Yet Another Terri Schiavo Post

[piasharn]

I'll be perfectly blunt; this whole situation with Terri Schiavo has me disgusted. Not just a thin patina of disgust either. There are layers and layers to this issue that have built up the emotions that wash over me whenever I see/hear/read something about this. I'll even break it down so that you can analyze each layer of disgust for yourself.

1. This is a personal matter that should be dealt with by Terri Schiavo's family.

Not the media, not the Religious Right, not the State of Florida, not the Federal Government. Situations like this are hard enough for people to deal with. They don't need the entire country hounding them.

2. Whether or not you agree with his decision, Michael Schiavo has every legal right to have his wife's feeding tube removed.

This is one of those legal benefits that comes with a legal marriage: if you are ever in a position in which you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself, your spouse is authorized to make them for you. What Jeb Bush did was wrong, plain and simple.

Besides, it's not as though Mr. Schiavo just decided to have her feeding tube removed one day. He actually brought the issue to court. He, and several others, presented evidence that his wife would not want to live in her current condition. While her parents argued that she had told them otherwise (although it was later shown that she had been 11 or 12 years old when she said this), the judge ruled in favour of Michael Schiavo's decision.

However, this was not the end. Her parents repeatedly appealed, and the feeding tube was left in for years while things got tangled up in court. Other options were looked at. New research was brought in. A lot of consideration went into the decision, and, in the end, the court still sided with Mr. Schiavo. Until Jeb Bush stepped in, that is. Then the media caught on, and everything got out of control.

3. The Government is not doing this out of benevolence.

They are using Schiavo as a toy in a game to gain power and/or distract the U.S. population from more pressing issues. Remember Iraq? The deficit? Social Security? You know, those things that actually affect the U.S. population as a whole?

I mean no disrespect to Terri Schiavo and her family, but what happens to her is not of national importance. As I stated above, this is an issue that should remain within the family and friends of Schiavo. Were this myself or any of my loved ones, I would be saying the same thing. I know that I would not want my friends and family put through this ordeal.

"Instead of worrying about my wife, who was granted her wishes by the state courts the past seven years, they should worry about the pedophiles killing young girls," Schiavo said, referring to a local case. "Why doesn't Congress worry about people not having health insurance? Or the budget? Let's talk about all the children who don't have homes."

"To make comments that Terri would want to live, how do they know?" Schiavo said of the members of Congress who want to keep his wife alive. "Have they ever met her?" Schiavo said. "What color are her eyes? What's her middle name? What's her favorite color? They don't have any clue who Terri is. They should all be ashamed of themselves."

4. The media is not giving us the information we should be receiving.

Sure, we've heard from a lot of different doctors, many of whom have used home videos as evidence that Terri Schiavo is alive and conscious. See how she follows that balloon with her eyes? See how she responds to her parents? How could she not be aware?

However, they are not showing the hours and even days of filming it took to get those shots. They aren't showing you all of the attempts to get her to look at that balloon. What we see is an illusion. Clever editing has taken a series of random events and strung them together in a manner that makes them seem meaningful.

How many news sources are publishing the CAT scan images of Terri's brain, or giving us a basic understanding of the human brain and the basis to judge those images for ourselves? You don't need to be a neuroscientist to interpret those images.

In fact, here is a CAT scan of Terri Schiavo's brain. Do me a favour and take a quick peek at it, will you? (Or do the whole "Open in New Window" thing so that you can have it up for comparison.) Do you see that large, dark blue blob in the middle? Those are her ventricles, which hold some of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

For the sake of comparison, here is a CAT scan of a normal human brain. Do you see those two small, dark crescents near the center? That's what your ventricles are supposed to look like. (If it helps, here is a diagram of the brain with the main parts labeled. It's a longitudinal view, rather than the horizontal one shown in the previous images, but it might help.) So why are the ventricles in Schiavo's brain so large? This is because most of her cerebral cortex has died. Her body removed the dead tissue, leaving a large amount of empty space in the cranial cavity. Thus, her ventricles have swelled and filled with CSF. Most of her brain has been replaced with liquid at this point.

