Schiavo Autopsy

I don't think anyone killed her but was there an answer to "why morphine?" Just interested.

I didn't know that roverroad - thank you. I'm thinking of course why stop her lungs from filling with fluid if she was insensate...but that's a point, there could have been other therapeutic reasons.

Morphine: Acts in central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to block pain messages. Activates pain-modulating systems in the brain that project to the spinal cord.

Source: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pain.html

If Terri's brain is so damaged that it cannot process the pain messages . . . why the need to medicate her with morphine?

goodfielder wrote:

I didn't know that roverroad - thank you. I'm thinking of course why stop her lungs from filling with fluid if she was insensate...but that's a point, there could have been other therapeutic reasons.

The court order was only to remove the feeding tube. Not to stop administering drugs.

Well, the autopsy was performed weeks ago.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7356531/

Anybody hear any news?

What about all these abuse accusations by Terri's parents? The Schindlers were even demanding the right to have their own doctor present at the autopsy! Anybody else ever hear of such a thing?

The autopsy is done, the tissues and records have been saved and can be examined by others at any time.

For all the noise that was made, surely the Schindlers and the people behind them are not going to just go away.

Husband seeks autopsy on Terri Schiavo

Quote:

PINELLAS PARK, Florida (CNN) -- Terri Schiavo's husband has asked that an autopsy be performed on his wife after she dies so that a full report can be done on the extent of her brain damage, an attorney for Michael Schiavo said Monday. . . .

The alleged agreement in which Michael Schiavo requested that an autopsy be performed on Terri Schiavo's body "to have the public know the full and massive extent of the damage to Mrs. Schiavo's brain," is meaningless. Because Schiavo plans to have his wife's body cremated, Florida law mandates that an autopsy be performed.

Numerous online, broadcast and print news reports in recent days have highlighted Michael Schiavo's "choice" -- as explained by his attorney, nationally recognized "right-to-die" author and activist George Felos -- to have an autopsy performed.

"We didn't feel it was appropriate to talk about an autopsy prior to Mrs. Schiavo's death," Felos said at a March 28 press conference. "But, again, because claims have been made by ... opponents of carrying out her wishes that there was some motive behind the cremation of Mrs. Schiavo, we felt it was necessary to make that announcement."

But the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's office has disputed Felos' portrayal of the autopsy as Michael Schiavo's choice.

"The medical examiner's investigation into the cause of death is mandated by Florida law," said William Pellan, forensic services director. "And, for no other reason, an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death and family requests are immaterial in that determination."

Felos also claimed that Michael Schiavo was requesting the autopsy because, "He believes it's important to have the public know the full and massive extent of the damage to Mrs. Schiavo's brain that occurred through the cardiac arrest in 1990."

Pellan disputed that claim, as well.

"Pursuant to Florida law, the autopsy report will be public record," Pellan said. . . .

Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist who formerly directed the New York City and New York State crime labs, said the autopsy will not prove whether or not Terri was in a Persistent Vegetative State.

"They'll be looking for a number of things, one of which is to identify more clearly what brain damage Terri Schiavo has suffered. [They'll want to] to see whether it was due to a cardiac arrest suffered 15 years ago as was determined in the malpractice litigation, or whether there was any evidence of a brain trauma," Baden told Fox News Channel. "They'll be able to tell that from the brain examination, even 15 years later."

Was her frontal lobe atrophied? I know that the separations in the skull were not caused by "mistreatment".

Im not surprised at how the conservatives went out and started smear campaigns on the husband. Thats what they do.

Initial medical crisis

On the morning of February 25, 1990, at about 5:30 a.m. EST, Schiavo collapsed in the hallway of the St. Petersburg apartment she shared with her husband. The noise awoke Michael Schiavo and he immediately called Terri's parents and 911 emergency services. The cause of the collapse was determined to be cardiac arrest. While waiting for the paramedics to arrive she experienced a loss of oxygen to the brain. Firefighters and paramedics found Schiavo face down and unconscious, in the hallway outside her bathroom. There were no signs of violence or a struggle. Attempts were made to resuscitate Schiavo, but she remained unconscious and slipped into a coma. She was taken to the Humana Northside Hospital, and in order to keep her alive, she was intubated, ventilated, and given a tracheotomy; she also received a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), a feeding tube inserted through the abdominal wall. Terri emerged from her coma two and a half months later at Humana Northside Hospital, but never fully recovered or exhibited any evidence of higher cortical function.

The St. Petersburg police report revealed that no illegal drugs or alcohol were found in Terri's system; a physical inspection was unable to find any sign of trauma to her head or face.

