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United States News Title: New Schiavo Document Gives Cause For Independent Autopsy Review for premeditated murder EXCLUSIVE New Schiavo Document Gives Cause For Independent Autopsy Review ©June Maxam A new document has surfaced in the Terri Schiavo case which casts even greater doubts on the veracity of Michael Schiavo and gives cause for an independent forensic pathologist to review the videotapes and specimens said to exist of the Schiavo autopsy. December 3, 1963. Terri Schiavo's birthday. She would have been 43 this year. It's been more than a year and a half since Terri's death on March 31, 2005, at age 41, a death by judicial decree at the behest of her husband in name only, Michael Schiavo. Although it's been nearly 20 months since her death, more questions than ever exist about the days and months leading up to her sudden and still inexplicable collapse on Feb. 25, 1990, which resulted in brain damage and forever changed not only Terri's life but the life of her family and in fact, changed the face of America in how it deals with the disabled, the elderly, the vulnerable. More questions than ever surround the 15 years between her collapse and her death and the autopsy that was performed by Dr. Jon Thogmartin(right), Pinellas County medical examiner who refused to allow any other pathologist to observe the procedure other than Dr. Stephen Nelson (left) who he chose as his assistant, a denial which violated established professional courtesy and medical ethics. http://northcountrygazette.org/documents/autopsyreport.pdf What is perhaps the most troubling is that Thogmartin indicated that he based his autopsy findings on medical reports and records provided by Gary Fox, one of two medical malpractice attorneys hired by Michael Schiavo to sue doctors whom Terri had been consulting prior to her collapse, Dr. Joel Prawer and Dr. Stephen Igel. Thogmartin specifically noted that he could not have completed the autopsy without these reports. He also indicated that "a lot of records have been destroyed" and that the case would remain open because of the missing documents in hopes that someone might come forward with them. One of those records has now surfaced. One of those missing documents, a report issued by Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) which exonerated Dr. Joel Prawer of all negligence in his treatment of Terri Schiavo, has been obtained by The North Country Gazette. It appears that the document may have been intentionally withheld from the medical examiner by Fox because a thorough medical investigation completed in 1995 by the state's health care agency distinctly and definitively negated all claims that Terri Schiavo had an eating disorder, the basis for malpractice claims initiated by Schiavo. With the new evidence now in hand, it sets the stage for a second look at the autopsy by an independent forensic pathologist and raises even more questions about the credibility, acts and motives of Michael Schiavo. The AHCA document, issued in November, 1995, followed a three year investigation conducted by the agency following a complaint opened against Prawer in October, 1992, the month before a jury awarded Michael Schiavo and Terri $1.58 million in Schiavo's malpractice action against Dr. Igel. Dr. Prawer's insurance company had settled out of court in August, 1992 for $250,000, giving Schiavo a gross award of over $1.8 million by claiming the doctors hadn't diagnosed and treated an eating disorder. After Prawer's insurance company paid the claim, AHCA opened an investigation "regarding an allegation that he had practiced medicine below the acceptable level of care in the treatment of Theresa Schiavo". The AHCA report completely exonerates Dr. Prawer of any malpractice or negligence in the Schiavo case and indicates not only that Fox and his client Schiavo may knowingly have engaged in an insurance fraud but seems to indicate that Schiavo, Fox and Glenn Woodworth, the other attorney involved in the malpractice actions, may have known that Terri Schiavo did not have an eating disorder. The long missing AHCA report exonerating Prawer indicates that the trio may have intentionally filed allegedly false claims in order to obtain a monetary award and then, as the records indicate, virtually within weeks after obtaining the money, Michael Schiavo issued a do not resuscitate order concerning Terri and attempted to withhold medical treatment from her which Schiavo knew from his discussions with Dr. Patrick Mulroy and others would result in her death. Such would seem to establish premeditated murder with financial motives and create sufficient probable cause to open a criminal investigation by a special prosecutor or grand jury and there may be one than one person culpable in the death of Terri Schiavo. The November, 1995 AHCA report signed by Larry McPherson Jr., chief medical attorney, stated that an "agency expert opined that the case rendered to patient TS by subject (Prawer) met the standards of care to the letter and that the cardiac arrest with resulting brain damage had nothing to do with the case rendered by the subject. The expert stated furthermore than the subject treated patient TS appropriately and that there were no prior indications of an eating disorder and subject did not see patient TS for months prior to the cardiac arrest". Michael Schiavo and his attorneys