain countries, if there is absolute no hope, would have been less painful for everyone.
I realize she probably felt nothing but it still seems like a kind of long torture, where the outcome in inevitable. I’m sure this would definitely not go over well with the right to life folks.

Carsten Says:

No probably not, since she really wasn’t in pain (since she couldn’t feel anything)… Pulling feeding tubes and letting people die is actually pretty common, and is something that should have happened years ago.

 
 
 
Mom Says:

Vermont, nice state…good skiing, nice lakes for boating, lots of cows for the B&J, school system needs some repair though.

Sonja Says:

Yeah, but since he´s hopefully done with school, he shouldn´t have to worry about that :grin:

Carsten Says:

But I might have kids some day… Oh who am I kidding? :lol:

 
 
 
Subaqua Sternal Rubs » Blog Archive » Schiavo Autopsy Released Says:

[…] hiavo Autopsy Released Thanks to a reader tip, as a follow-up to previous posts (1, 2), the Schiavo autopsy report has been relea […]

 
Subaqua Sternal Rubs » Blog Archive » Court: State can let beaten girl die Says:

[…] the making? Court: State can let beaten girl die E-Mail to Friend Print   Trackback  Permalink   Filed under: Health Policy,Asides […]

 
emt036: Schiavo Autopsy Released Says:

[…] emt036 (emt036) wrote,@ 2005-06-16 14:32:00      Schiavo Autopsy Released Thanks to a reader tip, as a follow-up to previous posts (1, 2), the Schiavo autopsy report has been released, and it seems to support the position of husband Michael Schiavo:The autopsy of Terri Schiavo found no evidence that the severely brain-damaged woman was strangled or abused and that no amount of therapy would have reversed her condition, a medical examiner said Wednesday.He said his examination turned up no sign of abuse or trauma — allegations leveled by Terri Schiavo’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, against her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo.A report from a neuropathologist who served as a consultant to the autopsy said Schiavo’s brain was “grossly abnormal and weighed only 615 grams [1.35 pounds].”That weight is less than half that expected for a woman of her age, said the report written by Dr. Stephen J. Nelson. Schiavo’s brain damage “was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons,” Thogmartin said. “Her brain was profoundly atrophied, and the vision centers of her brain were dead,” he said.Source: CNN.comWill this report finally lay the controversy to rest? Probably not:Regardless of the autopsy findings, the Schindlers continue to believe their daughter was not in a persistent vegetative state, their lawyer, David Gibbs III, said after Thogmartin’s report was issued. He said they plan to discuss the autopsy with other medical experts and may take some unspecified legal action.Source: MSNBC.comAccording to this competely unscientific vote, about two-thirds say yes, and the remaining one-third (along with the Schindlers, and even the President) are still in Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ first stage in the death process: denial. I hope all those still in this stage will continue their grieving process and move to the final stage of acceptance before their own mental and physical health suffers. View or post comments on my blog […]

 

If this is your first visit to the site, please see here for commenting rules.

Comment moderation is selectively enabled. If your comment does not appear immediately, it has been held for moderation. Please be patient, and do not resubmit your comment - I will enable your comment as soon as I get a chance to review it. Thanks!

If you are a registered user on this site, please log in before posting your comment. Not only will you bypass the impersonation and comment spam detection mechanisms, you will also have 60 minutes to edit your comment for glaring spelling or factual errors, whereas those not logged in will have to live with whatever is in the box when they hit the submit button.

:mrgreen: :neutral: :twisted: :arrow: :shock: :smile: :???: :cool: :evil: :grin: :idea: :oops: :razz: :roll: :wink: :cry: :eek: :lol: :mad: :sad: :!: :?:

© 2004-2006
Use of this site implies your understanding and tacit agreement to all points in the disclaimer.
Subaqua Sternal Rubs is proudly powered by WordPress 2.0.5 and Gallery2. This page made freshly for you in 1.555 seconds.
Notice to spammers: Spam Karma 2 has automatically deleted 23607 spams that Bad Behavior didn't get. Don't even bother trying.