STANKY808
06-15-2005, 02:52 PM
All the speculation that went on should now be put to rest.
Last Updated Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:26:48 EDT
CBC News
Terri Schiavo's parents say they don't believe autopsy results that back claims their daughter was in a persistent vegetative state at the time of her death and had irreversible brain damage.
Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin.
The autopsy results, released Wednesday, could not determine what caused the collapse 15 years ago of the woman who became the focus of the right-to-die debate.
"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain," said Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin.
"This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons," he said.
He also said she was blind, because the "vision centres of her brain were dead."
The autopsy found no evidence she had an eating disorder or that strangulation or other trauma led to her collapse.
She also did not appear to have suffered a heart attack, Thogmartin said, and there was no evidence that she was given harmful drugs or other substances prior to her death.
Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Florida on March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by court order.
Schiavo's husband and her parents had argued in and out of court over the years about her fate.
The Schindlers said through a spokesperson they don't believe the results of the autopsy. They maintain their daughter wanted to live and that she could recover.
Bob and Mary Schindler say they plan to discuss the results with medical experts and may take further legal action, but they didn't specify what type.
Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, insisted his wife would never have wanted to live in a vegetative state.
No signs of trauma - the husband didn't beat her
She was blind - Dr. Frist was wrong!
No evidence of an eating disorder.
Last Updated Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:26:48 EDT
CBC News
Terri Schiavo's parents say they don't believe autopsy results that back claims their daughter was in a persistent vegetative state at the time of her death and had irreversible brain damage.
Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin.
The autopsy results, released Wednesday, could not determine what caused the collapse 15 years ago of the woman who became the focus of the right-to-die debate.
"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain," said Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin.
"This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons," he said.
He also said she was blind, because the "vision centres of her brain were dead."
The autopsy found no evidence she had an eating disorder or that strangulation or other trauma led to her collapse.
She also did not appear to have suffered a heart attack, Thogmartin said, and there was no evidence that she was given harmful drugs or other substances prior to her death.
Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Florida on March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by court order.
Schiavo's husband and her parents had argued in and out of court over the years about her fate.
The Schindlers said through a spokesperson they don't believe the results of the autopsy. They maintain their daughter wanted to live and that she could recover.
Bob and Mary Schindler say they plan to discuss the results with medical experts and may take further legal action, but they didn't specify what type.
Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, insisted his wife would never have wanted to live in a vegetative state.
No signs of trauma - the husband didn't beat her
She was blind - Dr. Frist was wrong!
No evidence of an eating disorder.