knew, or should have known, since at least November 1995, if not previously, and additionally as a result of the autopsy findings, that Terri Schiavo did not suffer from bulimia and did not have an eating disorder. However, Michael Schiavo continues to falsely maintain that the autopsy performed by Dr. Thogmartin totally vindicated him and he continues to publicly and falsely assert that Terri had an eating disorder which led to her collapse. The autopsy doesn't vindicate him, it further implicates him, particularly in light of the AHCA report. There is no indication that Schiavo or his attorneys ever repaid the $250,000 received from Prawer's insurance company. Even a year after Terri's death, on the Larry King Show on CNN on March 27, in his book and as recently as during his political campaigning, Schiavo continues to falsely insist that Terri had bulimia. At the beginning of Schiavo's book, "Terri: The Truth", he cites Daniel Patrick Moynihan who said "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts". That holds true for Michael Schiavo too. The autopsy of Terri Schiavo didn't vindicate Michael Schiavo. It in fact opened the door to even more questions rather than providing closure and seems to point the finger of suspicion even more at Michael, the estranged husband and guardian who had the most to gain by Terri Schiavo's death. While it was ruled that Terri Schiavo died as a result of dehydration, the cause of death of the 41-year-old brain damaged woman was officially undetermined, according to Thogmartin, and the investigation remains open. Thogmartin's report was incomplete and inconclusive, partially due to the gap in medical records not supplied by Fox. The medical examiner said that the anoxic brain injury sustained by Terri Schiavo on Feb. 25, 1990, was caused by lack of blood flow and oxygen to her brain but that the cause of that condition could not be detected and was undetermined. He did not rule out that the injuries could have been caused by smothering. Michael talks about the accusations of strangulation, but he's strangely quiet about smothering. Although the Schindler family wanted an independent outside pathologist to observe the autopsy, Thogmartin strangely refused although such observations are relatively standard practice. According to Robert Schindler Sr., Terri's father, Thogmartin reportedly had the procedure videotaped and additionally, saved all specimens from the autopsy. Although Michael Schiavo took steps by immediate cremation to insure that the body could never be exhumed for a second autopsy, everything is reportedly in place for a forensic pathologist to conduct an independent review and issue a second autopsy report based on videotapes, specimens and medical records said to exist. The Schindler family hopes to engage a forensic pathologist to conduct such a review but has been stymied thus far by a lack of funding. Individuals who wish to help defray the cost may contact the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation in St. Peterburg. Thogmartin's autopsy report states that there was no evidence of bulimia and the assumption of bulimia presented at the medical malpractice trial had simply been accepted and not challenged. He said there was absolutely nothing to support the theory of bulimia as presented by Michael's attorneys. He also ruled out the 15-year fallacy presented by the mainstream media (and Michael Schiavo) that she had sustained a heart attack, saying that her collapse was the result of an "external problem outside of the heart causing the heart not to beat". He said there was no evidence that she had had any heart problems prior to her collapse and said that the fact she lived 15 years after her resuscitation was testimony to the strength of her heart. Thogmartin further disputed the potassium imbalance caused by purging and bulimia theory perpetuated by the mainstream media saying there was absolutely no evidence of such. Thogmartin's statements further supports that Schiavo's malpractice attorneys knew that Terri had not had an eating disorder but pursued the insurance claims anyway. In fact, Terri's father says that Glenn Woodworth told him directly that "there was no case" to bring against the doctors but that he was bringing another lawyer into the case. Thereafter, it was decided to bring suit against the two doctors. While Thogmartin said on direct questioning at the news conference that there was no abuse, the report indicates that Terri was suffering from bladder and urinary tract infections and had not been treated with antibiotics. He also said that there was no sign of trauma which contradicts previous reports and findings by other physicians. He said no fractures or trauma was found during the initial admission to the hospital in 1990, according to the reports provided by Fox but admits that reports were missing and had not been provided to him. The ME said his findings showed she suffered from marked osteoporosis. "She could have lived another decade" if she had been provided treatment for those infections". Thogmartin stated. Schiavo had refused to allow her to be given antibiotics, then asking the nursing home staff, "is she dead yet….when is that bitch gonna die?" Withholding of medical treatment in Florida is unlawful, and Michael Schiavo clearly knew that from having tried to kill his wife in that manner at least twice previously and the nursing homes refusing to do so. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/033006TerriTheTruth.html Michael Schiavo and others continue to claim that the Schindlers were lying and exaggerating when they claimed that Terri could track a balloon and follow them with her eyes, citing Thogmartin's finding that Terri was blind. Thomas W. Hejkal, MD, PhD., associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology at the Nebraska Medical Center, said that although the autopsy findings certainly indicated that Terri had some deficit in her visual field, "cortical blindness could only be diagnosed by assessing her visual function while she was living". Neurologists and other physicians also dispelled Schiavo's claim that Terri was PVS, saying that such a finding can only be made of a living patient. Dr. Bernadine Healy, a former director of the National Institute of Health, pointed out that an autopsy could reveal nothing about Terri's neurological function. Dr. Michael DeGeorgia, head of the neurology/neurosurgery intensive-care unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, says that the PVS diagnosis "cannot be confirmed by surgery". Dr. Mack Jones, a Florida neurologist noted that while there was evidence of severe brain injury, "these findings nor any other findings have no bearing on the diagnosis of 'minimal consciousness' or PVS". Dr. William Cheshire, the neurologist from the Mayo clinic, agreed with the Schindler's position that Terri was awake, aware and at least minimally cognitive. CHESHIRE AFFIDAVIT Harvard neuropathologist E. Tessa Hedley White said that a pathologic examination of the brain "can't tell if there is a persistent vegetative state or not". Even Thogmartion wrote that "PVS is a clinical diagnosis arrived at thorough physical examination of living patients. By definition, an autopsy is performed after a patient dies" Thogmartin admitted that while Terri's symptoms were consistent with PVS he could not rule out the possibility that Terri was in a minimally conscious state. He conceded that it couldn't be determined how much Terri's 13 days without water and dehydration contributed to the shrinkage of her brain. Although standard professional courtesy to allow other pathologists to observe autopsies, particularly once of such interest, the Schindlers were denied their request to have a medical examiner of their choice present at the autopsy and at the time, Dr. Henry Lee, a world renowned medical examiner, said it was very odd and suspicious for a family to be denied that right. http://www.drhenrylee.com/ Following the autopsy report, neurologist Dr. William Hammesfahr who specializes in treating stroke victims and had examined Terri at the request of the Second District Court of Appeals, said that the "The record must be set straight. As we noted in the press, there was no heart attack, or evident reason for this to have happened (and certainly not of Terri's making). "Unlike the constant drumbeat from the husband, his attorneys, and his doctors, the brain tissue was not dissolved, with a head of just spinal fluid. In fact, large areas were "relatively preserved." "The purpose of the therapies offered by so many, from major universities, brain injury centers, and from private practice physicians, is to improve and restore quality of life, and function, which the mainstream medical community clearly tried to get to her. "I have had a chance to look at Dr. Nelson's analysis of the brain tissue, and essentially, as a clinician, these are my thoughts", Hammesfahr said. "The autopsy results confirmed my opinion and Dr. (William) Maxfield's opinions, that the frontal areas of the brains, the areas that deal with awareness and cognition were relatively intact. To use Dr. Nelson's words, "relatively preserved." In fact, the relay areas from the frontal and front temporal regions of the brain, to the spinal cord and the brain stem, by way of the basal ganglia, were preserved, thus the evident responses which she was able to express to her family and to the clinicians seeing her or viewing her videotape. The Spect scan confirmed these areas were functional and not scar tissue, and that was apparently also confirmed on Dr. Nelson's review of the slides. Dr. Maxfield's estimates of retained brain weight were apparently accurate, although there may have been some loss of brain weight due to the last two weeks of dehydration. http://www.terrisfight.org/userfiles/File/maxfield.PDF "Dr. Maxfield and myself both emphasized that she was a woman trapped in her body, similar to a child with cerebral palsy, and that was borne out by the autopsy, showing greater injury in the motor and visual centers of the brain. Obviously, the pathologists comments that she could not see were not borne out by reality, and thus his assessment must represent sampling error. The videotapes clearly showed her seeing, and even Dr. (Ronald) Cranford, for the husband, commented to her that, when she could see the balloon, she could follow it with her eyes as per his request. "That she could not swallow was obviously not borne out by the reality that she was swallowing her saliva, about 1.5 liters per day of liquid, and the clinical swallowing tests done by Dr. Young and Dr. Carpenter. Thus, there appears to be some limitations to the clinical accuracy of an autopsy in evaluating function. "With respect to the issue of trauma, that certainly does not appear to be