According to her discharge summary from Humana Hospital, Schiavo suffered a cardiac arrest and anoxic brain damage, accompanied by seizures, respiratory failure, and an injured knee from the fall. Her cardiac arrest is believed to have been caused by bulimia-induced hypokalemia (abnormally low levels of potassium in the blood). At the time of her hospital admission, her blood potassium level was 2.0 mEq/L; the normal range for adults is 3.5-5.0. Medical records noted that "she apparently has been trying to keep her weight down with dieting by herself, drinking liquids most of the time during the day and drinking about 10-15 glasses of iced tea." [6]

Family dispute
[edit]

Relationship history

From 1990 to 1993, Michael and the Schindlers enjoyed an amicable relationship. [40] (http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc04-925/op-sc04-925.pdf) The Schindlers even allowed Michael to live rent-free in their condominium for several months. On June 18, 1990, the court appointed Michael Schiavo as Terri's legal guardian, without objection from the Schindlers.

During this time, the Schindlers actively encouraged Michael to "get on with his life." He was encouraged by the Schindlers to date, and he introduced his in-law family to women he was dating. [41] (http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf)

On Valentine's Day of 1993, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers had a falling-out. Schiavo claims the argument arose because he refused to share the settlement money with the Schindlers. The Schindlers claim that Michael failed to honor commitments he had previously made to seek aggressive treatments for his wife's condition. [42] (http://www.hospicepatients.org/richard-pearse-jr-12-29-98-report-of-guardianadlitem-re-terri-schiavo.pdf) The amicable relationship ended, and Michael and the Schindlers literally stopped speaking to each other. [43] (http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc04-925/op-sc04-925.pdf) Michael placed limits on how much time the Schindlers could spend with Terri Schiavo.

In July 1993, the Schindlers began their first challenge to Michael Schiavo's guardianship and attempted to remove him as legal guardian.

In 1994, after three years of trying traditional and experimental therapies, Schiavo accepted the diagnosis of an irreversible persistent vegetative state. At this point, Michael began to accept the idea of allowing his wife to die naturally, rather than remaining in a persistent vegetative state. In consultation with Terri's physician, Michael halted most therapy for his wife and entered a "do-not-resuscitate" order, which he later rescinded after the Schindlers and the nursing home protested. Wolfson wrote in his report that:

In early 1994 Theresa contracted a urinary tract infection and Michael, in consultation with Theresa's treating physician, elected not to treat the infection and simultaneously imposed a do-not-resuscitate order should Theresa experience cardiac arrest. When the nursing facility initiated an intervention to challenge this decision, Michael cancelled the orders. Following the incident involving the infection, Theresa was transferred to another skilled nursing facility...
Michael's decision not to treat was based upon discussions and consultation with Theresa's doctor, and was predicated on his reasoned belief that there was no longer any hope for Theresa's recovery. It had taken Michael more than three years to accommodate this reality and he was beginning to accept the idea of allowing Theresa to die naturally rather than remain in the non-cognitive, vegetative state.

In March 1994, guardian ad litem John H. Pecarek submitted his report, writing that Michael Schiavo had acted appropriately and attentively toward Terri Schiavo. Michael remained his wife's guardian.

In May 1998, Michael Schiavo filed a petition to discontinue life support for Terri Schiavo. Terri's parents fought it.

December 29, 1998, the second guardian ad litem, Richard Pearse, concludes that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no possibility of improvement and that Michael Schiavo's decisions may be influenced by the potential to inherit what remains of Terri Schiavo's estate. Due to a perceived lack of evidence for Terri's wishes, and questions regarding Michael Schiavo's credibility, Pearse recommends denying Michael Schiavo's petition to remove Terri's feeding tube.

According to Jay Wolfson, one of Mrs. Schiavo's court-appointed guardians, due to the attention Terri has received in the fifteen years she has been bedridden, she has never developed any bedsores.

LARGO - People around the world have talked about the life and death of Terri Schiavo, but Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon hogmartin will get the last word.

For the past month, he has been working on her autopsy. She has taken over his office and consumed his working hours. He appeared for an interview in blue scrubs, looking every bit the wiry medical examiner with his bald head and tiny wire-rimmed glasses.

"That's her and that's her," he says, pointing to piles of documents and boxes of slides stacked all over his office.

And so you must stand in the doorway of his office to look at the old skulls and microscopes and fading picture of his dapper grandfather in knickers and the lifesize pencil drawing of Spock and Capt. Kirk.

Thogmartin, 41, knows Schiavo's autopsy will probably be the most publicized of his career. He won't talk about it until he is done and estimates it will be two or three more weeks.