Re: Unanswered questions about Terri Schiavo Case

Answers on insurance, examinations
By Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service

Friday, March 25, 2005

The intense media coverage of the Terri Schiavo case has raised some persistent questions. Here are answers to some of them:

Q. Does Terri Schiavo have life insurance that could be motivate her husband's wish to let her die?

A. She has no life insurance, according to Jay Wolfson, a University of South Florida professor with a law degree and public-health doctorate who served as the court-appointed guardian for Schiavo's legal interests. He spent a month reviewing medical and court records, visiting Schiavo frequently and talking with her husband and parents. Wolfson said recently he knows of no financial interest that Michael Schiavo has in his wife's death.

Q. It's been reported that a CAT scan showed Terri Schiavo's cerebral cortex had deteriorated beyond the point at which she could be expected to recover. But some people say an MRI would be much more precise in making that determination. Why hasn't she had one?

A. A CAT scan — computed axial tomography — uses a a moving X-ray scanner and a digital computer to map images inside the body. An MRI — magnetic resonance imaging — uses magnets and radio waves to create more detailed images of particular areas. Dr. Ronald Cranford, a neurologist who served as an expert witness for Schiavo's husband in diagnosing Schiavo as being in a persistent vegetative state, has insisted in interviews that in Schiavo's case, the additional detail would not add information relevant to making that determination. Also, the Los Angeles Times has reported that, according to Wolfson, Michael Schiavo took his wife to California for experimental treatment in fall 1990, when a thalamic stimulator was implanted in her brain. Some neurologists now consider that an obstacle to MRI scans, which can be affected by the presence of implanted metal or electronic devices.

Q. Did Michael Schiavo ever abuse his wife?

A. Despite assertions of abuse by some, Wolfson said "there's no evidence that he abused her" or "did anything untoward or inappropriate." That echoes a 1994 finding by another court-appointed guardian for Terri Schiavo, John Pecarek. He "found no inappropriate actions and indicated that Michael had been very attentive." Wolfson said recently that Michael Schiavo for several years worked "tirelessly" with his wife's parents "to do everything they could to find some way to rehabilitate her and bring her back to normal." But, after doctors had told him for several years that his wife was in a persistent vegetative state, "Mr. Schiavo came to the conclusion that there was no hope," Wolfson said. He called Michael Schiavo as "a distant, cool guy. But he's not a bad guy." For several years, Wolfson said, Michael Schiavo lavished attention on his wife, prodding hospice workers to change her sheets and brush her hair. He urged them to care for her with such fervor that "there was an effort to get a restraining order against Mr. Schiavo because he was demanding so much attention of the staff at the facility that the administration felt that staff were ignoring the needs of other patients."

Q. Gov. Jeb Bush this week cited "new evidence" provided by Dr. William Cheshire, a Mayo Clinic neurologist in Jacksonville, in his bid to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. Did Cheshire actually examine Terri Schiavo?

A. Cheshire "observed the patient at her bedside and conducted an extensive review of her medical history but did not conduct an examination," the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic says on its Web site. In addition to being a neurologist, he is a bioethicist who is also an active member in Christian organizations, including two whose leaders have spoken out against the tube's removal.

Q. Why are Terri Schiavo's parents not allowed in her room by themselves? Why can't they stay in the waiting room at the hospice?

A. As his wife's guardian, Michael Schiavo controls access to her. Her parents come in and out to visit. A hospice spokeswoman said they have not asked to stay.

Staff researcher Nisa Asokan and news services contributed to this article.