answered adequately. Some of the types of trauma that are suspected were not adequately evaluated in this assessment. Interestingly, both myself and at least one neurologist for the husband testified to the presence of neck injuries. The issue of a forensic evaluation for trauma is highly specialized. Hence the wish of the family to have observers which was refused by the examiner. "Ultimately, based on the clinical evidence and the autopsy results, an aware woman was killed". Following the release of the autopsy report, the Schindler family issued a statement concerning the findings, pointing out the many troubling and still unanswered questions which were highlighted by the release of the autopsy release, lending even more cause for an independent investigation and review by an another forensic pathologist. Terri had a strong heart according to the IME. In addition to her strong heart, Terri also demonstrated a very strong will to live. Terri was not terminal. The IME said with proper care Terri would have lived at least another 10 years even in her disabled condition. Terri's case was NOT an end-of-life case. Terri's case was about ending a disabled person's life. Terri was brain-injured. This does NOT mean that she was brain-dead. Many seem to not understand this absolutely critical distinction. The IME essentially ruled out bulimia and heart attack as causes for Terri's condition. In one sense the IME's report created as many questions as it may have answered. The major question for our family that now remains is what happened? A troubling 70-minute gap appears in the timeline on the day Terri collapsed in 1990. According to Michael Schiavo, Terri collapsed at 4:30 AM. Mr. Schiavo said this on Larry King Live and he also re-confirmed it to the IME during his investigation. 911 was called at 5:40 AM. Emergency services arrived at 5:52 AM. Both Bobby Schindler Jr. and the original police report gave similar descriptions as to Terri's state - laying face first, on the floor, hands crossed and up high against her chest, making gurgling noises. The IME's report stated that Terri's inability to swallow was the result of muscle atrophy. Terry was denied therapy for 12 years, and muscles atrophy when they are not used. We will never know if therapy would have helped. The IME clearly stated that PVS is a clinical diagnosis made on a living patient. That is something an IME cannot do by looking at a corpse. Dr. William Cheshire, a neurologist from the Mayo Clinic, agreed with our family's perception that Terri was awake, aware, and at least minimally cognitive. We knew that Terri was visually impaired, but we did not know to what extent. Our attorneys and other witnesses clearly saw Terri recognize her mother and father and treat them differently. According to the IME's report, it appears that after her severe dehydration, Terri was blind at the moment of her death. The IME stated that no conclusive medical studies have been done on what a MCS brain should look like as opposed to a PVS brain in an autopsy. According to the IME, Terri was given morphine for pain as she died. This seems contradictory that if Terri could feel no pain, as some would say, why would these drugs be necessary? In our opinion, the treating health care officials understood that Terri felt pain. Lawrence Huntoon of Derby, NY, MD and PhD in neurophysiology, a board certified fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and former president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), had filed an affidavit in the Schiavo case after reviewing the videotapes of Terri. In his sworn affidavit, Dr. Huntoon said it was his opinion that Terri exhibited "purposeful behavior" that supported a diagnosis of minimally conscious state. He said that swallowing therapy "should absolutely be provided in the case where artificial nutrition had been given and the artificial nutrition is being terminated" which of course it was not in Terri's case. http://www.privateneurology.com/ He also said that "food and water should be offered to patients in the ordinary way in the case where artificial nutrition and hydration are being terminated. Providing food and water in the natural way, by mouth, constitutes "ordinary care", not "treatment". http://www.terrisfight.org/userfiles/File/Huntoon.pdf Pinellas County probate court judge George Greer had altered his original death order, removing the words "artificial life support" and changing it to remove ALL nutrition and hydration, including natural intake of food and water, from Terri. There was no testimony and nothing to support Greer's unlawful order to deny the disabled woman food and water, nor did the order address the ability of Terri Schiavo to swallow and receive food and hydration orally. Greer's final order of February 25, 2005, stated that "the guardian, Michael Schiavo, shall cause the removal of nutrition and hydration, from the ward, Theresa Schiavo, at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2005". Greer's final order was intended to cause Terri Schiavo's death by the denial of food and water by any means. And that was illegal. That wasn't following the rule of law. As Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide points out, under Florida law, the right to rehabilitation is retained by the ward, and not delegated to the guardian. Under Florida law, neither the guardian - Michael - nor the court - Greer - has the right to harm the ward. "Absent some pre-incapacity expression by Terri to waive the basic right to food and water and the right to rehabilitative therapy, the legal rights to them must be honored and enforced. Testimony that she would not want to be maintained by "tubes" would clearly not be enough since no tubes would be involved in her care. "Terri was not given the opportunity to receive rehabilitation or to be weaned off the feeding tube so that she could take food and water by mouth. Indeed, Michael required that she just lay in bed for more than 10 years. "While a Florida Court of Appeals ordered the removal of Terri's tube-feeding, it could not be done in such a way as to "harm" Terri, e.g. without giving her a chance to survive by taking food and water by mouth", Smith summarizes. Dr. Huntoon, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, said he was "totally shocked by the overreaching statements that were made based on Terri Schiavo's autopsy report. The silence (except for a small minority, including AAPS members) from the medical community which allowed these statements to have a "free pass," was deafening. His observations about the Schiavo autopsy were first published at http://www.christorchaos.com/DrHuntoonLetter.htm "The statement that findings on the autopsy were "consistent with a persistent vegetative state," is a true statement, but it is misleading. One could similarly say that the findings on autopsy examination were such that Terri's brain was "consistent with" the brain of a used car salesman. "Consistent with" is a far cry from "specific for" (specific proof of), and the use of the term "consistent with" to imply causation is poor science and extremely misleading. "Persistent vegetative state can certainly occur, and does occur, when there has been substantial damage to both cerebral hemispheres", Dr. Huntoon says. "And, in the situation where both cerebral hemispheres have been totally destroyed, there is little doubt that such a finding would fully support the clinical diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. "The autopsy report in Terri's case did not indicate that both cerebral hemispheres were totally destroyed. Short of total destruction of both cerebral hemispheres, the specific volume of cortical destruction needed to produce a persistent vegetative state is unknown--i.e. there is no specific finding on an autopsy which can confirm or rule out a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Pathologists don't "make the diagnosis" of persistent vegetative state. PVS is a clinical diagnosis which is made while the patient is still living. To imply that the autopsy somehow "confirms" PVS is a totally erroneous conclusion", he said. "Statements, based on the autopsy, that Terri could not swallow food and water even if it was offered to her, likewise received a "free pass" from the media. I have taught neuranatomy, neurophysiology and I have taken sufficient neuropathology to know that one cannot possibly make such statements about swallowing function based solely on an autopsy. Statements regarding lack of cognitive thought based solely on an autopsy are also incredulous - how can one possibly know if one is capable of "thinking" based on an autopsy? The sharpest neurologists in the world can't even determine if a living person is capable of thought - and recent research (reviewed in my editorial) reveals that people with severe neurologic impairments have functional brain processes that heretofore we did not appreciate. "Likewise, statements based on the autopsy that "Terri was blind," and "incapable of visual tracking," fail to explain Terri's apparent ability to visually track a balloon which could be clearly seen by anyone who visited her website and viewed the video clip. "Statements based on the autopsy that because of "massive loss of neurons" Terri would never have improved irrespective of whatever treatment or therapy would be given, are simply not supported by science. There is absolutely no way one can conclude from her autopsy findings how she would or would not have responded had she been given aggressive therapy or other treatments. Dr. Huntoon said that he has treated a patient (about Terri's age) who was neurologically devastated because of multiple strokes and a bout of herpes encephalitis. Both of his frontal lobes and both of his temporal lobes were severely atrophied to the point of almost being absent-- i.e. a massive loss of neurons. That is 4 lobes of the brain that were almost totally gone. Based on the faulty hypothesis that such a large volume loss in the brain means that the person is incapable of responding, one would conclude that this patient's situation was hopeless. But, the fact of the matter is the devastating anatomy seen on CT scans and MRI scans did not preclude this patient from responding. Each and every time he came into my office, he would recognize me and he would smile, make some "happy" (albeit unintelligible) noises, and he would extend his hand (the one that wasn't paralyzed) to shake mine (i.e. he had social abilities). One day, in total defiance of those who would conclude that such a severely neurologically devastated patient could never communicate in any meaningful way (since he mainly made unintelligible noises), I asked him to say his ABCs and to count with me. Much to my total amazement, I started the ABCs, and he finished