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About Terri Schiavo
Posted by Raven on February 14th, 2005
I have been asked to write about the situation involving Terry Schiavo. Since I work with people who are in the condition Terry is in, I have some things to say. I have been following this story for 5 years now and I also have been in contact with aides who have worked with Terry. It’s sickening.
When people think about COMA’S, they often assume the victim is unconscious and unaware of their surroundings. This is true in many cases, as I have described here before. I work mainly with younger people, but do “float” over to the Adult Brain Injury unit quite a bit. I see lots of Terry’s there. People like her are indeed alive; they are living breathing humans who have survived an often tragic event. Are they who they used to be? No. Will they ever be who they used to be? Probably not. Do they respond to stimuli? Yes. Do they respond to people? Yes. Do they talk? Not usually, but they make eye contact and smile and laugh. And they reach out to you. They are human beings, who tend to like the company of others and…well…like to be alive. Terry smiles a lot, and she seems happy almost all the time. She is not hooked up to any machines.
Terry’s husband refuses any mental and physical stimulation for his wife. She is located in a skilled nursing facility in a tiny room. The blinds are not allowed to be opened. Ever. There is no TV allowed in her room. No radio or other means of music is allowed either. He restricts visitors. No pictures, posters or orientation boards are hanging in her room-not even a calendar. Nothing. A bleak environment that I cannot understand…Nursing homes have federal standards they are required to abide by. One of the more important standards evolves around activities. And therapies. How Terry is allowed to be so abandoned in this area baffles me. Any nursing home would face huge fines and penalties for allowing such sub- standards to exist. Terry is the victim of a broken enforcement system, for sure.
Some other interesting things…Terry’s condition is what is called Persistent Vegetative State. In other words, she is serverely brain damaged: she has no control over her body, she is incontinent of bowel and bladder, cannot swallow, cannot move her limbs…She is awake,and knows her name, but not overly aware of where she is. She probably has no idea about time and place. Most people living in nursing homes who need it are “toileted” (Depends type brief’s) changed at least every two hours. Terry’s husband doesn’t allow the aides to do this. She will sit/lay for hours in a soaking wet diaper.
Terry has contacted several infections during her stay at the nursing home. Strep throat, urinary tract infections, bronchitis…things that are easily treated with antibiotics. Her husband won’t allow any treatment. Another limit her husband has placed on the nursing staff is the typical turning/repositioning protocols: Every two hours bed bound residents are placed into a different position to help prevent skin breakdown. Bed sores. Once a bed sore develops, it takes MONTHS and months to clear it up. And a lot of pain for the resident. Depending upon the stage of the sore, these things can become deadly very quickly. They go down deep into the tissues and right into bones. Infection sets in, and death can occur fast. He tried to limit the nursing staff as to how often Terry got repositioned; but the staff won that battle with the help of the state.
I have seen some pretty sad things in my work. I have seem little children with G Tubes put to death by their parents, who had decided that their child is not living a “valuable” life. The state often has to get involved in cases like this, but with kids it’s pretty cut and dry: The parents have the final say. All ethics put aside, all arguments about what is a life and what isn’t-the very worst part of what I do is watching others die a slow death. It is horrible and I don’t deal well with it.
By removing nutrition and hydration via the tubes, patients take days to die. They literally dry out. There skin becomes dry and scaly; their lips dry out and then the mouth can no longer open. The person either rolls in the fetal position and stays that way, or they lay out flat. They no longer void and their eyes become sunk in very deep.
I won’t go into anymore details as it is kind of gross, but it isn’t a pretty thing. Usually the docs and nurses do a “terrific” job with pain killers. The dying, supposedly, feel no pain. I don’t think that is ever true. I see them moaning and I have seen little tears rolling out of their dry eyes. The last patient I witnessed being put to death like this took 3 weeks to go. How sweet.
I hate to use the term “put to death” but that is what it is. No need to beat around the bush here and don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t that simple. It’s wrong and it’s barbaric. Life is life, and anyone alive who has not made their wishes known should be allowed to live. As to quality of life, who are we to decide what that is?
Cross posted @ The Wide Awakes
February 14th, 2005 at 8:28 am
Happy Valentine’s Day
Today’s Dose of Love/NIF
February 14th, 2005 at 11:28 am
We are running out of time, as a judge has ruled against saving her life click here. If something isn’t done quickly to stop it, they will begin starving her to death on February 22 by not giving her access to her feeding tube.
click here to Email Hyscience to Join the blogroll!
February 14th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
If someone is kidnapped so as to prevent a murder, is it a bad thing?
February 14th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
Lets go Ogre. I’m ready.
February 14th, 2005 at 9:28 pm
Happy Valentine’s Day. I am with both of you. Road Trip…
February 14th, 2005 at 9:31 pm
COme and get me Michael. I’m ready to go and so is Ogre.
February 15th, 2005 at 1:32 am
ME TOO!
God, Raven, people really need to know about the reality of life as she has it and as it will be if they starve her. Thanks for posting that. It’s horrifying to think of a parent and a child…ugh. Can’t even say it.
