Tanja said:
I did not read the whole debate (I do not have the time to go through all 5 pages, let alone other threads). If I understand correctly, Rouser2 is arguing that Terri could communicate, and that she did so.
I just wanted to point out to the US readers to the recent UK case of Abigail Witchall, young pregnant woman and mother of one, who was brutally stabbed several days ago. She is paralysed and cannot speak, but from the very beginning has been communicating with her parents and the police by mouthing answers (yes and no) and by blinking (somebody reading the letters of the alphabet to her and she blinks when they reach the letter she wants to say). You can see some BBC links here , here and here
Here are some of the quotes:
If in this case the police and parents are able to communicate within days of the incident, and take a police statement from her, how come that no such communication was established with Terri in 15 years? Was it perhaps because she could not communicate after all, Rouser?
After her loving husband got the "malpractice" settlement which he pledged would be used for his wife's unending therapy, he stopped all therapy. Terri was in and out. According to her medical record she was at times responsive.
http://www.theempirejournal.com/02230551_medical_observations_sh.htm
The most compelling report, or course, comes from Nurse Carla Iyer:
"To the best of my recollection, rehabilitation had been ordered for
Terri, but I never saw any being done or had any reason at all to
believe that there was ever any rehab of Terri done at Palm Gardens
while I was there. I became concerned because Michael wanted
nothing done for Terri at all, no antibiotics, no tests, no range of
motion therapy, no stimulation, no nothing. Michael said again and
again that Terri should NOT get any rehab, that there should be no
range of motion whatsoever, or anything else. I and a CNA named
Roxy would give Terri range of motion anyway. One time I put a
wash cloth in Terri's hand to keep her fingers from curling together,
-2-
and Michael saw it and made me take it out, saying that was therapy.
7. Terri's medical condition was systematically distorted and
misrepresented by Michael. When I worked with her, she was alert
and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence,
saying such things as "mommy," and "help me." "Help me" was, in
fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds
of times. Terri would try to say the word "pain" when she was in
discomfort, but it came out more like "pay." She didn't say the "n"
sound very well. During her menses she would indicate her discomfort
by saying "pay" and moving her arms toward her lower abdominal
area. Other ways that she would indicate that she was in pain included
pursing her lips, grimacing, thrashing in bed, curling her toes or
moving her legs around. She would let you know when she had a
bowel movement by flipping up the covers and pulling on her diaper
and scooted in bed on her bottom.
8. When I came into her room and said "Hi, Terri", she would always
recognize my voice and her name, and would turn her head all the way
toward me, saying "Haaaiiiii" sort of, as she did. I recognized this as a
"hi", which is very close to what it sounded like, the whole sound
-3-
being only a second or two long. When I told her humrous stories
about my life or something I read in the paper, Terri would chuckle,
sometimes more a giggle or laugh. She would move her whole body,
upper and lower. Her legs would sometimes be off the bed, and need
to be repositioned. I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in
her chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but
by my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart.
Every time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri's,
someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always
demanded to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in
her room with him. I documented Terri's rehab potential well,
writing whole pages about Terri's responsiveness, but they would
always be deleted by the next time I saw her chart. The reason I wrote
so much was that everybody else seemed to be afraid to make positive
entries for fear of their jobs, but I felt very strongly that a nurses job
was to accurately record everything we see and hear that bears on a
patients condition and their family. I upheld the Nurses Practice Act,Schiavo abuse claims declared groundless
9. Throughout my time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused
-4-
on Terri's death. Michael would say "When is she going to die?,"
"Has she died yet?" and "When is that bitch gonna die?" These
statements were common knowledge at Palm Gardens, as he would
make them casually in passing, without regard even for who he was
talking to, as long as it was a staff member. Other statements which I
recall him making include "Can't anything be done to accelerate her death...'
http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/CIyerAffidavit090203.htm