them. I started counting from 1 to 10, and he finished it. I could understand his speech--it wasn't unintelligible. No one had ever asked him to do this before because they felt he was incapable--i.e. a self fulfilling prophecy. I subsequently tried to get him speech therapy, but my attempt was not successful because under the socialized medicine program of Medicare (which rations medical care), he "didn't qualify" because speech therapists could not promise that he would definitely improve with further speech therapy. Again, if you don't give the therapy, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - no improvement. "Shortly after Terri was killed, via dehydration and starvation, came the case of Buffalo fire fighter Mr. Donald Herbert. Mr. Herbert was in a persistent vegetative state (pro-death people like to say persistent vegetative-like state to try and set it apart from Terri's case). He was in a severely impaired, vegetative state for more than 10 years. By any "pro death", "death with dignity" standard, it was "hopeless." But, unlike Terri's case, where her spouse did not push for continued aggressive therapy, Mr. Herbert's spouse was extremely persistent. One day, shortly after Terri was killed, Mr. Herbert awoke and started talking coherently with friends and family. Had a judge determined 2 years ago that Mr. Herbert should be put to death because he was in a PVS with "no hope" of recovery, his family would never have gotten this opportunity to have him back again, nor he to have his family back again. It should also be noted that Mr. Herbert's brain suffered the same type of injury (due to lack of oxygen) that Terri's brain suffered (an "irreversible" injury). As news articles about Mr. Herbert's remarkable recovery circulated, certain prophetic medical examiners were left red-faced and speechless". Dr. Huntoon says that "Bioethics has, unfortunately, become almost synonymous with the 'Culture of Death'. There are many things that have caused this, which I will not "lecture" on here, but suffice it to say the individual life has lost importance in favor of doing "what is in the best interest of society." "Mainstream" medicine has largely accepted this utilitarian viewpoint. Those physicians who fail to pledge allegiance to the "mainstream" viewpoint, are at risk for being labeled "disruptive physicians," which can lead to termination of a physician's career. "I have certainly received my share of "attacks" by other physicians because of my viewpoints on medical ethics--I believe the needs of the individual patient should be placed above the needs and wants of society --as mandated and rationed through managed care and government-run programs-- i.e. socialized medicine". Dr. Huntoon also penned an editorial about PVS called "The Perilous Vegetative State" commenting on the high rate of misdiagnosis. The Perilous Vegetative State (PDF) Dr. Huntoon told The North Country Gazette that there has been "significant backpeddling" in the neurology literature since the Schiavo case regarding how certain neurologists are about the diagnosis of PVS. A whole new area of scientific exploration has opened up using functional MRI which is showing that there is a lot going on in the brain of a patient labeled as PVS that many previously doubted existed". Mainstream Neurology Taking a Second Look at Consciousness Issues Following Schiavo Case (PDF) "At a time when some neurologists like myself questioned the diagnosis of PVS in the Schiavo case, there was a lot of criticism leveled at such neurologists. Now, it seems, based on new research findings involving functional MRI, we were justified in questioning the diagnosis in the Schiavo case", Huntoon says. "Guidelines for diagnosing the minimally conscious state (MCS), of course, did not even exist at the time Terri Schiavo suffered her tragedy. MCS, of course, has different legal implications than PVS. "Our 'third party system' of payment for medical care tends to skew diagnosing such patients toward the side of pessimism and nihlism. Third parties often only pay for a one time consult. However, because patients in this condition often fluctuate in their abilities, proper diagnosis requires not only a highly experienced neurologist but one who is willing to spend significant time on multiple visits to assess the patient. Third parties also tend not to want to spend money on rehabilitation of such patients....as a result, often such patients do not receive any rehabilitation therapy....which, in turn, often assures that they will not improve. The diagnosis may also be influenced by a neurologist's own political views about scarcity of health care resources and how those resources should be allocated, and views about "quality of life." The public is not aware of all of these other factors", Huntoon said. Individuals who wish to contribute towards engaging a forensic pathologist to review the autopsy records may contact the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation by writing 5562 Central Avenue, Suite 2, St. Petersburg, FL 33707 or calling 727-490-7603. 11-25-06
Poster Comment: Such would seem to establish premeditated murder with financial motives and create sufficient probable cause to open a criminal investigation by a special prosecutor or grand jury and there may be one than one person culpable in the death of Terri Schiavo.
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