- Dear Gov. Bush,
-
- This really shows how it should be an open and shut case!
Please read! Please investigate Michael Schiavo's intentions, and George
Felos's agenda. Remember that Terri is aware. Thank you so much for your
wonderful efforts. God Bless you. We will never forget.
-
- Sincerely,
- Dee Rohe
-
- <http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1010616/posts>Exclusive
Interview
- Schindlers Respond To Michael Schiavo's Larry King Love-Fest
- Part 1 - Thrown Back
-
- By Father Rob Johansen
-
- Sorry to miss posting an update yesterday. It was kind
of a crazy day, with more things to do than I had time to do them, including
travelling. which limits my access to the Internet.
-
- I watched the whole Larry King interview with Michael
Schiavo Monday night, and I took note of a number of issues he addressed
which didn't seem consistent with things that either Terri's family told
me, or that I had read.
-
- While Michael was on Larry King, Terri's father Bob Schindler
was on Hannity & Colmes, so he didn't see the interview. Terri's mother
Mary watched the first few minutes, but she said she turned it off because
she couldn't stand to watch Michael lie on TV.
-
- I questioned Bob and Mary about several of the claims
that Michael made on the Larry King show, and they had quite a bit to say
in response.
-
- CNN trumpeted their interview with Michael Schiavo Monday
night as an "Exclusive". I guess that means that Bob & Mary
Schindler's response, which I present to you here, is also an "Exclusive!".
-
- Because of the wide variety of issues addressed and the
consequent length of the reponse, I'm posting it in two parts, with the
second part to be posted this afternoon.
-
- Part I
-
- I started off by asking them, "Michael claimed that
after he won his settlement, you confronted him in Terri's room at the
nursing home, and demanded money. Is that true?" Bob replied categorically
that that is not what happened that day. "I never asked him for money,
ever," Bob said. Bob admits that he got into an argument with Michael
that day, but it was over Michael's promise to use Terri's settlement money
for rehabilitation.
-
- Bob and Mary had gone to visit Terri, and found Michael
sitting in her room at the nursing home, reading a book. After some small
talk, Bob said to Michael, "We can use some of that money now to take
Terri to Shands [the Shands Medical Center at the University of Florida
in Gainesville] for rehab." Bob explained to me that the doctor who
oversaw Terri's treatment in California, a Dr. Youngling [Bob isn't sure
of the spelling], recommended that they take her to Shands. Michael alluded
to this treatment in his Larry King interview, saying that the attempts
to stimulate Terri using implants didn't work. Bob and Mary confirm that
those treatments didn't work as hoped, but that the doctor had nonetheless
observed some improvement in Terri's condition, and he recommended they
take her to Shands for a different course of treatment. Bob had wanted
to bring her to Shands right away, but Michael insisted on waiting to do
so until after he received a settlement.
-
- Michael received the settlement in January of '93, and
this confrontation took place in February. "A month had gone by since
he [Michael] had gotten the money, and he hadn't done anything yet,"
Bob explained, nor had Michael said anything about what he planned to do.
-
- Mary said that Michael appeared to ignore Bob, so Bob
repeated his remark. At this point, Mary said, "Michael looked up,
threw his book against the wall, then he stood up and kicked the tray table
by Terri's bed, and went into the hall." The Schindlers followed him
into the hall, and Bob, angry at this point, reminded Michael that he had
"promised to use the money for Terri's rehab." Michael then ran
down the hall, turned back and yelled at Bob and Mary, "I'm going
to call my lawyer, and you'll never see your daughter again." At this
point Michael's lawyer was not George Felos. Felos only became involved
once Michael sought Terri's death.
-
- Bob repeated to me that he has never asked Michael for
any of Terri's settlement money. He said, "I tried to remind him of
his promise." A promise, Mary added, that Michael had made under oath.
This promise may not be legally binding, but the Schindlers certainly regard
it as morally binding.
-
- About a month after this incident, the Schindlers were
informed that Michael had cut off their access to Terri's medical information.
Terri's doctors and nurses were not to discuss Terri's medical condition
with the Schindlers. Bob & Mary are still denied access to medical
information about their daughter.
-
- They learned later that shortly after this, Michael gave
a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order for Terri. This struck the Schindlers
as odd, since Terri was in no danger of death. Also, up to this point Michael
had yet to say anything about Terri's suppposed wish not be kept alive
in her condition.
-
- The nursing home staff was sympathetic to the Schindlers,
and frequently gave them information in spite of Michael's medical "gag
order." In July of that year, Bob & Mary were told that Terri
had a serious urinary tract infection. The nursing home staff also told
them that Michael had ordered the nursing home not to treat the infection,
which treatment would have consisted of a simple course of antibiotics.
