What Terri Schiavo and the Quarter Brained Man Have in Common

Many of you are probably aware of the Terri Schiavo case which was in the news in 2005. Terri was in a persistent vegetative state, according to her doctors. Persistent vegetative state, or PVS, is a condition in which severe brain damage and coma have progressed to the point where the patient is awake, and often experiences a normal sleep-wake cycle, but shows no genuine signs of awareness. The state is said to be persistent if it continues for more than thirty days. Victims of persistent vegetative state often cry, moan, scream, swallow, or smile spontaneously without any external stimuli, but these behaviors are generally thought not to be a result of consciousness.

Terri Schiavo had collapsed in 1990 from cardiac and respiratory arrest. The collapse was believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder, although this has not been verified. According to the statement Terri's husband Michael Schiavo made on Larry King Live, seventy minutes elapsed before he called for emergency medical care. No explanation has been given for the delay.

Terri's brain was severely damaged, leaving her in a coma. She eventually emerged from the coma, but showed no normal evidence of consciousness, leading to her PVS diagnosis. As a result of her condition, Terri had to be institutionalized, and was dependent on a feeding tube. Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, filed suit in 1993 against Terri's OB-GYN for malpractice, claiming that the doctor had failed to diagnose and treat Terri's bulimia. He was awarded $600,000 for this suit, and Terri was awarded $1.5 million, to pay for her future rehabilitation and care.