The Tragedy of Terri Schiavo: A Nurse's View
by Sheila M. Blanchet RN

April 4, 2005

 

As a mother, wife, American citizen and registered nurse I want to say that I am appalled at the death by starvation of Ms. Terri Schiavo. It is based on my 24 years of experience as a registered nurse that I have serious concerns about the quality of the nursing care she received over the years.

Based on what I have read, including sworn statements by a registered nurse and two certified nurse's aides, it appears that Terri Schiavo received unquestioningly substandard nursing care over the years. The nurse testified that she had given Terri thickened liquids, which Terri tolerated and enjoyed, until the husband forbade this. He also forbade any swallowing assessments to be done to see if his wife could be taught to manage oral feeding. Two nurse's aides gave sworn statements that they were instructed not to do range of motion exercises to prevent contractures on Ms. Schiavo; nor were they allowed to place folded washcloths in her hands to prevent these. How did this happen?

As a patient Ms. Schiavo had to have had a nursing care plan based on her individual needs. The nurse's aides caring for her would have received their instructions regarding her care from a registered nurse. Did licensed nurses actually tell the aides not to provide the same standard of care to Ms. Schiavo as would be expected for any other patient? How did they justify this? Where were the Directors of Nursing in all of this? How many nurses and nurse administrators were complicit in this neglectful care? Are there no reporting requirements in Florida? Do legal guardians reign supreme even to the point of demanding nursing neglect?

There is no question that there was evidence of severe nursing neglect of Ms. Schiavo at the time of her death. She had severe contractures, entirely preventable. I understand she also had a bedsore, another sign of nursing neglect. In addition she was missing teeth due to decay. One nurse's aide swore that she was instructed not to brush Ms. Schiavo's teeth or to do mouthcare on her. What nurse or nurses told her that? I'm sure she didn't make it up out of whole cloth.

As if these things were not bad enough, a trip to the American Nurses' Association (ANA) website shows just how much support Ms. Schiavo received from so-called nursing leaders. The association states, falsely, that this was an "end of life" issue, when any nurse would know that prior to the withdrawal of enteral nutrition and hydration Ms. Schiavo was nowhere near the "end of life". In fact, just the opposite was true and that was the problem so far as the husband was concerned. She wouldn't die on her own. Her death had to be brought about by starvation.

In addition the ANA maintains that Ms. Schiavo left instructions about what was to be done, and was in a persistive vegetative state. Both things were in dispute as anyone who has read about this tragic case knows.

The ANA took time to take swipes at the Congress and the President for their involvement in trying to save Terri Schiavo's life. Funny, the ANA loves the Congress and the President when it comes time to fund The Nurse Reinvestment Act which has provided a financial boon to their for profit subsidiary, The American Nurses Credentialing Center. Keep those appropriations coming, but butt out of "private" matters! What a bunch of hypocrites.

The ANA did have good news to share on its site, though. It seems the girls have received a letter from Donald Rumsfeld regarding their concerns about the nursing care of prisoners in Iraq. Poor Terri Schiavo. Her plight would have garnered more sympathy and attention from the American Nurses' Association if she had only been an imprisoned terrorist. But, no. Terri Schiavo's "crime", in the eyes of the ANA, was to be profoundly disabled and unwanted by her guardian. For that she got the death penalty, with the blessings of the ANA. Despicable.

 

Published with permission of the author, Sheila Blanchett

TAKE ACTION

DAWN Ontario, along with Sheila Blanchett, encourage advocates and allies of the rights for people with disabilities to email the American Nurses Association and take them to task for their betrayal of some of the most vulnerable members of society by coming out in favour of death by starvation for Terri Schiavo. The issue is too important to all members of the world's society, as human beings, to let this betrayal pass unremarked upon.

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