Remembering Terry

Theresa Maria Schindler should be in her 56th year of life. Instead, her cremated remains are buried at Sylvan Abby Memorial Park in Clearwater, Florida. A granite stone marks the spot.

The epitaph reads, “Schiavo / Theresa Marie / Beloved wife / born December 3, 1963 / Departed this earth / February 25, 1990 / At peace March 31, 2005 / I kept my promise.” These are not the words of her parents. The stone was engraved by her one-time, two-timing husband, Michael Schiavo.

They say that history is written by the victors. Michael Schiavo was, certainly, the legal victor in this case. Theresa was the victim, but not the only one. She was robbed of her life, but her family was also robbed of her life. In fact, we all were.

The epitaph tells Michael Schiavo’s version of history. His claim that she “Departed this earth” on February 25, 1990 refers to the morning that Schiavo found his wife found face-down in the hallway of their home in St. Petersburg, Florida. When the paramedics arrived, she was still face-down with neither detectable pulse nor respiration.

Immediately, the medical professionals restarted her heart and breathing. Initially, her breathing was assisted by intubation and a breathing machine. Before long, these were removed, and she could again breathe on her own. She was diagnosed with hypokalemia (low potassium levels) presumably cause by her excessive dieting.

Terri Schindler  

During the time that she was intubated and unable to eat, she was also given a nasogastric feeding tube to provide the proper nutrition to treat her hypokalemic condition. After the breathing tube was removed, the nasogastric tube was replaced with a percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy (PEG) tube.

Approximately 100,000-125,000 people per year receive this medical treatment. While some of these patients cannot swallow food at all, most have some ability to swallow, but not enough to receive all the nutrients they need. Many live perfectly normal lives with the PEG tube hidden beneath their clothing. You might even know such people without realizing it.

Terri awoke from her coma with significant brain damage. She was able to breathe on her own. Swallowing was difficult, but not impossible. She slept and woke up. She had basic reflexes and was able to open and move her eyes. She could also make noises with her voice and smile. Despite all this, her tombstone claims that she “Departed this earth.”

Strangely, nobody began making this claim until several years had passed. At first, her husband took Terri to the University of California in San Francisco for experimental rehabilitation. After some months the treatment was deemed unsuccessful. Her husband also filed two medical malpractice suits against her doctors. These worked their way through the courts until the fall of 1992.

Terri after the heart attack

Two and a half years after she “Departed this earth,” Michael Schiavo received $300,000 plus a $750,000 trust fund set up for Terri’s ongoing care. At about this same time, he began dating Jodi Centonze. From here on out, the relationship between Michael and Terri’s family turned from cooperative to adversarial.

The world should know these two simple facts. First, for more than two years everybody involved in Terri’s care treated her as a living human being who fully occupied planet earth. Second, there was no change in Terri’s status that prompted a change in her treatment. The only discernable changes happened to her husband.

At the same time Michael’s relationship to Terri’s family turned adversarial, his directives toward Terri’s care became deadly. First, he declined to follow the course of treatment that he promised the jury in the medical malpractice suit. Then, when Terri developed a common urinary tract infection, he directed her nursing care to withhold treatment. By 1997 he began legal maneuvers to remove food and water.

He was emboldened in his quest by doctors who said that Terri was in a “persistent vegetative state” (PVS). Nobody has ever seen a vegetable in a state of wakefulness. Potatoes do not blink and move their eyes. Peas and carrots are not widely known to make vocal sounds.

It is not obvious why “vegetative” is more medically sound than “subconscious,” or some other way of describing a person who is awake but does not express herself in discernable ways. One thing is certain, though. Vegetables are not human, and vegetative is a deeply dehumanizing term.

During Michael’s decade-long fight to kill his wife, he lived with his fiancée, Jodi Centonze and fathered two children. Terri’s family understandably saw this as an obvious breach of the marriage vow, “to forsake all others and remain united to her alone as long as we both shall live.” Therefore, they filed for divorce on behalf of their daughter and fought to gain legal guardianship of her life.

Even though her court-appointed guardian testified that Michael had a conflict of interest since he stood to inherit the settlement money upon Terri’s death, the court ruled that Terri’s family also had a conflict of interest. That they wanted her to live while he wanted her to die was irrelevant. That they would control the settlement money in the case of a divorce was a good enough reason to deny their petition.

During all this time, Terri was receiving the least-possible care. Yet, her condition was not getting any worse. This is key. Michael’s desire to kill her was not because her health was declining. It was because she was not improving. Even though she was vastly improved from the day he found her, she was not improved enough to merit further life.

This outrageous claim was made more outrageous still when the legal system agreed with it. Appeals were made from the Florida circuit court to the U.S. Supreme Court. Both the Florida state legislature and the U.S. congress passed laws to give Terri a chance. All of these were thrown out.

In the end, all that mattered was the opinion of Pinellas-Pasco County Circuit Court Judge, George Greer. He ruled that if Terri could talk for herself, she would want to be starved to death by removal of her feeding tube. On March 18, 2005 he gave the final directive.

Fifteen years ago today Theresa Maria Schindler succumbed after two weeks of dehydration and starvation. Today is a day of solemn remembrance. It was a sobering moment in American life.

To this day, the culture of death characterizes the battle between Michael Schiavo and the Schindler family as being about “the right to die.” They believe that Michael’s epitaph is true history.

Terri interacts with her family

Is it really? Did Terri actually leave this earth on February 25, 1990? Or did she, rather, have a heart attack that caused a severe handicap? Did she really live a tortured life for fifteen years while longing to die? Or was her torture only inflicted when the people responsible for her life withdrew all means of support?

Fifteen years ago today the whole world knew that Terri was most definitely on this earth. The story of her unwilling starvation was played out on national news throughout Holy Week and Easter of 2005. She impacted the lives of millions—even if she was not conscious of that fact. Today she still stands as an example of how every human life has value not only for itself, but for the whole world.