Nurses Assert Terri Schiavo, Set To Have Feeding Stopped, Has Spoken Words Such As 'Hi', 'Momma', And 'Help Me'

Nurses who tended to Terri Schiavo -- the Florida woman whose feeding and water tubes may soon be removed -- have stated in affidavits provided by her family that the 41-year-old has exhibited clear-cut behavior indicating she is conscious and aware of her surroundings.

In stunning testimony, one nurse, Heidi Law, a certified nursing assistant who took care of Terri when she was at Palm Gardens Nursing Home in Largo, Florida, in 1997, said that the severely disabled woman formed words such as "mommy, "momma," and most hauntingly, "help me."

"While it is true that those patients will flinch or make sounds occasionally, they don't do it as a reaction to someone on a constant basis who is taking care of them, the way I saw Terri do," claimed Law in a formal deposition. "I witnessed a priest visiting Terri a couple of times. Terri would become quiet when he prayed with her. She couldn't bow her head because of her stiff neck, but she would still try. During the prayer, she would keep her eyes closed, opening them afterward. She laughed at jokes he told her. I definitely know that Terri 'is in there.'"

The testimony, contained in affidavits provided to Spirit Daily by her family, the Schindlers, who are desperately attempting to prevent her death, contradicts widespread perceptions that Terri is a nearly brain-dead or comatose woman living in a vegetative state. In fact, by some indications the woman may have greatly improved had she been provided adequate therapy.

"I have heard her say 'mommy' from time to time, and 'momma,' and she also said 'help me' a number of times. She would frequently make noises like she was trying to talk," said Law.

That the disabled woman acknowledges the presence of her parents, responds to music, and follows the movement of objects such as a balloon has long been known and documented by videos [click here]; and the affidavits have appeared on advocacy websites. Indeed, the caretakers have testified that Terri seemed to stare out her window as if waiting for her mother -- not only denied therapy, but also in a small room with a radio that her husband allowed to be left on only a single station.

But that she actually formed words is attested by a second caretaker, Carla Sauer Iyer, a registered nurse who was at Palm Garden from 1995 to 1997.

"Terri's medical condition was systematically distorted and misrepresented," stated Iyer in her own affidavit for the family -- testimony that was not allowed into court by a judge who has consistently ruled against the Schindlers. "When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as 'mommy' and 'help me.' 'Help me' was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times. Terri would try to say the word 'pain' when she was in discomfort, but it came out more like 'pay.' When I came into her room and said 'Hi, Terri,' she would always recognize my voice and her name, and would turn her head all the way toward me, saying, 'Haaaiiiii,' sort of, as she did. I recognized this as a 'hi,' which is very close to what it sounded like, the whole sound being only a second or two long. When I told her stories about my life, or something I read in the paper, Terri would sometimes chuckle, sometimes more a giggle or laugh."

The nurses said the Schiavo woman was often silent for hours and in a "cold sweat" after her husband visited. It was her husband Michael -- now living with a woman by whom he has had two children -- who the nurses said limited her rehabilitation and allegedly "intimidated" staff at the nursing home -- charges that, if true, warrant a major investigation. (Let us emphasize that thus far they are just that: allegations.)

"I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in her chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but by my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart," claimed Iyer in potentially devastating detail. "Every time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri's, someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always demanded to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in her room with him."

Schiavo, they assert, was denied rehabilitation even though there was evidence that at times she could swallow on her own. "I personally saw her swallow the ice water and never saw her gag," said Law. "On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri mouthfuls of Jello, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely. I did not do it more often only because I was afraid of being caught by Michael."

The affidavits, it must be underscored, were conducted in 2003 on behalf of the Schindlers, and as such are in the category of advocacy for their position. Moreover, other nurses who tended to Terri have not yet been fully debriefed in public. Some experts have asserted that Terri's responses are not coordinated ones but nearly instinctual or reflex-like, indicating no real awareness.

But the facts as presented in the affidavits indicate quite differently -- if the testimony is correct, shockingly so. The two nurses portray Terri as a woman who adores baths, liked having her hair combed, and enjoyed a sweet-smelling lotion and soft nightgowns her mother provided.

"Every day, Terri was gotten up after lunch and sat in a chair all afternoon," said Law. "When Terri was in bed, she very much preferred to lie on her right side and look out the window. We always said that she was watching for her mother. It was very obvious that her mother was her favorite person in the whole world."

