Study Shows People in “Vegetative” State Were Incorrectly Diagnosed

There is more encouraging news coming out of Canada regarding the very unscientific persistent vegetative state (PVS) diagnosis. Once again there has been a study regarding three people who were incorrectly thought to be in a PVS.

Why is this so important? One reason is that the PVS diagnosis can be used as a motive to kill a person with a brain injury, as it was in my sister, Terri Schiavo’s case. This is not the first time this type of testing has taken place with similar types of results.

From the story, “Brain scans reveal which ‘vegetative’ patients are alert, trapped in bodies”:

A man who had appeared to have been in a vegetative state for 12 years knew his name and knew where he was, Canadian researchers report in a study showing it’s possible to use MRI brain scans to establish communication with people who seem completely unconscious. Three people tested using a special form of MRI called functional magnetic resonance imaging were able to answer simple “yes” or “no” questions, the team at Western University in London, Ontario report.

And once again, just like most of these reports where they find people have been wrongly diagnosed as being in a PVS, they felt it necessary to point out that there is no way possible that they were wrong when Terri Schiavo was diagnosed as being in PVS and then subsequently killed because of it.

In fact, they often say, as in this report, the autopsy proved it. To help strengthen their claim, they bring in the “experts” like the “omniscient” bioethicist, Art Caplan who believes it was okay to deny Terri the same tests he seems to approve for others in similar conditions:

Full Article and Source:
Study Shows People in “Vegetative” State Were Incorrectly Diagnosed

Terri Schiavo’s Brother, Bobby Schindler, Working to Help Others

By now, eight years later, the details and debate over his sister’s situation – her diagnosis, her prognosis, her wishes, her autopsy – are no longer that important to Bobby Schindler.
For him, one thought dominates. Terri Schiavo deserved to live.

Schindler now heads a growing foundation to help others in similar situations. Every year since her death, they’ve held a “Terri’s Day” of remembrance.

This year, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has moved from Florida to the Philadelphia area, where both the Schindler and Schiavo families are from, and the event has grown.

At 5 p.m. Friday, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will celebrate a Mass dedicated to Terri Schiavo at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. Sarah Palin will speak afterward at a fund-raising dinner at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. A ticket is $150, and 350 have been sold; $25,000 gets you a visit with Palin, but no takers so far, Schindler said.

Terri Schiavo died March 31, 2005, after 15 years in what doctors termed a persistent vegetative state. Her case was marked by an excruciating public family battle that traversed the courts, prompted an unprecedented session of Congress, drew the attention of the Vatican, and inspired countless Americans to complete “living wills” spelling out what care they did – or did not – want in the event of severe injury or illness.

Her husband, Michael, said she would not have wanted to live this way. Her parents and siblings said she would have chosen life, no matter what.

It is a decision that daily is facing many families, although rarely in such a public arena. Mostly, it’s in a hospital conference room with a box of tissues on the table.

Schindler, 48, a former math and science teacher in Florida, thinks many patients are being warehoused. Last year, the foundation established a Center for Disability in the Public Square – a data-gathering and information-sharing network. In his office, he has a sketch of a rehab facility he would like the foundation to build, although he concedes it is likely a long way off.

The foundation, begun in 2000, has seen its revenue grow steadily, from less than $20,000 in 2005 to nearly $700,000 in 2011.

That year, contributions were bolstered by a $100,000 prize from the Gerard Health Foundation, a pro-life philanthropy in Natick, Mass., that praised the Schiavo network for helping 1,000 families, and giving them “safe haven amidst the pressure of the so-called ‘right to die’ movement.”

 

One of them is Sara Harvey, of Horseheads, N.Y., just north of the Pennsylvania line. She has been battling officials over her husband, Gary, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for nearly seven years, after falling down steps and suffering a traumatic brain injury.

A judge had named the county Gary Harvey’s guardian in 2007, and in 2009, officials planned to remove his feeding tube. Sara Harvey contacted Schindler, who has petitioned the court to name him a legal guardian.

No decision has been made, but Sara Harvey credits Schindler with saving her husband’s life so far.  “Bobby’s like an angel over my husband.”

Full Article and Source:
Terri Schiavo’s Brother Working to Help Others

Bobby Schindler Remembers His Sister, Terri Schiavo

For members of any family, an order of execution issued by a judge for a loved one is devastating news – it’s catastrophic to learn that someone you have known all your life is going to be killed by the state.
That’s what happened to my family when, on March 31, 2005, Terri Schiavo died as a result of Florida probate judge George W. Greer’s ruling to sentence my sister to death.

Her crime? She was profoundly brain injured, could not speak or fend for herself and had a loving family that wanted, more than anything, to just bring her home and care for her until her natural death.

But death sentences, once issued, are difficult to overturn – even when the person marked for death has never committed a crime.

On Feb. 25, 1990, my beloved sister collapsed in her home and experienced a significant brain injury after going into cardiac arrest.

For several years she underwent rehabilitative therapy and was physically stable, needing no medical treatment other than to be fed and hydrated. We loved her as she was, understanding that she had joined the ranks of hundreds of thousands of other Americans who are challenged by a severe neurological disability.

Just a short time after Terri’s collapse, however, we learned that Terri was no longer receiving therapy but was instead being warehoused bereft of the care that she needed. We spent years wrangling with her then-husband to restore her rehabilitation care and for her to be released to us.

We wanted to bring her home, where she was loved and would receive the therapy she so desperately needed.

It was not to be.

