Dmitry tends to get tripped up by the vernacular of others.  As I
was driving him home from school this afternoon he told me of a girl
who kept saying "Yo' mama!" to him.

He told me he finally, in exasperation, asked her, "What about my mama?"

If anyone is at all ambivalent regarding Terri Schiavo's
legally-sanctioned murder, and Michael Schiavo's part in it, just read
this affidavit by a nurse who cared for her for over a year.

Here are some paragraphs:

4. It was clear to me at Palm Gardens that all decisions regarding
Terri Schiavo were made by Michael Schiavo, with no allowance made for
any discussion, debate or normal professional judgment. My initial
training there consisted solely of the instruction "Do what Michael
Schiavo tells you or you will be terminated." This struck me as
extremely odd.



5. I was very disturbed by the decision making
protocol, as no allowance whatsoever was made for professional
responsibility. The atmosphere throughout the facility was dominated by
Mr. Schiavo's intimidation. Everyone there, with the exception of
several people who seemed to be close to Michael, was intimidated by
him. Michael Schiavo always had an overbearing attitude, yelling
numerous times such things as "This is my order and you're going to
follow it." He is very large and uses menacing body language, such as
standing too close to you, getting right in your face and practically
shouting.



6. To the best of my recollection, rehabilitation had
been ordered for Terri, but I never saw any being done or had any
reason at all to believe that there was ever any rehab of Terri done at
Palm Gardens while I was there. I became concerned because Michael
wanted nothing done for Terri at all, no antibiotics, no tests, no
range of motion therapy, no stimulation, no nothing. Michael said again
and again that Terri should NOT get any rehab, that there should be no
range of motion whatsoever, or anything else. I and a CNA named Roxy
would give Terri range of motion anyway. One time I put a wash cloth in
Terri's hand to keep her fingers from curling together, and Michael saw
it and made me take it out, saying that was therapy.



7. Terri's
medical condition was systematically distorted and misrepresented by
Michael. When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented. Terri
spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as
"mommy," and "help me." "Help me" was, in fact, one of her most
frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times. Terri would
try to say the word "pain" when she was in discomfort, but it came out
more like "pay." She didn't say the "n" sound very well. During her
menses she would indicate her discomfort by saying "pay" and moving her
arms toward her lower abdominal area. Other ways that she would
indicate that she was in pain included pursing her lips, grimacing,
thrashing in bed, curling her toes or moving her legs around. She would
let you know when she had a bowel movement by flipping up the covers
and pulling on her diaper and scooted in bed on her bottom.



8.
When I came into her room and said "Hi, Terri", she would always
recognize my voice and her name, and would turn her head all the way
toward me, saying "Haaaiiiii" sort of, as she did. I recognized this as
a "hi", which is very close to what it sounded like, the whole sound
being only a second or two long. When I told her humrous stories about
my life or something I read in the paper, Terri would chuckle,
sometimes more a giggle or laugh. She would move her whole body, upper
and lower. Her legs would sometimes be off the bed, and need to be
repositioned. I made numerous entries into the nursing notes in her
chart, stating verbatim what she said and her various behaviors, but by
my next on-duty shift, the notes would be deleted from her chart. Every
time I made a positive entry about any responsiveness of Terri's,
someone would remove it after my shift ended. Michael always demanded
to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in her room
with him. I documented Terri's rehab potential well, writing whole
pages about Terri's responsiveness, but they would always be deleted by
the next time I saw her chart. The reason I wrote so much was that
everybody else seemed to be afraid to make positive entries for fear of
their jobs, but I felt very strongly that a nurses job was to
accurately record everything we see and hear that bears on a patients
condition and their family. I upheld the Nurses Practice Act, and if it
cost me my job, I was willing to accept that.



