History:
Theresa Marie Schindler, known to family and friends as “Terri” was born on December 3, 1963 to her parents Robert and Mary in Pennsylvania. She met her husband, Michael Schiavo while attending a community college and a few years after they married, the Schiavo’s moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Terri had dealt with weight issues in the past and it was suspected that she struggled with bulimia. On February 25, 1990, Terri suffered a cardiac arrest as a result from a potassium imbalance (possibly caused from the bulimia). During the cardiac arrest, Terri’s brain was deprived of oxygen for a significant amount of time, leaving her in a coma throughout her hospitalization.
She was eventually discharged home, but do to her high level of needs she was admitted to multiple rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities. Although Terri woke from the coma, she never regained full consciousness, leaving her in what is referred to as a “persistent vegetative state”. Because she could not swallow and had a high probability of choking and aspirating on food or liquids, a feeding tube that was inserted into her stomach through her abdomen became the way her body received artificial hydration and nutrition. Her husband Michael was appointed by the court to become her legal guardian. Michael sued Terri’s primary care …show more content…
“Total parenteral nutrition” (TPN) can be used indefinitely for patients like Terri who have an “irreversible neurological disorder”. Due to the lack of ability for her to swallow, artificial hydration and nutrition through a feeding tube was the main source keeping Terri alive. Those who opposed the removal of her feeding tube, such as her parents, and right to live activists argued that her condition was only viewed as terminal once the artificial hydration and nutrition were
Theresa Marie Schindler, known to family and friends as “Terri” was born on December 3, 1963 to her parents Robert and Mary in Pennsylvania. She met her husband, Michael Schiavo while attending a community college and a few years after they married, the Schiavo’s moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Terri had dealt with weight issues in the past and it was suspected that she struggled with bulimia. On February 25, 1990, Terri suffered a cardiac arrest as a result from a potassium imbalance (possibly caused from the bulimia). During the cardiac arrest, Terri’s brain was deprived of oxygen for a significant amount of time, leaving her in a coma throughout her hospitalization.
She was eventually discharged home, but do to her high level of needs she was admitted to multiple rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities. Although Terri woke from the coma, she never regained full consciousness, leaving her in what is referred to as a “persistent vegetative state”. Because she could not swallow and had a high probability of choking and aspirating on food or liquids, a feeding tube that was inserted into her stomach through her abdomen became the way her body received artificial hydration and nutrition. Her husband Michael was appointed by the court to become her legal guardian. Michael sued Terri’s primary care …show more content…
“Total parenteral nutrition” (TPN) can be used indefinitely for patients like Terri who have an “irreversible neurological disorder”. Due to the lack of ability for her to swallow, artificial hydration and nutrition through a feeding tube was the main source keeping Terri alive. Those who opposed the removal of her feeding tube, such as her parents, and right to live activists argued that her condition was only viewed as terminal once the artificial hydration and nutrition were