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   Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size

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Topic: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size (Read 234 times)

Rhune
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Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« on: Jun 15^th, 2005, 12:24pm »

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Schiavo autopsy finds no sign of trauma
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Posted: 12:48 PM EDT (1648 GMT)

LARGO, Florida (AP) -- An autopsy on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding that she had massive and irreversible brain damage and was blind, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused.

But what caused her collapse 15 years earlier remained a mystery. The autopsy and post-mortem investigation found no proof that she had an eating disorder, as was suspected at the time, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin said.

Autopsy results on the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman were made public Wednesday, more than two months after her death March 31 ended a right-to-die battle between her husband and parents that engulfed the courts, Congress and the White House and divided the country.

She died from dehydration, Thogmartin said. He said she did not appear to have suffered a heart attack and there was no evidence that she was given harmful drugs or other substances prior to her death.

He said that after her feeding tube was removed, she would not have been able to eat or drink if she had been given food by mouth, as her parents' requested.

"Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death whether she was fed or hydrated by mouth or not," Thogmartin told reporters.

He also said she was blind, because the "vision centers of her brain were dead," and that her brain was about half of its expected size when she died 13 days following the feeding tube's removal.

Michael Schiavo said his wife never would have wanted to be kept alive in what court-appointed doctors concluded was a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. The Schindlers, however, doubted she had any such end-of-life wishes and disputed that she was in a vegetative state.

The medical examiner's conclusions countered a videotape released by the Schindlers of Terri Schiavo in her hospice bed. The video showed Schiavo appearing to turn toward her mother's voice and smile, moaning and laughing. Her head moved up and down and she seemed to follow the progress of a brightly colored Mickey Mouse balloon.

They believed her condition could improve with therapy.

However, doctors said her reactions were automatic responses and not evidence of thought or consciousness, and Thogmartin's report went farther.

"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain," he said. "This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons."

Thogmartin said the autopsy report was based on 274 external and internal body images, and an exhaustive review of Terri Schiavo's medical records, police reports and social services agency records.

He said hospital records of her 1990 collapse showed she had a diminished potassium level in her blood. But he said that did not prove she had an eating disorder, because the emergency treatment she received at the time could have affected the potassium level.

Testimony in a 1992 civil trial indicated that she probably was suffering from an eating disorder that led to a severe chemical imbalance.

Over the years, the Schindlers had sought independent investigation of their daughter's condition and what caused it. Abuse complaints to state social workers were ruled unfounded and the Pinellas state attorney's office did not turn up evidence of abuse.

Calls seeking comments Wednesday from the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, were not immediately returned.

Speaking before the report was issued, Felos, said the Schindlers continue to engage in a "smear campaign against Michael to deflect the real issues in the case, which were Terri's wishes and her medical condition."

During the seven-year legal battle, federal and state courts repeatedly rejected extraordinary attempts at intervention by Florida lawmakers, Gov. Jeb Bush, Congress and President Bush on behalf of her parents.

Supporters of the Schindlers harshly criticized the courts. Many religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, said the removal of sustenance violated fundamental religious tenets.

About 40 judges in six courts were involved in the case at one point or another. Six times, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene. As Schiavo's life ebbed away following the final removal of her feeding tube, Congress rushed through a bill to allow the federal courts to take up the case, and President Bush signed it March 21, but federal courts refused to step in.

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Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

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rcs_mum
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Re: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« Reply #1 on: Jun 21^st, 2005, 3:45pm »

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I thought I would let you know what is happening here in our area of Florida, about this case that SHOULD be over!

Our governor, Jeb Bush, with the help of the Schindlers, are requesting the Attorney General to investigate how long it took for Michael Schiavo to call 911 when his wife collapsed all those years ago.

And he buried his wife's ashes in Florida, I think near where she died, with a bronze plaque, with the words"I kept my promise to you" at the bottom. His parents are unhappy with this and say those words are a slap in the face to them, who wanted to keep her alive.

I don't think this man, Michael, will ever have a peaceful life!

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Rhune
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Re: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« Reply #2 on: Jun 21^st, 2005, 7:56pm »

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And how exactly are they to know how long he took to call 911 from the time she collapsed? Roll Eyes

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Pocket
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Re: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« Reply #3 on: Jun 21^st, 2005, 9:02pm »

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Oh for heaven's sake! Why doesn't Terri's family let this go? They have the autopsy results and still they want to continue this. This won't bring Terri back.

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Rhune
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Re: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« Reply #4 on: Jun 21^st, 2005, 9:03pm »

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Bullies get their way by being angry...

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yesteach
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Re: Autopsy: Schiavo's brain half the normal size
« Reply #5 on: Jun 21^st, 2005, 10:27pm »

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on Jun 21^st, 2005, 7:56pm, Rhune wrote:

And how exactly are they to know how long he took to call 911 from the time she collapsed? Roll Eyes

Apparenlty Bush is using quotes from an interview he did (I think with Larry King) and the 911 records.. according to what I read.. (and I can't remember exact times), but something to the effect of - in the interview he said he heard her fall in the hallway (??) about 4:20-4:30 and the 911 call was logged at 5:00 - so there's like 30-40 minutes unaccounted for...

I think Bush is just trying to save face from all the interfering he and GW did during this situation...

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