Physician Who Examined Schiavo for Over 10 Hours--Critical of Autopsy Report

To: National Desk

Contact: Dr. William Hammesfahr, 727-461-4464

CLEARWATER, Fl., June 19 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Dr. William Hammesfahr,
nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work in Medicine, has been recognized by
agents for Medicare, the federal government, and others for new approaches to
helping the brain injured.

Dr. Hammesfahr has been identified in helping patients with chronic brain
injuries from many causes actually leave long term disability, and return to
work. Dr. Hammesfahr, was identified by Judge Susan Kirkland, for the State of
Florida Department of Health, in her judicial ruling in which, for the State of
Florida, Department of Health, found that he was "the first physician to restore
deficits caused by stroke."

Dr. Hammesfahr has released the following statement in response to the autopsy
report on Terri Schindler Schiavo:

We have seen a lot on the autopsy of Terri Schindler Schiavo in recent days,
that I feel needs to be addressed. To ignore these comments will allow future
"Terri Schiavo's" to die needlessly after the wishes of clinicians and family
are ignored.

Considering that there were so many physicians and therapists who were willing
to step forward to treat Terri Schiavo, from university based practitioners to
those in private practice, it clearly shows that the mainstream medical
community across the board, those involved in treating patients, knew that they
could help Terri.

The record must be set straight. As we noted in the press, there was no heart
attack, or evident reason for this to have happened (and certainly not of
Terri's making).

Unlike the constant drumbeat from the husband, his attorneys, and his doctors,
the brain tissue was not dissolved, with a head of just spinal fluid. In fact,
large areas were "relatively preserved."

The purpose of the therapies offered by so many, from major universities, brain
injury centers, and from private practice physicians, is to improve and restore
quality of life, and function, which the mainstream medical community clearly
tried to get to her.

I have had a chance to look at Dr. Nelson's analysis of the brain tissue, and
essentially, as a clinician, these are my thoughts.

The autopsy results confirmed my opinion and Dr. Maxfield's opinions, that the
frontal areas of the brains, the areas that deal with awareness and cognition
were relatively intact. To use Dr. Nelson's words, "relatively preserved." In
fact, the relay areas from the frontal and front temporal regions of the brain,
to the spinal cord and the brain stem, by way of the basal ganglia, were
preserved, thus the evident responses which she was able to express to her
family and to the clinicians seeing her or viewing her videotape. The Spect scan
confirmed these areas were functional and not scar tissue, and that was
apparently also confirmed on Dr. Nelson's review of the slides. Dr. Maxfield's
estimates of retained brain weight were apparently accurate, although there may
have been some loss of brain weight due to the last two weeks of dehydration.


read the rest of the article here:

http://www.earnedmedia.org/tf0619.htm

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