Schaivo Autopsy

[dnsbubba]

Not that I expect this to end any sort of debate, but the autopsy (http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/assisted_suicide) shows MASSIVE brain damage.

[Angus McFeargus]

But no abuse, right? I guess the parents are now going, "Um...well...crap."

[OmegaBob]

Ewwwww

I started reading the PDF and ... ewwww... they prodded and checked EVERYWHERE!

[GrammarTroll]

Yeah, this certainly doesn't support my mother's rantings that the husband beat her into the heart failure. Very strange.

[MarkN]

Yeah. With her brain halfsized she was pretty much completely unaware of anything going on around her, let alone not really able to physically feel anything, either. Just goes to show ya that those who thought they knew what she was thinking and feeling really didn't and in fact had absolutely no clue whatsoever anyway, regardless of how much they may have wanted to think they did otherwise.

[DanS]

I guess I'll stick my nose out. Hindsight with the report is nice fuel for 20/20 vision but I believe my position at the time was reasonable.

1. There was no living will
2. The husband (rightfully) made a decision for her
3. The parents wanted a different decision

Note that I, and some others, have always acknowledged the husband's legal right. Many of us, also rightfully, questioned his motives given his life choices and the circumstances surrounding her collapse.

The parents wanted more tests and appeared willing to take custody. Again, speaking in her 'best interests' the husband had the right to keep custody and thus retain ultimate decision authority but what harm would there have been in allowing the parents a final battery of tests especially if they were willing to foot the bill?

(and where does the autopsy (http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/15/schiavoreport.pdf) conclude the cause of the brain damage John? - sure there was no dent in her skull but wouldn't that have been a bit obvious? The autopsy does not comment on the toxicology of yester year except to say that she had recieved treatment that was known to induce false readings at the time of her initial urine test.)

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For the sake of an honest discussion I have read the autopsy further. It contains three more interesting items in IMO:

1. It points out the medical reason why an additional test was not done and since I am having trouble copying from the PDF, I will sumarize: She had a neurological implant and the FDA had recently advised against the use of an MRI in conjunction with such implants (though as a counter you would still have to ask would the risk of the test have resulted in anything more harmful to the patient than death by dehydration?)

2. The report remarks on the size of her brain relative to one other example of someone examined after a similar vegitative state. I am not certain why the reduced size is that suprising given the nature of death (dehydration).

3. pg 30 discounts the often sited Bulimia cause of collapse.

DanS

[surrender903]

Originally posted by omegabob:
Ewwwww

I started reading the PDF and ... ewwww... they prodded and checked EVERYWHERE! hello its an autopsy, not a martha stewart x mas special.

graemlins/av_whatever.gif

[Chip]

martha stewart x mas special. http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/images/smilies/puke.gif

[Wingnut]

Does the brain actually shrink due to death by dehydration? The rest of a person's body does not get reduced that much, why should the brain?

What about all the bone that her hubby kept breaking? Supposedly these were broken numerous times, so I would think an xray would show incorrectly set and poorly healed bones.

[ToddGreenway]

it wasnt from dehydration