Terri: I want to live
Sometimes I have to wonder if the Schindlers’ lawyers are really on their side. WHY are they just now bringing this into court, when those of us who have been following the story closely heard about this A WEEK AGO? You know, you can’t get all riled up about the government when the lawyers don’t even seem to have their shi’ite together. ::sigh::
Well, at least this has FINALLY been brought to the table:
The following are Terri Schiavo’s sister, Suzanne Vitadamo’s and Attorney Barbara Weller’s sworn testimony submitted to Judge Greer in Pinellas County Court today.
Barbara Weller, Esq., is putting her entire professional reputation as an officer of the court on the line. If she is not telling the truth she would not only be found guilty of perjury, she would sacrifice her career by being disbarred.
DECLARATION OF SUZANNE VITADAMO
STATE OF FLORIDA )
COUNTY OF PINELLAS )
I, SUZANNE VITADAMO, sister of the Petitioner in the above-styled case, hereby declare under penalty of perjury:
- I visited with Terri at various times during the day on March 18, 2005, the day her feeding tube was removed.
- Terri was in good spirits that morning. My husband, Michael Vitadamo and Terri’s aunt, Claudia Tamarro, were in the room with myself and Attorney Barbara Weller when Terri attempted to speak to Mrs. Weller. A female Pinellas Park police office were standing at the door of Terri’s room.
- Terri was sitting up in her lounge chair and Mrs. Weller and I were sitting on her bed. My aunt was standing at the found of Terri’s chair.
- Mrs. Weller stood up and learned over Terri. She took her arms in her hands. Mrs. Weller begged Terri to try to say, “I want to live.” Terri’s eyes opened wide, she looked at Mrs. Weller with great concentration and said, “Ahhhhhhh.” Then, with great effort, she screamed, “Waaaaaaaa” so loudly that Michael Vitadamo and the female police officer who were then standing together outside Terri’s door, clearly heard her. Terri had a look of anguish on her face and she seemed to be struggling hard, but was she could not complete the sentence. Terri began to cry and Mrs. Weller and I began to stroke Terri’s face and hair to comfort her.
- Mrs. Weller and I continued to visit and talk with Terri, along with other family members who came and went in the room.
FURTHER YOUR DECLARANT SAYETH NOT.
I hereby declare, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. Executed this 22nd day of March, 2005, at Seminole, Florida.
SUZANNE VITADAMO
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 25nd day of March, 2005.
———————-
DECLARATION OF BARBARA J. WELLER
STATE OF FLORIDA )
COUNTY OF PINELLAS )
I, BARBARA WELLER, Attorney for Respondents in the above-styled case, hereby declare under penalty of perjury:
- I visited with Terri at various times during the day on March 18, 2005, the day her feeding tube was removed.
- During the morning I was in the room with Terri and various members of her family. Terri was in good spirits that morning. The mood in her room was jovial, particularly around noontime, as we knew Congressional attorneys were on the scene and many were working hard to save Terri’s life. For most of that time, I was visiting and talking with Terri along with Terri’s sister Suzanne Vitadamo, Suzanne’s husband, and Terri’s aunt, who was visiting from New York to help provide support for the family. A female Pinellas Park police office was stationed at the door outside Terri’s room.
- Terri was sitting up in her lounge chair, dressed and looking alert and well. Her feeding tube had been plugged in around 11 a.m. and we all felt good that she was still being fed. Suzanne and I were talking, joking, and laughing with Terri, telling her she was going to go to Washington D.C. to testify before Congress, which meant that finally Terri’s husband Michael would be required to fix her wheelchair. After that Suzanne could take Terri to the mall shopping and could wheel her outdoors every day to feel the wind and sunshine on her face, something she has not been able to do for more than five years.
- At one point, I noticed Terri’s window blinds were pulled down. I went to the window to raise them so Terri could look at the beautiful garden outside her window and see the sun after several days of rain. As sunlight came into the room, Terri’s eyes widened and she was obviously very pleased.
- Suzanne and I continued to talk and joke with Terri for probably an hour or more. At one point Suzanne called Terri the bionic woman and I heard Terri laugh out loud heartily. She laughed so hard that for the first time I noticed the dimples in her cheeks.