I’ve seen a lot of brain patients as well (not as a medical professional, as a neuro patient AND when my ex was hospitalized for four months after brain surgery). He had times where he wasn’t much better off, except for feeding (if you call Ensure “feeding”). And then there were other patients who were on feeding tubes AND respirators. Some you could barely tell if they were “there” at all. Eventually though, every one of them recovered to if not full function and health (as with my ex), then definitely close to it. THEY had support from family (and me, of course) and they were “allowed” (!) to have all the therapies and treatments that they needed.
I suppose any one of them could theoretically have been denied the same things as Terri, and suffered the same fate–but they didn’t have a Michael Schiavo interfering. Who’s to say Terri couldn’t recover enough to be at least functioning at the level of a child? And why, I ask, should that be any different from the mentally retarded? Should THEY be put to death?
I’m linking to your post here. Thanks again for sharing your experience!
February 15th, 2005 at 4:26 am
The Reality of Death by Starvation
The danger to Terri Schiavo’s life is critical as Michael Schiavo will soon will be free to remove her feeding tube that has sustained her for 15 years, possibly as early as Feb. 22. And Rightly So has written a…
February 15th, 2005 at 6:04 am
Blogging For Terri Schiavo
When I first read about the woman who talked after being in a coma for 20 years, I thought of Terri Schiavo. Although their conditions may be very different, one can’t help but wonder if the same could happen to Terri.
We may never know, it seems, …
February 15th, 2005 at 8:05 am
Beth, I even heard that Michael S. took away Terri’s wheelchair in order to keep her in bed. How pathetic is that? Human beings-no matter what state of mind and body-thrive with stimulation and attention. Even those in deep comas who wake up, tell us they heard things and thank us for playing music and talking to them. Terri’s husband also restricts visitors-even her parents could only see her a few times a year.
Aides I have had contact with tell me the nursing staff would cry whenever Terri would come down with an illness, because they knew it would be a battle to get medication approval from the husband.
February 15th, 2005 at 8:10 am
You know, I’ve been afraid of going overboard and saying too much about Michael, but for God’s sake, WHY does he insist she suffer MORE? It’s like he wants it to be so bad that she just gives up! All that deprivation and suffering, yet she lives. If that doesn’t show a will to LIVE, I can’t imagine what does.
February 15th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
I venture to say that Michael either is feeling (1) inconvenienced or (2) has something to hide that could get disclosed if Terri recovered, even slightly. This man is a monster and should be facing criminal charges. Instead, the court seems to be on his side (at least the judge). What has allowed them to believe they can play God here?
February 15th, 2005 at 1:02 pm
I am not invested in seeing the government take control of issues like this; in the broad scope. However, in this particular case-someone needs to intervene. Some say that we should leave it alone, this is God’s plan.
If that is the case, why did God give Terri all these years and a g tube…??
February 15th, 2005 at 6:26 pm
Most readers are going to think I’m a monster for saying this, but it needs to be said.
When someone threatens an innocent person’s life, we have a right and a duty to remove that threat by any means possible.
Terri’s “husband” should be killed. He is alone the threat to Terri’s life. He should pay for being that threat with his mortal existence.
If I were her father, he would already be six feet under.
February 15th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
David some readers might be offended but most of us would like to go on road trip…to take matters into our own hands as you suggest.
February 18th, 2005 at 2:19 am
I have been thinking exactly what David said since I read this post, and teh one at Cao’s, and followed the links. This has weighed heavily on my mind for the last 4 days. While washing dishes and trying to come up with something that I could do to bring more attention to this most evil of events, (the judge should be fired) I have decided to blog about it.
There is this huge bloggers list of people that are putting this out here, but I have decided that starting tomorrow evening, (feb. 18th, 6 PM PST) I will blog once an hour, straight through to tuesday morning and I won’t stop until I hear if the tube is gone or the execution has been stopped.
I will need all the bloggers help.
That is 84 posts in an many hours, and I will be staying up answering emails and comments. Hopefully this stupid stunt catches the attention of the MSM, (bloggers are getting tons of press) and enough people will hear about it in time for something to change.
All praise to caffiene, nicotine and bloggers.
February 18th, 2005 at 3:06 am
I have posted about this and commited myself to it.
February 21st, 2005 at 2:56 pm
Save Terri Schaivo
And Rightly So has a rather graphic description of the murder that is about to be perpetrated upon Terri Schaivo if her husband gets his way.
March 16th, 2005 at 11:58 am
Starvation, Torture and Terri Schiavo
Last night Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, appeared on Nightline to discuss their bid to withhold nourishment and hydration from Terri Schiavo for the purpose of ending her life. Michael’s statements included the following assertionsTer…
March 16th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
Has This Man No Shame?
And people wonder why I make the Vlad Tepes allusions to Mssrs. Schiavo, Felos and Greer
March 16th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Starvation, Shmarvation
Fortunately for me I missed another one-sided interview with Michael Schiavo and his assistant demon, George Felos, on Nightline last night. During the interview, Michael claimed that somehow, withholding food and water from someone was not technically…
May 11th, 2005 at 6:16 am
Thoughts on Terry Schiavo, Michael Ross and Blogging
Over the course of the last couple of months I have read many blogs (too numerous to list here) on Terri Schiavo and Michael Ross. I realized that all of them haven’t used the power of blogs for their full…