STARVATION: DAY 7
Florida neurologist:
Terri's no vegetable
Dr. William Cheshire
LISTEN: http://www.apfn.org/audio/DrHammesfahr2.mp3
03/30/05 Terri Schiavo conversation
with dad -
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http://www.apfn.org/Movies/ConversationWithTerri.wmv
Doctor for state's adult protective services finds Schiavo
has been wrongly diagnosed
An eminent neurologist who evaluated Terri Schiavo for the Florida state
Department of Children and Families yesterday concluded she has been wrongly
diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state and urges immediate removal
to another facility and the restoration of food and water to the dying woman who
has become the focal point of the nation's attention.
In his affidavit to the court, obtained by WorldNetDaily, Dr. William Polk
Cheshire Jr. found Schiavo is aware of pain and reacts visibly to it. She also
reacts to the expectation of pain based on conversations she overhears in her
room.
"If Terri is consciously aware of pain, and therefore is capable of suffering,
then her diagnosis of PVS may be tragically mistaken," he writes.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced yesterday that Dr. Cheshire, Jr., as part of a
DCF review team, had concluded that Schiavo might not be in a persistent
vegetative state but rather in "a state of minimal consciousness." Bush said.
"This new information raises serious concerns and warrants immediate action."
DCF Secretary Luci Hadi said that under state law the agency is authorized to
intervene and have Schiavo's sustenance restored even without a court order.
But last night, Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said the administration had no
plans to defy Greer's order.
Pinellas County Judge George Greer said he expected to have a final ruling on
the case by noon today after reviewing the new evidence. He blocked an effort by
DCF to rescue Schiavo.
"It is my understanding that nearly three years have passed since Terri has had
the benefit of neurologic consultation," Dr. Cheshire wrote in his affidavit.
"How then are we to be certain about her current neurologic status? There
remain, in fact, huge uncertainties in regard to Terri's true neurologic
status."
Dr. Cheshire is the director of a laboratory at the Mayo Clinic branch in
Jacksonville that deals with unconscious reflexes like digestion.
Cheshire cited studies indicating a high rate of false initial diagnoses of PVS.
"Furthermore, the diagnosis of minimally conscious state had not yet become
standard parlance in the field of neurology at the time of Terri's initial
diagnosis," he wrote. "The minimally conscious state has emerged as a distinct
diagnostic entity within the last few years."
Cheshire also pointed out that Schiavo has not undergone functional imaging
studies, such as positron emission tomography, or PET, or functional magnetic
resonance imagining, or fMRI.
"New facts have come to light in the last few years that should be weighed in
the neurologic assessment of Terri Schiavo," he said. "Significant strides have
been made in the scientific understanding of PVS and minimally conscious states
since Terri last underwent neurologic evaluation. As usually happens with
science, the newest evidence is prompting the medical community to think about
this field in new ways. With new evidence comes fresh appreciation for what is
actually happening in the brains of persons with profound cognitive impairment."
Cheshire said news studies show that when patients in a minimally conscious
state listen to narratives read by a familiar person "large areas of the
cerebral cortex normally involved in language recognition and processing lit
up." He said the presence of metabolic activity in those brain cells was far
more than expected.
He cited seven reasons to doubt the prior diagnosis of PVS in Terri Schiavo:
# He found her facial expression brightens and she smiles in response to the
voice of familiar people such as her parents or her nurse. Her agitation
subsides and her facial demeanor softens when quiet music is played. "When
jubilant piano music is played, her face brightens, she lifts her eyebrows,
smiles, and even laughs." Cheshire said several times he witnessed Schiavo laugh
when someone in the room made a humorous comment.
# She fixates her gaze on colorful objects and human faces for up to 15 seconds
at a time and occasionally follows with her eyes as objects move from side to
side. "When I first walked into the room, she immediately turned her head toward
me and looked directly at my face. There was a look of curiosity or expectation
in her expression, and she maintained eye contact for about half a minute."
Cheshire said she also appeared to attempt to speak to him.
# Although he did not hear her utter distinct words, the doctor said "she
demonstrates emotional expressivity by her use of single syllable vocalizations
and cooing sounds. In reviewing previous affidavits, he noted that as late as
2003, the patient was heard to tell nurses to "stop" during certain procedures.
# He noted that in a previous examination by a neurologist, the patient appeared
to try to follow certain commands – such as closing her eyes. She also raised
her right leg four times when asked to do so in 2002 under examination.
