Terri Schiavo case Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Background== ===Early life=== Terri Schiavo was born Theresa Marie Schindler to Mary (born 1941)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2003-10-26-0310260400-story.html | title=How to Deal with Terri Schiavo's Tragedy Splits Family | date=October 26, 2003 }}</ref> and Robert Schindler (1937β2009)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.archbalt.org/robert-schindler-who-fought-to-care-for-daughter-terri-schiavo-dies/?print=print | title=Robert Schindler, who fought to care for daughter Terri Schiavo, dies β Archdiocese of Baltimore }}</ref> on December 3, 1963, in [[Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]], a suburb of [[Philadelphia]]. She was the oldest of three children. Her mother reported that, as a child, Terri would spend hours in her bedroom arranging her collection of stuffed animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Terri Schiavo's life, death sparked national debate - Mar 31, 2005 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/31/obit.schiavo/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref> As a teen, she enjoyed listening to [[John Denver]] and reading [[Danielle Steel]] romances.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Terri Schiavo's life, death sparked national debate - Mar 31, 2005 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/31/obit.schiavo/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref> She attended [[Bucks County Community College]], where she met Michael Schiavo in 1982. The two began dating and married on November 10, 1984. They moved to [[Florida]] in 1986, following Terri's parents. Michael worked as a restaurant manager, while Terri took up a [[bookkeeping]] job with an insurance company.<ref name="WashPostFrey">{{cite news|last=Frey|first=Jennifer|title=Terri Schiavo's Unstudied Life|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64459-2005Mar24.html|access-date=July 30, 2010|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 25, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628233930/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64459-2005Mar24.html|archive-date=June 28, 2011|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> She had naturally dark hair, but dyed it blonde.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reports |first=Staff |date=2005-03-27 |title=Before tragedy, an ordinary life |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/03/27/before-tragedy-an-ordinary-life/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> ===Initial medical crisis: 1990=== In the early morning of February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo collapsed in a hallway of her [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] apartment. Firefighters and [[paramedics]], arriving in response to her husband Michael's [[9-1-1]] call, found her face-down and unconscious. She was not breathing and had no [[pulse]]. They attempted to resuscitate her and she was transported to the Humana Northside Hospital. Paramedics had her [[intubation|intubated]] and [[Mechanical ventilation|ventilated]].<ref name="wolfson">{{cite web|url=http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf|title=A report to Governor Jeb Bush and the Sixth Judicial Circuit in the matter of Theresa Marie Schiavo|author=Wolfson, Jay|publisher=abstractappeal.com|pages=2, 8, 10|date=December 1, 2003|access-date=September 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075525/http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf|archive-date=July 7, 2011|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ====Initial medical assessments==== The cause of Schiavo's collapse was determined to be [[cardiac arrest]].<ref name="Cranford">{{cite journal|last=Cranford|first=Ronald|date=Summer 2005|title=Facts, Lies, and Videotapes: The Permanent Vegetative State and The Sad Case of Terri Schiavo|journal=The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics|volume=33|issue=2|pages=363β71|doi=10.1111/j.1748-720x.2005.tb00501.x|pmid=16083094|s2cid=13039529}}<!-- no url, so accessdate=2013-11-07 caused error --></ref> Her medical chart contained a note 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 10β15 glasses of [[iced tea]]."<ref name="UStoday">{{cite news|title=Schiavo case highlights eating disorders|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-02-25-schiavo-eating-disorder_x.htm|access-date=November 28, 2011|newspaper=USA Today|date=February 26, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129064653/http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-02-25-schiavo-eating-disorder_x.htm|archive-date=November 29, 2011|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Upon admission to the hospital, she was noted as suffering from [[hypokalemia]] (low potassium levels): her serum [[potassium]] level was an abnormally low 2.0 [[Equivalent (chemistry)|mEq]]/[[litre|L]] (the normal range for adults is 3.5β5.0 mEq/L). Her [[sodium]] and [[calcium]] levels were normal.<ref name="SilentWitness">{{cite book|title=Silent Witness|author=Mark Fuhrman|publisher=William Morrow|year= 2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/silentwitnessunt00fuhr/page/67 67]|isbn=0-06-085337-9|url=https://archive.org/details/silentwitnessunt00fuhr/page/67}}</ref> [[Electrolyte disturbance|Electrolyte imbalance]] is often caused by [[water intoxication|drinking excessive fluids]], and a serious consequence of hypokalemia can be heart rhythm abnormalities, including [[sudden arrhythmia death syndrome]].<ref name="quote">Meyer J, et al. [http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0801/p483.html "Sudden Arrhythmia death Syndrome: Importance of the Long QT Syndrome"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502033511/http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0801/p483.html |date=May 2, 2012 }} ''Am Fam Physician''. 2003 Aug 1;68(3):483β488. Retrieved July 26, 2011.</ref> Schiavo was eventually switched from being fed by a [[nasogastric intubation|nasogastric feeding tube]] to a [[percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy]] (PEG) feeding tube. Garcia J. DeSousa, a board-certified [[neurologist]] in St. Petersburg, Florida, who previously treated Schiavo, cared for her during her initial admission to Humana Northside; both he and Victor Gambone, an internist and Schiavo family physician, independently made the diagnosis of persistent vegetative state within approximately one year after her sudden cardiac arrest.<ref name="Cranford" /> ===Relationship between Terri's husband and parents=== From 1990 to 1993, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers (Terri Schiavo's parents) enjoyed an amicable relationship,<ref>[http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/justices/pariente.shtml Pariente, Barbara, Chief Justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031031338/http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/justices/pariente.shtml |date=October 31, 2012 }} (for The Court). "Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, et al., vs. Michael Schiavo, Guardian of Marissa Brown", Case Number: SC04-925, ''[[Florida Supreme Court]]'', September 23, 2004 [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc04-925/op-sc04-925.pdf PDF link] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050416021236/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc04-925/op-sc04-925.pdf |date=April 16, 2005 }}</ref><!--Pg 3 of 30--> with the Schindlers allowing Michael to live rent-free in their condominium for several months.<ref name="pearse"/> ===Rehabilitation efforts: 1990β1993=== In November 1990, Michael Schiavo took Terri to the [[University of California, San Francisco]], for experimental nerve stimulation with a [[thalamic stimulator]]. The treatment took several months and was unsuccessful. He returned to Florida with her in January 1991 and admitted her as an inpatient to the Mediplex Rehabilitation Center in [[Bradenton, Florida]]. On July 19, 1991, Schiavo was transferred to the Sabal Palms Skilled Care Facility, where she received neurological testing and regular [[speech therapy|speech]] and [[occupational therapy]] until 1994.<ref name=abstract/> In mid-1993, Michael Schiavo requested a [[do not resuscitate]] order for her after she contracted a [[urinary tract infection]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page