Instead, after Judge Greer’s decree that her feeding and hydration supply should be ended, we watched her starve and dehydrate to death.

We were there. We watched her die of thirst, surrounded by vigilant law enforcement officers tasked with ensuring that we didn’t try to comfort her by wetting her parched, cracked and bleeding lips.

It took almost two weeks – a slow death that would never be considered for even the vilest criminal.

Even the most heinous villains get a last meal and something to drink.

That was eight years ago. We remember it as if it was yesterday.

Full Article and Source:
Remembering My Sister, Terri Schiavo; Her Death was Just the Beginning

Gary Harvey Series: In Darkness & Isolation

Gary Harvey of “warehoused scenario central”, New York, is living in an inexcusable isolation! What visits this man is allowed are limited, restricted and supervised. Permission must be obtained to even touch him. A kiss on the cheek must also be approved by the authority now deemed in control of his very existence. An authority that seems to enjoy toying with the lives and emotions of those they can control and the friends and loved ones that have dared to challenge or question their decisions, behaviors and directives.

 

Chemung County, New York, supposedly cares for its wards, even the ones they claim not to want, but then fight desperately to keep. Their decisions are always in the best interest of those wards, right? (That’s what they say anyway.) This then makes one wonder why they would hesitate to make sure the eye care that Gary Harvey gets is top-notch (they certainly aren’t paying for it) and to stay on top of what might be an eye problem in the making or a condition getting worse.

Gary Harvey suffers from a traumatic brain injury. That’s true. However, no one knows how far he could come along, if he were to receive therapy and stimulation, such as having frequent visitors who are allowed to touch him and give him a kiss on the cheek, just because giving him a kiss on the cheek might be a gesture of affection he is needing. No one knows and it seems like those in control — simply don’t care.

Full Article & Source:
Gary Harvey Series: In Darkness & Isolation

See Also:
Chemung county continues persecuting Sara and Gary Harvey

Still Troubled by Terri Schiavo’s Death, but Inspired Too

Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network

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

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

Tonight on T. S. Radio: Gary Harvey’s Birthday Bash, as per Chemung County

Join us for a show sure to boil your blood!

Gary Harvey celebrated another birthday in his room (prison cell) at St Joseph hospital. His wife was told she could “kiss him twice on the cheek” and could “hold his hand” as long as her hand remained absolutely still…….otherwise….these special privileges would cease immediately.

Special privileges? A wife kissing her husband? Holding his hand? And these are special privileges?

Chemung County should be forced to register the Case of Gary Harvey as a “for profit” venture. Gary has been a virtual cash cow for everyone who has their fingers in his case.

We have been following the tragic case of Gary and Sara Harvey for several years now. Gary, who suffered a head injury seven years ago in his home, has been held for ransom by Chemung County, New York. Also tapping into the case of “Gary Harvey–All for profit venture!” are numerous attorneys, probate judges and others all connected to the same law firm! What a coincidence!

5:00 PST … 6:00 MST … 7:00 CST … 8:00 EST

LISTEN LIVE or listen to the archive later!

A Fight for Life

An ongoing legal case in New York’s Southern Tier is reminiscent of the Terri Schiavo case.

Family Life’s Bob Price speaks with Bobby Schindler, Executive Director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, about the legal battle over Gary Harvey’s medical care.

Source:
Family Life Network: News: A Fight for Life

LISTEN to Bob Price’s interview with Bobby Schindler

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

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

Still Troubled by Terri Schiavo’s Death but Inspired Too

Register correspondent Brian O’Neel recently sat down for an interview with  [Terri Schiavo’s]brother, Bobby Schindler Jr., who subsequently founded the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network to honor her memory. The organization helps medically dependent persons with disabilities and incapacitated individuals who face potentially facing life-threatening situations.

It’s now 20 years down the road since your father and Michael fought. What is your state of mind right now? Where are you, in terms of your perspective?
I struggle with this daily because it changes for me every day. From the time Terri collapsed to this moment, it has been a constant rollercoaster ride of emotions.

I guess the easy answer is: I’m committed to doing whatever I can so people will understand this issue. For the death merchants, so to speak, Terri’s death signaled the end. For me, it was the beginning. I’m not going to stop until everybody knows the truth about what they did to Terri, how she was barbarically and inhumanely killed, and how others are being killed just like her. That’s my mindset.

Euthanasia is such a widely misunderstood issue. So much of our society accepts this way of “caring,” which means directly killing people who are being sustained by basic and ordinary care, food and water.

Understand: Terri wasn’t on life support. She was receiving what the Church describes as basic and ordinary care, food and water. She had a feeding tube. She could’ve quite possibly lived a normal life span if she’d continued to receive food and water.

Furthermore, people don’t realize other individuals with brain injuries are being killed every day because the laws now consider feeding tubes artificial life support. It enables medical professionals and families to take it away from individuals if they choose.

The majority of calls we get are from families who are up against health-care professionals who are trying to take away food and water.

What’s the worst case that you’re familiar with, outside of your sister’s?
There are probably a few. There’s a case in New York. A county there has taken guardianship over a woman’s husband, Gary Harvey. The county is completely mistreating this woman, Sara, and what they’re doing to her husband is just unconscionable.

In Arizona, a man named  Jesse Ramirez, a war vet, got into a car accident. Doctors told his wife to remove the feeding tube. The parents went to court and got an injunction. A few months later, the guy walked out of the rehab center and was speaking with reporters.

Full Article and Source:
Still Troubled by Terri Schiavo’s Death, but Inspired Too

See Also:
Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network

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

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

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