But her heart is still beating, right? She can breath and move (in a limited fashion) and make noises. This indicates that part of her brain is still working, so she might still be conscious, correct?

Not quite. See, respiration, heart rate, and all those basic biological functions that keep our bodies alive and working derive from the brain stem. As long as this is working, you will continue to live. However, if only this is working, you will not be aware of yourself or your surroundings. You are nothing more than a vegetable.

The portion of Terri's brain that was replaced with CSF is her cerebral cortex. This is the part that controls all of our higher brain functions. Thoughts, emotions, pain, pleasure, etcetera. These all arise from the cerebral cortex. Without it, you cannot experience them. Terri can still breath and move because her brain stem is still functioning. However, her cerebral cortex is gone, and once brain matter is lost, it cannot be replaced.

There is no way any qualified brain doctor or scientist could look at this image and suggest that significant recovery of function is possible. The fact that we could have all this discussion on the subject is a triumph of politics over science. Tragic for Terri Schiavo, and really for us all.

5. Terri Schiavo's parents are behaving selfishly.

I know how much it hurts to lose someone you love. I know how hard it can be to say good-bye. But they are not doing their daughter any favours by forcing her into this pseudo-life. Your daughter died 15 years ago. What you are striving so hard to save is nothing more than a shell that bears her physical appearance. Let her go in peace. Let her die with what dignity she has left.

By all evidence, Terri did not want to live in this state. She wanted to be removed from life support. If you truly care about her, you will follow her wishes.

6. The religious right are (as usual) being assholes.

I recently read an article in which one of the people fighting to have her feeding tube reinserted stated that this was not just a matter of science and medicine, but also one of religion. S/he stated that God wanted Terri to live, and that by removing her feeding tube, we are going against God's wishes.

Bullshit.

What do you mean this is a religious matter, not just one of science and medicine? Science and medicine is all that has kept her body alive all these years. And if God wants her to live so badly, why hasn't he performed a miracle that will allow her to live without the feeding tube? How do you know that we are not going against God's wishes by forcing her to live in this state?

7. Along with neglecting the proper scientific information, the media has not informed the public on how to prevent this situation from happening to you.

Many people are unaware of Living Wills and how to obtain one. For those who do not know, a Living Will is a document that states what you want to be done if you should ever end up in a position where you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself. It lets your family and friends, along with the medical community, know exactly what your wishes are. A Living Will can be updated and even revoked at any time if you change your mind.

For more information, please see this site.

It's free, and can save your loved ones the agony of not knowing what you would want done. And you are never too young to fill one out. I have one, and I have also taken the time to inform the people closest to me of my wishes. The world is an unpredictable place. I could be hit by a drunk driver tomorrow *knock on wood* and go into a vegetative state. I cannot imagine anything more horrible, and under no circumstances do I want my physical life prolonged.

I know death can be a disturbing topic for many people. But no matter how much you try to avoid it, you will ultimately have to deal with it. No one lives forever.

Comments

[lyria.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this super-informative (and refreshingly unbiased) post.

[piasharn.livejournal.com]

Well, given that I am clearly on the side of removing her feeding tube, I'm not sure that I can honestly count myself as 'unbiased'. However, I'm glad that the information was of use.

[lyria.livejournal.com]

Well, what you present is information that balances things. It seems that everyone has gone through a lot of trouble to avoid some of the things you've brought up.

And as far as my "unbiased" comment, it's more a comment on the whole anti-Bush sentiment. Not that I'm overly fond of Jeb or GW, but I'm tired of posts that use Mrs. Schiavo as a way of talking about Florida's governor and his presidential brother. Does that make sense? It's, for me, an issue of everyone getting so wrapped up in going against the Bushes that they don't even think about why. It's just BUSH SUCKS ARGH BLARGH DIE.

What this gets into, which is infinitely more disturbing to me, is ownership of one's body. Who is responsible for saying who owns the flesh and bone of a person who cannot make conscious choices? I don't want to get into that, though.

I agree with you. Do I think Mr. Schiavo is a perfect man? No, but he's no monster. And Mrs. Schiavo's parents, while well-meaning, are doing more harm than good.

*sigh* This whole thing pisses me off on so many levels. In any case, thanks for the info.