New Findings Cast
Increasing Doubt on Terri Schiavo’s Death
During my family's battle to save my sister Terri Schiavo from death by
dehydration, a tremendous amount of debate raged over whether or not
she was in what the medical profession refers to as a persistent
vegetative state (PVS).
Indeed, the PVS diagnosis was used as one of the deciding factors in
whether my sister should live or die. It was the core catalyst in the
court ordering the removal of Terri’s food and water.
When Terri’s husband first petitioned the circuit courts to remove her
sustenance, my family was naive about PVS and what the diagnosis
actually meant, and could not believe a court would ever order her food
and water withdrawn. As the battle over my sister’s life progressed,
however, we learned – the hard way.
The more anecdotal testimony we heard about the diagnosis of PVS, the
more my family was convinced that Terri simply didn’t fit the profile
and was never PVS. We also suspected such a diagnosis (typically made
at the bedside) was seriously flawed.
This became very obvious by the way Terri interacted with my mother,
not to mention the videos which clearly showed that Terri was able to
track objects and follow simple commands.
I was oftentimes rather astonished at the number of different and
opposing conclusions I heard from neurologists, physicians, speech
therapists and so many other medical professionals who tried to
determine whether or not Terri was in a PVS.
This is why a recent study published by the New England Journal of
Medicine, regarding findings of awareness in patients previously
diagnosed in a PVS, may be one of the most important to date.
The Journal’s report, released on Feb. 3, revealed that some patients
who were believed to be in a PVS were actually able to understand and
communicate. Through the use of functional magnetic resonance scanning
(fMRI), researchers in the United Kingdom estimated that a percentage
of those patients suffering from profound brain injuries possessed the
capacity to comprehend and communicate in limited ways.
Though the results of this study may bring new hope to patients with
severe brain injuries, the latest findings also suggest that the PVS
diagnosis may be more flawed than previously believed. Already,
documented research has brought into question the veracity of the PVS
diagnosis. The New England Journal of Medicine’s February report may be
something of a call to action.
Indeed, it is bittersweet for my family when we read such findings that
question the PVS diagnosis. It exonerated the courageous individuals
who placed their careers and reputations on the line to voice
opposition to my sister’s court-ordered dehydration.
The doctors and neurologists who examined Terri and evidence presented
in the legal battle have often been dismissed as “quacks” for
suggesting Terri may have been aware, cognizant and functional. For
them, such new findings must weigh particularly heavy on their hearts.
Despite the New England Journal of Medicine’s report, most in the
mainstream media obstinately refused to admit that Terri’s death was a
mistake.
Perhaps that is because they have a stake in the story: Throughout the
legal battle, most of the media repeatedly ignored or glossed over the
dozens of affidavits from some of the most prominent neurologists and
medical professionals in the nation, stating Terri may have been
misdiagnosed.
Many pleaded for the judge, George Geer, to permit similar new brain
scanning technology to better determine Terri’s true neurological
condition. They, along with my family, were inexplicably refused.
As we saw in Terri’s life and death, what these laws have created is a
hostile and often fatal set of circumstances for non-dying patients who
live with profound brain injuries and cognitive disabilities – based on
tragically suspect diagnoses.
It is utterly vital for disability rights and pro-life advocates to
lead the charge that demands our legislators enact appropriate laws to
protect the life and liberty interests of vulnerable persons.
It is also because of the results of this latest study and the
traditionally high failure rate in the PVS diagnosis that we need to
stop using it as a guideline to kill those in these so-called PVS
conditions.
There are many in the legal and medical profession who choose not to
see what we saw in Terri’s behaviors and what these imaging studies
reveal about the human brain. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure
that the lives of vulnerable people are not needlessly ended by flawed
diagnostic practices, careless legislation or the idea that a person
with a disability must prove themselves worthy of life’s most ordinary
needs: food and water.
Contact: Bobby Schindler
Source:
LifeSiteNews.com
Publish
Date:
February 19,
2010
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