Bush Calls for Investigation into Schiavo Collapse

The Miami Herald reports that Thogmartin told Bush he had gained access to information suggesting that there was a 70-minute delay between when Michael Schiavo first heard a 'bump' in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, 1990 and when he eventually called 911.

The basis for the 70-minute gap is the difference between the time Michael Schiavo's 911 call was logged and public statements he has made regarding the time of Terri's collapse. LifeNews reports,

During the medical malpractice trial that followed Terri's collapse, Michael testified that he found Terri at 5:00 AM. Later, in a 2003 television interview with CNN's Larry King, he said he found Terri at 4:30 AM and did not call 911 until 5:40 AM.

However, in addition to the time discrepancy, Bush may be acting upon Pinellas county medical examiner Dr. Jon Thogmartin’s conclusion that Terri Schiavo most likely did not suffer from an eating disorder and did not collapse due to a heart attack as her husband claimed in a malpractice lawsuit he eventually won. The official autopsy report includes the following two statements related to these issues:

Thus, the main piece of evidence supporting a diagnosis of Bulimia Nervosa is suspect or, at least, can be explained by her clinical condition at the time of the blood draw.

The common term "heart attack" is generally reserved to describe the medical condition of myocardial infarction. Mrs. Schiavo’s heart was anatomically normal without any area of recent or remote myocardial infarction.

-- Our family doesn't understand what led to Terri's collapse. Our family doesn't understand why this major discrepancy in time is not fully understood. When a person is without blood and oxygen to their brain, 70 minutes is a terribly long time when each second counts.

-- With the IME effectively ruling out bulimia, the underlying basis of the malpractice case appears to now be disproved. Our family would encourage Michael Schiavo to do the right thing and return the funds that were paid by the innocent doctors who were sued for Terri's collapse. In addition to returning the funds to the doctors who were sued, we would also ask Michael to bring closure to Terri's death for our family by allowing us to give her a proper Christian burial as required by our faith. To this day, we have no idea where Terri's ashes are. That is particularly hard on our mother.