- The most dramatic event of this visit happened at one point when I was sitting on Terri’s bed next to Suzanne. Terri was sitting in her lounge chair and her aunt was standing at the foot of the chair. I stood up and learned over Terri. I took her arms in both of my hands. I said to her, “Terri if you could only say ‘I want to live’ this whole thing could be over today.” I begged her to try very hard to say, “I want to live.” To my enormous shock and surprise, Terri’s eyes opened wide, she looked me square in the face, and with a look of great concentration, she said, “Ahhhhhhh.” Then, seeming to summon up all the strength she had, she virtually screamed, “Waaaaaaaa.” She yelled so loudly that Michael Vitadamo, Suzanne’s husband, and the female police officer who were then standing together outside Terri’s door, clearly heard her. At that point, Terri had a look of anguish on her face that I had never seen before and she seemed to be struggling hard, but was unable to complete the sentence. She became very frustrated and began to cry. I was horrified that I was obviously causing Terri so much anguish. Suzanne and I began to stroke Terri’s face and hair to comfort her. I told Terri I was very sorry. It had not been my intention to upset her so much. Suzanne and I assured Terri that her efforts were much appreciated and that she did not need to try to say anything more. I promised Terri I would tell the world that she had tried to say, “I want to live.”
- Suzanne and I continued to visit and talk with Terri, along with other family members who came and went in the room, until about 2:00 p.m. when we were all told to leave after Judge Greer denied yet another motion for stay and ordered the removal of the feeding tube to proceed. As we left the room, the female police officer outside the door was valiantly attempting to keep from crying.
- About four in the afternoon, several hours after the feeding tube was removed, I returned to Terri’s room. By that time she was alone except for a male police officer now standing inside the door. When I entered the room and began to speak to her, Terri started to cry and tried to speak to me immediately. It was one of the most helpless feelings I have ever had. Terri was looking very melancholy at that point and I had the sense she was very upset that we had told her things were going to get better, but instead, they were obviously getting worse. I had previously had the same feeling when my own daughter was a baby who was hospitalized and was crying and looking to me to rescue her from her hospital crib, something I could not do. While I was in the room with Terri for the next half hour or so, several other friends came to visit and I did a few press interviews sitting right next to Terri. I again raised her window shade, which had again been pulled down, so Terri could at least see the garden and the sunshine from her lounge chair. I also turned the radio on in her room before I left so that when she was alone, she would at least have some music for comfort.
- Just before I left the room, I leaned over Terri and spoke right into her ear. I told her I was very sorry I had not been able to stop the feeding tube from being taken out and I was very sorry I had to leave her alone. But I reminded her that Jesus would stay right by her side even when no one else was there with her. When I mentioned Jesus’ Name, Terri again laughed out loud. She became very agitated and began loudly trying to speak to me again. As Terri continued to laugh and try to speak, I quietly prayed in her ear, kissed her, placed her in Jesus’ care, and left the room.
FURTHER YOUR DECLARANT SAYETH NOT.
I hereby declare, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. Executed this 22nd day of March, 2005, at Seminole, Florida.
BARBARA J. WELLER
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 25nd day of March, 2005.
Suffice it to say that I’m disgusted that Terri has been starving to death for a week now, and they finally pull this out? I figured this was already on the table. Nevertheless, I doubt it’s going to make any difference at this point.
See articles from the past week about this:
Sarasota Herald Tribune
The Age (Australia)
Christianity Today
NewsMax
The Boston Phoenix
Many more: Google and Google News
Jody says:
Beth, This story was passed around the ‘net a week ago when it happened. And although I have no doubt that Terri responded somehow, it is a difficult thing to prove. I think the attorneys were smart not to mention this during the time that they still had legal recourse because it does seem so fanciful. Terri going to have tube removed, speaks and tells everyone her wishes? The Schindler’s have had to deal with a lot of bad publicity regarding their hope and view of their daughter’s condition; this story would have added no credibility to that and most likely have diminished it. Now that they have no more options, it is worth trying but it is still a long shot…
Jody says:
Just letting you know, I was able to post a comment on your site using my usual browser (firefox) and no problems at all — yay! :grin:
Beth says:
Yeah, I know it’s a week old and that it does seem too good to be true…which is why I didn’t post on it in the last week. I’m just putting it up because it’s in play now. I actually do believe it’s possible, but I have to ask why the question wasn’t asked of her before…?
I’m unbelievably cynical at this point; I think the Schindlers’ lawyers are way out of their element. That said, I haven’t given up hope, as long as the Schindlers are willing to keep fighting. If they have hope, I can too.