It is now her parents and siblings who are desperately fighting to prevent her husband from "pulling the plug" on feeding and hydration tubes, which could occur as soon as this month if the Schindlers do not win court victories. So far, judicial decisions have been baffling, with little consideration to Schiavo's state when an actual appearance by the woman might be all that is necessary to display her true condition. Thus far, only the actions of Governor Jeb Bush and the Schindler lawyers have prevented her death. But last week a Pinellas County judge turned down a request to set aside his order allowing Terri's feeding tube be removed, closing yet another legal avenue to her parents in their quest to keep her alive.

Instead of rehabilitation, a "do not resuscitate" sign has been hung on her door. The woman has been denied Holy Communion and Mass attendance, her father told Spirit Daily two weeks ago.

Iyer claims that she "became fearful for my personal safety" and was terminated after she called police about comments and activities at the nursing home relative to the Schiavo woman. "When Michael visited Terri, he always came alone and always had the door closed and locked while he was with Terri," the affidavit alleges. "He would typically be there about twenty minutes or so. When he left Terri would be trembling, crying hysterically, and would be very pale and have cold sweats. It looked to me like Terri was having a hypoglycemic reaction, so I'd check her blood sugar." The glucometer reading would be so low it was below the range where it would register an actual number reading. I would put dextrose in Terri's mouth to counteract it. This happened about five times on my shift as I recall. Normally Terri's blood-sugar levels were very stable due to the uniformity of her diet through tube feeding."

Added Law, the nursing assistant, "When she was upset, which was usually the case after Michael was there, she would withdraw for hours... Several times when Michael visited during my shift, he went into her room alone and closed the door. When he left, Terri was very agitated, was extremely tense with tightened fists, and sometimes had a cold sweat. She was much less responsive than usual and would just stare out the window, her eyes kind of glassy."

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Florida Loses Appeal in Terri Schiavo Case

By Gina Holland

Jan 24, 12:27 PM (ET)

The Supreme Court refused Monday to reinstate a Florida law passed to keep a severely brain-damaged woman hooked to a feeding tube, clearing the way for it to be removed. How soon that would happen, however, was unclear.

The Florida Supreme Court had struck down the law last fall, and the justices were the last hope for state leaders who defended the law in a bitter long running dispute over the fate of Terri Schiavo.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, contends she never wanted to be kept alive artificially. But her parents told justices in a filing that their son-in-law is trying to rush her death so he can inherit her estate and be free to marry another woman.

The Supreme Court did not comment in rejecting an appeal from Gov. Jeb Bush, who argued that the state had the authority to step in and pass the 2003 law that ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted six days after her husband had it removed.

The case goes back to state Judge George Greer, who already has ruled that the brain-damaged woman's husband could withdraw her feeding tube. Although several legal challenges are pending, the Supreme Court was considered the best hope to stop the removal of the tubes.

"It's judicial homicide. They want to murder her," her father, Robert Schindler, said Monday. "I have no idea what the next step will be. We're going to fight for her as much as we can fight for her. She deserves a chance."

The case was one of two right-to-die appeals pending at the high court. Justices are expected to decide in the next month whether to consider a Bush administration request to block the nation's only law allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly. Oregon voters passed that law in 1998.

At issue Monday was "Terri's Law," which the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously was an unconstitutional effort to override court rulings.

The 41-year-old Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart temporarily stopped beating because of an eating disorder. In 2001, her parents lost an emergency Supreme Court appeal seeking to keep her feeding tube in place, but more appeals followed.

Terri Schiavo has lived in nursing homes. She can breathe on her own but depends on a feeding tube to stay alive because she cannot swallow on her own. She left no written directive.

George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, was hesitant to predict if pending legal motions would mean Terri Schiavo is kept alive for weeks, months or longer.

"The only issue here is when the courts are going to summon up the resolve to say, 'No more. We're not going to put up with these frivolous motions and give stays and permit any other delays,'" he said.

Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice chief counsel who represented the Schindlers at the Supreme Court, said: "While there are still legal options available in Florida, the Supreme Court's refusal to take the case makes it more difficult for those legal options to prevail."

Issues in dispute are whether she is in a persistent vegetative state with no chance of recovery, and if she had said before her illness that she did not want to be kept alive by machines.

Washington attorney Robert Destro, representing Florida, told justices to consider "the most vulnerable of our citizens who cannot speak for themselves."

Michael Schiavo did not file any arguments with the court, but his attorney had accused Florida leaders of engaging in delaying tactics to prevent Terri Schiavo from carrying out her right to die.

The case is Jeb Bush v. Michael Schiavo, 04-757.

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