# In that same 2002 examination by a neurologist, captured on videotape, Schiavo
was turned on her side and probed with a sharp piece of wood. She reacted with
sounds of discomfort. After that procedure, the neurologist commented to her
parents that they would have to roll her over on her other side. Schiavo
vocalized a crying sound in response. "It is important to note that, at that
moment, no one is touching Terri or causing actual pain," he writes. Rather, he
says, she appears to comprehending what was said and anticipating pain.
# According to the definition of PVS, he writes, patients do not have the
capacity to experience pain and suffering. Yet, he concludes, after reviewing
her medical records, pain issues frequently arise. "The nurses at Woodside
Hospice told us that she often has pain with menstrual cramps." The pain and
agitation subside when she is given ibuprofen. "If Terri is consciously aware of
pain, and therefore is capable of suffering, then her diagnosis of PVS may be
tragically mistaken," he concludes.
# "To enter the room of Terri Schiavo is nothing like entering the room of a
patient who is comatose or brain-dead or in some neurological sense no longer
there," he writes. "Although Terri did not demonstrate during our 90-minute
visit compelling evidence of verbalization, conscious awareness, or volitional
behavior, yet the visitor has the distinct sense of the presence of a living
human being who seems at some level to be aware of some things around her."
"As I looked at Terri, and she gazed directly back at me, I asked myself
whether, if I were her attending physician, I could in good conscience withdraw
her feeding and hydration," he wrote. "No, I could not. I could not withdraw
life support if I were asked. I could not withhold life-sustaining nutrition and
hydration from this beautiful lady whose face brightens in the presence of
others."
Cheshire indicated he could see no reason to withdraw the sustenance.
"This situation differs fundamentally from end-of-life scenarios where it is
appropriate to withdraw life-sustaining medical interventions that no longer
benefit or are burdensome to patients in the terminal stages of illness," he
wrote. "Terri's feeding tube is not a burden to her. It is not painful, is not
infected, is not eroding her stomach lining or causing any medical
complications. But for the decision to withdraw her feeding tube, Terri cannot
be considered medically terminal. But for the withdrawal of food and water, she
would not die."
On the basis of all of those findings, Dr. Cheshire concluded "it would be wrong
to bring about her death by withdrawing food and water."
"At the time of this writing, Terri Schiavo, as the result of decisions based on
what I have argued to be a faulty diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, has
been without food or water for five days," he wrote. "She is at risk of death or
serious injury unless the provision of food and water can be restored. Terri
Schiavo lacks the capacity to consent to emergency protective services and must
trust others to act on her behalf. If she were to be transferred to another
facility, it would be medically necessary to initiate hydration and ensure that
her serum electrolytes are within normal values."
Cheshire concluded: "How medicine and society choose to think about Terri
Schiavo will influence what kind of people we will be as we evaluate and respond
to the needs of the most vulnerable people among us. When serious doubts exist
as to whether a cognitively impaired person is or is not consciously aware, even
if these doubts cannot be conclusively resolved, it is better to err on the side
of protecting vulnerable life."
Editor's note: WorldNetDaily has been reporting on the Terri Schiavo story since
2002 – far longer than any other national news organization – and exposing the
many troubling, scandalous, and possibly criminal, aspects of the case that to
this day rarely surface in news reports. Read WorldNetDaily's unparalleled,
in-depth coverage of the life-and-death fight over Terri Schiavo, including over
150 original stories and columns.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43470
03-23-05 Affidavit of Dr. William Cheshire:
http://www.apfn.org/pdf/03-23-05-Affidavit-Dr.WilliamChesire.pdf
Dr. Hammesfahr revealed that not only has Terri NEVER had a heart attack as
widely reported in the major media, she also NEVER even had a cardiac arrest
(her heart never stopped)! [she had arhythmias of the heart but not a
"stopped heart."] He explained that Terri's injuries were multiple and
showed injury TO her. He stated that Terri had marked injury to her neck
which still exists today, and that he has only seen a similar injury, with
spinal cord involvement as well as brain injury, in one case where a patient
had been strangled. He stated that Terri had an L-1 injury to her spine,
which he stated is common among persons being thrown against a table, for
example. Dr. Hammesfahr confirmed that Terri could talk and was improving in
the very first year when she was getting some rehabilitation (BEFORE Michael
got the money), and that the medical records confirm, that after Michael got
the money, rehabilitation was completely stopped!
MORE
http://tekgnosis.typepad.com/tekgnosis/2005/03/save_terri_schi.html
LISTEN:
http://www.apfn.org/audio/DrHammesfahr2.mp3
Dr. Hammesfahrs contact information:
Web site is http://www.hnionline.com/
http://www.hnionline.com/menu_of_service.htm
Theresa Marie
Schiavo's Bone Scan:
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Terri_bonescan.htm
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