General Chat

Only just heard this news. Lets all say a prayer for this poor lady. My heart goes out to all those who loved her. I have mixed feelings about all this. But will not go into it on this thread. Jenny.

I think Jenny, the expression 'god only knows' fits the bill. (or reverse the words a bit) happy days

I'll join you in prayer - for everyone involved in this. What a very tragic story.

I hope she's happier wherever she is now. My heartfelt sympathy to her family and husband :-( becx

It is only because of the skill of modern medicine that she has lasted all this time, its tragic that the tug of war went on for so long. my condolences to all the people involved, but it was god's will in the end.......

I just read tonight that he (her husband) has a partner and two children with her and didn`t want to divorce his wife-don`t know what to make of that. Rosalyn

its sad, her husband didnt want her to suffer and her parents couldnt let her go , shame for all concerned,

jenny, i have strong feelings about this case,but i wont encroach,on your thread. god bless her.......terri,rest in peace. bryan.

Shades of Tony Bland and others. I do so feel for all concerned - a tragedy made all the more tragic by the involvement of the courts in what is essentially a private matter. I am all the more determined to talk to ALL of my family about this very sensitive subject and to get their wishes in writing. I wouldn't wish any of this situation on anyone, least of all anyone I love and care for, no matter how they were part of the scenario.

Sleep well, Terri. xx

Rosalyn, according to the newspapers here (USA) Terri's husband wouldn't divorce her because if he did her parents would revert to being her legal next-of-kin and he wasn't convinced that they would honour what he believed were her wishes.

Thanks for that extra info. She was a poor soul at the end and she`s at peace now. Rosalyn

RIP. Joy

Felicity, could you clarify something please? I thought I heard(though I may be mistaken, as I was half-listening) that, at the end, Terri's parents weren't allowed in with her and her hubby; hubby wouldn't let them. Please tell me that's not true, as it sounded so cruel - if I heard right, that is. Thanks - Glenys x

Yes, Glenys, that was in the newspaper here too though no explanation was offered. On the face of it, I agree that it seems unbelievably cruel and I'll be interested to see what more 'news' there is later. However, I suspect that the public will never know the full story. I tend to think that there's more to this than meets the eye anyway - there generally is. Newspapers get very selective in what they publish and I imagine the debate and analysis will go on for a few weeks yet.

from reuters. Thursday 31.03.2005, CET 23:47 March 31, 2005 9:35 PM Terri Schiavo dies but bitter divide remains By Jane Sutton PINELLAS PARK, Florida (Reuters) - Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman at the heart of a wrenching legaldispute that drew in the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush, has died, 13 days after her feeding tube was removedby court order. Amid the same glare of publicity and outpouring of bitterness that marked the last days of her life, the 41-year-old woman'sbody was driven away under heavy police guard to a county medical examiner's office for an autopsy. Schiavo died on Thursday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed yet another appeal by her parents, Bob andMary Schindler, for the feeding to be restored. Schiavo had been in what courts ruled was a 'persistent vegetative state' since a cardiac arrest in 1990 deprived her brainof oxygen. Courts had long sided with her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, in ruling she would not have wanted to live inthat condition and should be allowed to die. The feeding tube was removed on March 18. The parents argued that she responded to them and could yet recover with treatment, and their seven-year legal battleagainst Michael Schiavo was taken up by the Christian right, the Republican-led Congress and President Bush. The Schiavo case fired fierce passions among right-to-life activists. Michael Schiavo, his lawyer George Felos and the statejudge who presided over the case for years, George Greer, have all received death threats. Michael Schiavo was with his wife when she died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, where she had been cared for. Protesters who had kept vigil outside the hospice calling for Schiavo to be kept alive, sobbed and prayed when her deathwas announced, and then sang hymns in the morning sunshine. James Dobson, of conservative group Focus on the Family, said judges who had failed to prolong Schiavo's life were guiltyof 'the cold-blooded, cold-hearted extermination of an innocent human life.' At the Vatican, where an ailing Pope John Paul himself is now being sustained by a feeding tube through his nose, papalspokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Schiavo's death was an unacceptable 'violation of the sacred nature of life.' In Florida, the family feud continued into Schiavo's final moments. 'This is not only a death with all the sadness that brings. This is a killing,' said Frank Pavone, a Roman Catholic priest whosided with the Schindlers and visited her shortly before she died. 'HEARTLESS CRUELTY' Pavone said Schiavo's blood relatives were sent out of her room 10 minutes before she died partly because MichaelSchiavo did not want them to be there when he visited. 'Bobby Schindler, her brother, said 'We want to be in the room when she dies.' Michael Schiavo said, 'No, you cannot.' Sohis heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment,' Pavone said. bryan....no man would stop me being at my daughters bedside.

I just re-read the newspaper article I was referring to earlier and realised that I had missed a paragraph - sorry - their version of events is that Terri's parents were not at the hospital this morning anyway. Terri's brother and sister were there and were asked to leave the room while Terri was attended to by staff for a few moments. Her husband heard her brother arguing with hospice staff and feared an 'explosive situation' if he came back into the room so asked that he not be allowed to. Nothing was said about the sister. This is the gist of what Michael Shiavo's lawyer said and as I said before, each side has a different perspective. The truth may be somewhere in the middle. Sadly, this was never going to have an 'ideal' ending with everyone satisfied.

Hi Felicity - have been on the boards for about 20 minutes and just seen this thread and your reply to my question; thank you. As you say, there may be other reasons we don't know about. At least my brain was paying more attention to the news than I gave it credit for, lol. Thank you again, Glenys x Bryan, thank you too, for the info.

Many prayers for all. One can't help but wonder when there is a large amount of money involved, just read report that hubby not only has a new partener and children, but also a sizeable insurance policy to make life easier. Think courts could have made it better for all concerned by appointing independent legal guardian. The circus has been horrible, life will never be the same for any of them, its all been so public. Terri is at peace, god help the rest of the family