The staff were worried, because left untreated, the infection would eventually
cause sepsis and Terri's death. Bob and Mary were powerless to do anything,
but fortunately the nursing home eventually gave the antibiotics anyway,
and Terri recovered.
-
- At this point, Bob & Mary made their first attempt
to have Michael removed as guardian. In his deposition for this proceeding,
Michael admitted that he had ordered the nursing home to deny Terri treatment
for the infection, and that left untreated, the infection would have caused
Terri's death. Bob and Mary then explained that when asked in the deposition
if he would do something like that again, he said he couldn't "because
the law prevented him from acting in that way." When asked why he
did it, he responded that he "didn't think Terri would want to live
like this." Notice that Michael said he didn't think so. Bob said,
"he had the perfect opportunity there to talk about Terri's 'wish'
not to be kept alive, and he didn't." In fact, it was another 5 years
before they heard anything about Terri's supposed wish not to be kept alive.
-
- The judge denied the Schindler's petition to have Michael
removed as guardian. 3 years later (1996), they tried again to have Michael
removed as guardian, and were again refused. This in spite of testimony
from the administrator of Terri's second nursing home that Michael had
given similar orders to them to deny potentially life-saving treatment
to Terri. Fortunately, that nursing home also decided to go against Michael's
wishes and administered appropriate medications.
-
- I would add that this was not the last of Michael's attempts
to cause Terri's death by denying medication for perfectly treatable ailments.
When Terri developed pneumonia earlier this year, Michael's attorney George
Felos asked the judge if medication could be denied to Terri for the pneumonia.
He wanted her to be removed from the hospital, returned to the hospice,
and "allowed" to die "naturally". Fortunately, even
Judge Greer thought this beyond the pale and ordered her treatment continued.
-
- I also asked Bob and Mary about Michael's claim that
Bob had offered him $700,000 to walk away and let them take care of Terri.
Bob admitted that after Terri's feeding tube was restored the first time,
he did offer Michael money, but that it was more like $500,000. Bob explained,
"that was our attorney's idea [at that time their attorney was Jim
Eckert]. He thought that since Michael was after Terri's money, let's give
him what he wants to make him go away." I asked Bob and Mary how they
intended to come up with the money. Bob replied, "we didn't know.
Jim [their lawyer] thought we could raise the money somehow, but first
we had to get Michael to agree to the idea." I asked him if any pro-life
or other "right-wing" group ever offered him money for that purpose.
He laughed and said no, nothing like that ever happened.
-
- Furthermore, as to the contention that the Schindlers
are being put up to their defense of Terri's life by "right-wing"
pro-life groups, Bob & Mary Schindler dismiss it as ridiculous. "The
first offers of assistance we got from national pro-life or conservative
groups was about two weeks ago", Bob said. Furthermore, the assistance
offered was in terms of organization and mobilizing grass-roots support,
not financial support. "We actually approached a couple of organizations
back in 2000 after the first trial", Bob added, "but they weren't
interested in getting involved at that time."
-
- Indeed, the Schindlers have fought for more than a decade
with little more than their own resources and some local help. After the
first trial in 2000, "Professionals For Excellence", a local
organization of conservative professionals, offered some help, and since
then have occasionally contributed the expertise of their members in publicity,
legal opinions, and other organizational assistance. According to Bob,
Pat Anderson, their lead attoney, has worked on Terri's case largely pro
bono with some occasional grants from legal foundations.
-
- The Schindlers started the <http://terrisfight.org/lead.htm>Terri
Schindler Schiavo Foundation to get the word out about Terri's plight and
to raise money to help defray the considerable expenses they have incurred
in their efforts to save her. In the past three years, Bob Schindler estimates
that the foundation has raised "about $40,000." "In addition
to that," Bob continued, "Msgr. Malanowski [the priest who has
been offering spiritual support and guidance to the family for the past
few years] raised about another $10,000."
-
- Far from being well-financed pawns of "right-wing"
groups and pro-lifers, Bob and Mary have been crying out for years to get
someone to listen to them, someone to help them. Finally, within the last
few weeks, they've begun to be heard, and there has been an outpouring
of support for which they're truly grateful.
-
-
- Part Two of the Schindlers response will be posted this
afternoon.
-
- Dee says here's a blurb from the Author's Home Page,
Quo Vadis
- <http://home.earthlink.net/~frrob/>http://home.earthlink.net/~frrob/
-
- What's my home page about?
- <http://home.earthlink.net/~frrob/_uimages/clsred.jpg>
- Well, the smart-aleck answer is it's about me! I'm a
priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, serving in St. Joseph, Michigan. I
was ordained in August , 2001, on the Feast of St. John Vianney, the patron
saint of diocesan priests.
-
- <http://www.terrisfight.org>www.terrisfight.org
-
- <http://www.prayforterri.net/>
|