And I’m glad your comments worked! :grin:
Brad S says:
Beth,
When this is all said and done, we on the side of Terri Schiavo and the pro-lifers need to ask a couple of questions:
1. What would have happened to the outcome if, instead of asking the Congress/President to intervene, 1000 pro-Terri protestors from the beginning had tried to break into the hospice and feed Terri? Earlier this week, an average of 10/day had been arrested for trying to give Terri a cup of water, including young girls! Usually, Civil Disobedience in this manner gets attention, and more often than not desired results.
2. Could the Schindlers have been intimidated into letting Randall Terry be their “spokesman?” Randall Terry, in addition to being a fraud and a charlatan, is one BIG lightning rod. This is one big reason why this whole tragedy had become another (disgusting) venue to “stick it to the Christian Right.”
We’re going to be licking our wounds for awhile. Not to mention looking helpless while the Supreme Court upholds Oregon’s assisted-suicide law and kicking the Ten Commandments out of public places. It’s a pig-pile now.
BushRocks says:
Gee, I hope that isn’t the “Jodi” babe of MS, posting here. :twisted:
Beth, Terri was murdered and the USA violated Geneva Conventions in the State of Florida. I hate that state now. I hope they get destroyed by a hurricane. I have studied the records and I know the deal about Justice’s zeal. MS told Larry King Live that he didn’t know what Terri’s wishes were but this was “we” want. It was a Freud slip, no doubt about it. MS also is on court record saying Terri felt “pain”. Terri was found face down by the paramedics when they got there. MS called her father first, not 911.MS knew how to do CPR, did he do it? Nope. His time line doesn’t even fight, according to the police report. 21 mins to get there. A brain dies in 14 mins. A person is DOA in 14 mins. Terri wanted a divorce. She also had broken bones all over her body and her cat scan does not match the one she had when she first entered into the ER that morning. The whole case makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t think it is over, I think DOJ is working on it. We all know how slow they are.
Anywho, it should have never happened. Like I told you earlier, we have people in America that don’t know how to read and will add ignorance is supreme no way to beat brains. People in America still think she was on a electrical machine. Those were death advocates that put her down with less care than we give our dogs. They made her suffer in pain for 14 long days.Justice denied her water to her mouth with another court order. That inlcuded ice chips and wet swabs to her mouth. What did Justice have to lose, since he denied her swallowing tests to prove to the world, nothing. If Terri was given water to her mouth, she would have either choked to death or she would have lived. I think she would have lived since she could swallow and her caregivers stated on the record they fed her jello and pudding behing MS back. He terrorized them all. He did two DNR’s on her. One went unchecked by DCF in 2003 when she was at Morton Plant. Dr Cranford who diagnosed her as PVS is on the record that mentally handicapped people don’t have constitutional rights. George Felos is on the record that he thinks the Jews in Germany that were slaughtered did so willingly as sacrificial lambs to bring our society into a new era. What happened down there is creepy.
It was criminal and an innocent handicapped brain damaged woman was murder by that death factory, Sunocoast. They have been under DHH since 1997 and owe the USG millions of dollars for brokering bodies. Hospice is not a death factory, it assists people when they die, usually takes a few weeks, up to six weeks, at the longest. Terri was there for 5 years. :shock:
I am going to drop it, it makes me so mad. DOJ is working on it. This will not go unpunished. No way. :!:
BushRocks says:
Edit to correct spelling and to add a few more swings. :evil:
It was criminal and an innocent handicapped brain damaged woman was murdered by that death factory, Suncoast. They have been under investigation by DHH since 1997 and owe the USG millions of dollars for brokering bodies. Hospice is not a death factory, it assists people when they die, usually takes a few weeks, up to six weeks, at the longest. Terri was there for 5 years. Suncoast murdered Terri against her will.
I am going to drop it, it makes me so mad. DOJ is working on it. This will not go unpunished. No way. :!:
Just had to edit. I get so mad when I think about it, I can’t even type straight. The details and evidence in this case is chilling. Those acts would embarrass John Gotti that he couldn’t pull that off. Screw them all! Hurricane Terri, next season. You watch. :mrgreen:
I am leaving out alot of very important facts. I have to let it go and leave it in the hands of our very capable Federal Government, or God will handle it, one way or the other. :!: