In The Spirit...

20 minutes ago Top Stories - AP


By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41.


Schiavo died at 9:05 a.m. at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in what was easily the longest, most bitter — and most heavily litigated — right-to-die dispute in U.S. history.


The feud between the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and their son-in-law continued even after her death: The Schindlers' advisers complained that Schiavo's brother and sister had been at her bedside a few minutes before the end came, but were not there at the moment of her death because Michael Schiavo would not let them in the room.


"And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment," said the Rev. Frank Pavone, a Roman Catholic priest. He added: "This is not only a death, with all the sadness that brings, but this is a killing, and for that we not only grieve that Terri has passed but we grieve that our nation has allowed such an atrocity as this and we pray that it will never happen again."


Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, announced the death but had no immediate comment beyond that. Michael Schiavo's whereabouts were not immediately known.


"She's got all of her dignity back. She's now in heaven, she's now with God, and she's walking with grace," Michael Schiavo's brother, Scott Schiavo, said at his Levittown, Pa., home.


Outside the hospice, a small group of activists sang hymns, raising their hands to the sky and closing their eyes. After the tube that supplied a nutrient solution was disconnected, protesters had streamed into Pinellas Park to keep vigil outside her hospice, with many arrested as they tried to bring her food and water.


Dawn Kozsey, 47, a musician who was among those outside Schiavo's hospice, wept. "Words cannot express the rage I feel," she said. "Is my heart broken for this? Yes."


Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 after her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance that was believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. Court-appointed doctors ruled she was in a persistent vegetative state, with no real consciousness or chance of recovery.


She left no written instructions, but her husband argued that his wife told him long ago she would not want to be kept alive artificially. His in-laws disputed that, saying that would have gone against her Roman Catholic faith, and they contended she could get better with treatment. They said she laughed, cried, responded to them and tried to talk.


Over and over, Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer said that Michael Schiavo had convinced him that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to be kept alive under such conditions. The feeding tube was removed with the judge's approval March 18 — the third time food and water were cut off during the seven-year legal battle.


Florida lawmakers, Congress, President Bush and his brother Gov. Jeb Bush tried to intervene on behalf of her parents, but state and federal courts at all levels repeatedly ruled in favor of her husband.


The case focused national attention on living wills, prompting perhaps thousands of Americans to discuss their end-of-life wishes with their loved ones and put their instructions in writing. The dispute also stirred a furious debate over the proper role of government in such life-and-death decisions. And it led to allegations that Republicans in Congress were pandering to the religious right and violating their own political principles of limited government and states' rights.


In Washington, the president said he was saddened by the death.


"The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak," Bush said. "In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in favor of life."


In Rome, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's office for sainthood, called the removal of the feeding tube "an attack against God."


An autopsy is planned, with both sides hoping it will shed more light on the extent of her brain injuries and whether she was abused by her husband, as the Schindlers have argued. In what was the source of yet another dispute between the husband and his in-laws, Michael Schiavo will get custody of the body and plans to have her cremated and bury the ashes in the Schiavo family plot in Pennsylvania.





A funeral Mass, sought by the Schindlers, was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday.

Gov. Jeb Bush said that millions of people around the world will be "deeply grieved" by her death but that the debate over her fate could help others grapple with end-of-life issues.

"After an extraordinarily difficult and tragic journey, Terri Schiavo is at rest," he said. "I remain convinced, however, that Terri's death is a window through which we can see the many issues left unresolved in our families and in our society. For that, we can be thankful for all that the life of Terri Schiavo has taught us."

Although several right-to-die cases have been fought in the courts across the nation in recent years, none had been this public, drawn-out and bitter.

Six times, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. As Schiavo's life ebbed away earlier this month, Congress rushed through a bill to allow the federal courts to take up the case. President Bush signed it March 21. But the federal courts refused to intervene.

Described by her family as a shy woman who loved animals, music and basketball, Terri Schindler grew up in Pennsylvania and battled a weight problem in her youth.

"And then when she lost all the weight, she really became quite beautiful on the outside as well. What was inside she allowed to shine out at that point," a friend, Diane Meyer, said in 2003.

She met Michael Schiavo — pronounced SHY-voh — at Bucks County Community College near Philadelphia in 1982. They wed two years later. After they moved to Florida, she worked in an insurance agency.

But recurring battles with weight led to the eating disorder that was blamed for her collapse at 26. Doctors said she suffered severe brain damage when her heart stopped beating because of a potassium imbalance. Her brain was deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes before she was revived, doctors estimated.

Because Terri Schiavo did not leave written wishes on her care, Florida law gave preference to Michael Schiavo over her parents. But the law also recognizes parents as having crucial opinions in the care of an incapacitated person.

A court-appointed physician testified her brain damage was so severe that there was no hope she would ever have any cognitive abilities.

Still, her parents, who visited her nearly every day, reported their daughter responded to their voices. Video showing the dark-haired woman appearing to interact with her family was televised nationally. But the court-appointed doctor said the noises and facial expressions were reflexes.

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

However, that money, which Michael Schiavo received in 1993, has all but evaporated, spent on his wife's care and the court fight. Just $40,000 to $50,000 remained as of mid-March.

Michael Schiavo's lawyers suggested the Schindlers wanted to get some of the money. And the Schindlers questioned their son-in-law's sincerity, saying he never mentioned his wife's wishes until winning the malpractice case.

The parents tried to have Michael Schiavo removed as his wife's guardian because he lives with another woman and has two children with her. Michael Schiavo refused to divorce his wife, saying he feared the Schindlers would ignore her desire to die.

Schiavo lived in her brain-damaged state longer than two other young women whose cases brought right-to-die issues to the forefront of public attention.

Karen Quinlan lived for more than a decade in a vegetative state — brought on by alcohol and drugs in 1975 when she was 21; New Jersey courts let her parents take her off a respirator a year after her injury. Nancy Cruzan, who was 25 when a 1983 car crash placed her in a vegetative state, lived nearly eight years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that her parents could withdraw her feeding tube.

Schiavo's feeding tube was briefly removed in 2001. It was reinserted after two days when a court intervened. In October 2003, the tube was removed again, but Gov. Jeb Bush rushed Terri's Law through the Legislature, allowing the state to have the feeding tube reinserted after six days. The Florida Supreme Court later struck down the law as unconstitutional interference in the judicial system by the executive branch.

Nearly two weeks ago, the tube was removed for a third and final time.

___

Associated Press reporters Allen Breed, Vickie Chachere, Mark Long, Mitch Stacy and Ron Word contributed to this story.

An eight year old wrote this for his third-grade Sunday school teacher, who asked her students to explain God:

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes these to put in the place of the ones who die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn't make grownups, he just makes babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to walk and talk. He can just leave that up to the mothers and fathers. I think it works out pretty good.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, 'cause some people, like preachers and things, pray other times besides bedtimes, and Grandpa and Grandma pray every time they eat, except for snacks. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio and watch TV on account of this. 'Cause God hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears unless he has thought of a way to turn it down.

God sees and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time asking for things that aren't important, or go over parents' heads and ask for something they said you couldn't have. It doesn't work anyway.

From A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

Sometimes I get so sick of it !
I transport disabled and elderly passengers for a living. Since I'm on the van for approx. 10 hrs a day, I have no access to a microwave. Therefore, I'm stuck with a cold lunch. The problem with that is, I always end up with a soggy sandwich due to trying to keep it cold! I know that I could bring everything separate, but I get bored with the same things all the time. So I buy a lunch, which gets tiring sometimes, not to mention expensive!

Just had to post this! It's my favorite time of year! Happy Spring!

The Legend of Easter Lily




Loveliest flower was I to see,
In the garden of Gethsemane.
My head erect, my pure white face
Such a delight for all to embrace.

For all who entered the garden gate,
I'd boldly lift my head and wait
'Til they gazed upon my beauty fair.
All who came would see me there.

On the night before he was crucified,
Jesus entered. He passed me by.
He wept and prayed in silence there.
All my friends bowed their heads in prayer.

In pity and sorrow they gathered round,
Except for me. I could not be found.
I would not join in. I was much too proud.
Bow my lovely head? No, I would not allow!

News spread quickly, the very next day.
All 'round the garden, I heard everyone say
Jesus was going to be crucified.
Oh, I wanted to run. I wanted to hide!

I'd been much too vain to hang my head low,
That first Good Friday; long, long, ago.
I would not join the others who prayed with our King.
Now, how can I bear such a sorrowful thing?

No longer will I proudly face the sun.
My head will hang lowly, ashamed of what I've done.
My blossom forever will down turned be,
In honor of Jesus; at Gethsemane.


~ Dot McGinnis ~

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Week 112
10 hours, 49 minutes ago

I say ... and you think ... ?

I’m waiting:: for you!
Speak:: softly
Roger...:: dodger
Knock knock:: on wood, baby...
Hybrid:: automobile
Can’t believe my eyes:: wow!
Hooked on:: a feeling...
Pontificate:: pompous
Slime:: green
Unwelcome::guest

Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year



Easter is rabbits and colored eggs and fancy dresses, but to Christians around the world it is much, much more. Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year.

Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection, as described in the Bible, means that just as Jesus rose from the grave, Christians also can receive new life after death. The Easter holiday celebrates this belief.

Easter is the center of an entire season of the Christian year. The season begins with Lent, a 40-day period before Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians prepare for Easter. Lent is considered a time for penance, a time to show sorrow for sins and to seek forgiveness. One way many Christians show their sorrow is by fasting, which limits the kinds and amounts of food that are eaten. While not all Christians fast during Lent, those that do pattern their behavior after Jesus who prayed and fasted in the wilderness before his death on the cross.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and most churches hold specials services in the evening. At many of those services ashes are placed on the foreheads of worshipers to remind them to have a humble spirit. Lent continues until Holy Week, which is the final week of Lent and recalls the events leading to Jesus' death and resurrection. The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which celebrates the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where people spread palm branches and clothing before him.

Good Friday is the day Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. Many churches hold services from noon until 3 p.m. to symbolize the last three hours of darkness while Jesus suffered on the cross. While Jesus died on the cross and was buried, he rose from the dead, and that is what Easter is all about.

On Easter Sunday Jesus' resurrection is celebrated. According to the Bible, Jesus' friends arrived at grave to find the stone moved and an angel standing nearby saying that Jesus' body was no longer in the grave that he had been raised from the dead. In many churches outdoor Easter services take place at sunrise to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the dead Christians believe they will rise from the dead into heaven after their death on earth.

Easter is also closely associated with spring. The new plant life that appears in spring symbolizes the new life Christians gain because of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Easter is also considered a day of "white" because newly baptized church members wore white clothes at Easter observances.

Saturday Special

I Say.....You Answer....

Using words that are constantly mentioned during the Easter season, answer with the first word that comes to mind.

1. Peace..... you answer? Joy

2. Passion..... you answer? Christ

3. Forgive..... you answer? Sins

1. Love..... you answer? Christ