Schiavo Brother Tries to Save Another Life

It is very scary when a state wants to dehydrate a citizen. That happened several years ago in the Haleigh Poutre case in Massachusetts. Haleigh was a 12-year-old child abuse victim beaten viciously by her step father into unconsciousness. Within days of her injury, doctors said she would never awaken and the state immediately sought court approval to dehydrate her to death. Luckily for Haleigh, the bureaucratic requirements took enough time for her to prove her doctors dead wrong by awakening. Today, she is moving on with her life–no thanks to the state social workers who advocated for her death rather than her life until she became clearly conscious.

 

In New York, a court has removed a wife from guardianship of her apparently unconscious husband, and the court appointed guardian wants him dehydrated to death on advice of doctors. Terri Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler, has stepped in and asked to be named guardian. From The Leader story:

In 2007, Sara Harvey was removed as her husband’s guardian when a judge ruled she was ill-suited to care for him and did not follow the advice of medical professionals. The county was named Gary Harvey’s guardian. In 2009, Chemung County planned to remove Gary Harvey’s feeding tube on the advice of doctors, but the move was blocked. A do-not-resuscitate order remains in place. Later in 2009, Schindler joined Sara Harvey’s cause, saying she had the right to regain guardianship of her husband and take him home to care for him there.
After filing his guardianship request, Schindler said: “I have raised the question many times, ‘How can Chemung County, guardian of Mr. Harvey, be acting in his best interest when they, in fact, tried to kill him?’ From all indications, it appears that Mr. Harvey has been warehoused and denied the opportunity to receive the care and rehabilitative services that would benefit his condition.”

I have seen cases where guardianship was removed solely because the family member wouldn’t agree to dehydrate. I don’t know if that is the case here. But even if she is unable to personally provide his care, that doesn’t mean her opinion about her husband’s continuing existence should be disregarded. As Bobby Schindler told me:

How ironic. When my sister’s husband wanted her dehydrated, we were told that spouses should decide. Now, when the spouse doesn’t want him dehydrated, her opinion apparently doesn’t matter.

Go, Bobby! Go!

Full Article & Source:
Schiavo Brother Tries to Save Another Life

Sites Sharing Press Release:
Deacon John’s Space

See Also:
Schiavo’s brother seeks guardianship in local case

Case continues involving guardianship of brain-injured man

Schindler’s list: Terri’s brother now saving others

Terri Schiavo’s Brother, Bobby Schindler, Petitions Court to Intervene in Guardianship Case

Bobby Schindler Files Petition Requesting to be Gary Harvey’s Guardian

The Dictators of Non-Compassion: Gary Harvey Case and the Unexpected Twist

Schiavo’s brother seeks guardianship in local case

ELMIRA — The brother of Terri Schiavo, whose right-to-die battle played out in the public spotlight in the early 2000s, has asked New York’s Supreme Court to name him the guardian of a Chemung County man who has been in a persistent vegetative state for nearly seven years.

Bobby Schindler is petitioning the court to name him the legal guardian of Gary Harvey, who was living in Horseheads in 2006 when he fell down his basement steps and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Since the accident, Harvey has been in a persistent vegetative state.

Harvey’s wife, Sara Harvey, has been involved in a prolonged legal battle with the county regarding the care of her husband, who did not have a living will at the time of his accident.

In 2007, Sara Harvey was removed as her husband’s guardian when a judge ruled she was ill-suited to care for him and did not follow the advice of medical professionals. The county was named Gary Harvey’s guardian.

In 2009, Chemung County planned to remove Gary Harvey’s feeding tube on the advice of doctors, but the move was blocked. A do-not-resuscitate order remains in place.

Later in 2009, Schindler joined Sara Harvey’s cause, saying she had the right to regain guardianship of her husband and take him home to care for him there.

After filing his guardianship request, Schindler said: “I have raised the question many times, ‘How can Chemung County, guardian of Mr. Harvey, be acting in his best interest when they, in fact, tried to kill him?’ From all indications, it appears that Mr. Harvey has been warehoused and denied the opportunity to receive the care and rehabilitative services that would benefit his condition.”
A court date is set for Jan. 30.

Schindler is the executive director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, an organization that works to protect the rights of the medically vulnerable.

Like Gary Harvey, Schiavo did not have a living will when she fell into a persistent vegetative state in 1990. Her guardian, husband Michael Schiavo, eventually decided to have her feeding tube removed, but Terri Schiavo’s parents and brother strongly opposed.

After years of bitter legal battles, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed. She died March 31, 2005, in Florida.

Full Article & Source:
Schiavo’s brother seeks guardianship in local case

Sites Sharing Press Release: Deacon John’s Space
See Also:
Case continues involving guardianship of brain-injured man
Schindler’s list: Terri’s brother now saving others
Terri Schiavo’s Brother, Bobby Schindler, Petitions Court to Intervene in Guardianship Case
Bobby Schindler Files Petition Requesting to be Gary Harvey’s Guardian
The Dictators of Non-Compassion: Gary Harvey Case and the Unexpected Twist

Case continues involving guardianship of brain-injured man

Motions will be argued later this month as part of a Horseheads woman’s legal fight to end Chemung County’s guardianship of her brain-injured husband.

Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo, is petitioning to serve as guardian for Gary Harvey, according to the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network, of which Schindler is executive director.

Motions are scheduled to be argued beginning at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 30 before state Supreme Court Judge Judith O’Shea, the Chemung County Court Clerk’s Office confirmed.

Harvey suffered a traumatic brain injury following a heart attack and subsequent fall down a flight of stairs in January 2006 and remains in a persistent vegetative state.

His wife, Sara Harvey, sought guardianship of her husband, but the county Department of Social Services was appointed as his legal guardian indefinitely.

Sara Harvey has said that her husband has suffered under significantly inadequate care and has fought in state Supreme Court for guardianship.

Attorney Christopher Johnson filed Schindler’s petition, the county clerk’s office confirmed.

Mary Schindler, Schiavo’s mother, was a Corning native and graduated in 1959 from Northside High School in Corning. Her maternal grandparents, the late Mike and Cecilia Tammaro, also lived in Corning, where Mike Tammaro managed Keenan’s Rexall drug store.

Schiavo, who was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state, was at the center of a series of legal challenges that resulted in a seven-year delay before her life support was terminated in 2005.

Full Article & Source:
Case continues involving guardianship of brain-injured man

Sites Sharing Press Release:
Deacon John’s Space

See Also:
Schindler’s list: Terri’s brother now saving others

Terri Schiavo’s Brother, Bobby Schindler, Petitions Court to Intervene in Guardianship Case

Bobby Schindler Files Petition Requesting to be Gary Harvey’s Guardian

The Dictators of Non-Compassion: Gary Harvey Case and the Unexpected Twist