9. Throughout my
time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused on Terri's death.
Michael would say "When is she going to die?," "Has she died yet?" and
"When is that b**** gonna die?" These statements were common knowledge
at Palm Gardens, as he would make them casually in passing, without
regard even for who he was talking to, as long as it was a staff
member. Other statements which I recall him making include "Can't
anything be done to accelerate her death - won't she ever die?" When
she wouldn't die, Michael would be furious. Michael was also adamant
that the family should not be given information. He made numerous
statements such as "Make sure the parents aren't contacted." I recorded
Michael's statements word for word in Terri's chart, but these entries
were also deleted after the end of my shift. Standing orders were that
the family wasn't to be contacted, in fact, there was a large sign in
the front of her chart that said under no circumstances was her family
to be called, call Michael immediately, but I would call them, anyway,
because I thought they should know about their daughter.



I can't imagine being the Schindlers, and having spent 15 years going through this. 

Dmitry is so sweet, bless him.  Brianna was still here this
afternoon when I picked him up from school, and when we arrived home he
offered to play Memory with her, then watched TV with her. 

Talk about your basic triumph of hope over experience.

I ordered a sewing machine from Amazon. 

There was no shipping on it, and no tax, so I decided to (yet again) take the plunge.

 
Baby kimonos!  Curtains for the dining room!  Adorable Halloween costumes for the grandchildren!

And if the past is a reliable indicator, a rather nice hand-me-down gift for one of the girls. 

We'll see. 

What a day!  This evening Dmitry and I (Don's back was hurting so
he decided to stay home) headed off to help Joe Waybourn celebrate his
16th birthday.  It's actually on Monday, but the party was
tonight, hard on the heels of his and Dan's first soccer game with the
team they've joined.

Unfortunately, their team lost, 11-1.

On the bright side, it was our very own DAN who scored that solitary goal! 

After we'd been there for a bit, Dmitry came in, urgently requesting I come outside . . . he had something to show me.

Puzzled, but willing, I was led outside into the backyard, where I was astounded to see this:

Dmitry was riding a BICYCLE!   
Dan had accomplished what we'd been unable to do . . . not only get him
on one, but riding it.  Granted, he couldn't get going without
Dan's help ("I can't move!") but once underway, he looked good. 

Dan is a heck of an athlete, all things considered.  He recently
earned his purple belt in karate, scored a goal in his first American
soccer game, and taught Dmitry how to ride a bike.    

Tell you who didn't need any lessons on how to ride a bike, and that's Joe, who was zipping madly around the backyard:

Then it was inside the house for presents and birthday cake, where Joe received a cool hunting hat:

Happy birthday, dear Joe!  We're so glad you're here as you turn the Big 1-6. 

Another granddaughter took center stage today as well.

This time literally.  It was the day of what was dubbed a
"pre-recital" for the North Richland Hills dance classes, and was held
after the city Easter egg hunt.  Brianna's class dressed as
chickens, and did a little number entitled "Where's the Chicken in My
Chicken Chow Mein?"

Is she adorable or WHAT?  This is her standing in line, waiting for her class's turn on stage.

I watched three different three and four year old groups dance, and in
each group there was one little girl who got up there and did absolutely nothing.  Zip.  Nada.  Just stood up there with a "deer caught in the headlights" expression through the whole song.

Most frustrating for the parents and grandparents, I'd think.

And speaking of frustrating, this simply drives me (pun!) mad.  It
was ferociously crowded, and after a fruitless attempt to locate a
parking spot Don and I drove across Smithfield Rd. and parked on the
street, in front of a house, then crossed the street and walked on up
to the stage.  This was Too Much Trouble for several people who
instead elected to park their vehicle in any space large enough to
permit it.  Such as right on corners in the parking lot where
there was no parking space. 

After the recital we went out to lunch with some friends, then back to
their house for awhile, while Fred (one of the friends, obviously) set
up Don with his own website, emails, etc.:

There were SEVEN computers in that room! 

Guess who?

Alex and Beth's dogs, Jerry and Scochi (sp?), investigating the new arrival.

Okay, fine, Hannah doesn't look precisely thrilled to be all gussied up, but her Gran thinks she's cute. 

For those following the Schiavo "snipping the puppy dog's tail off an
inch at a time" murder, some godly men have travelled from all over the
country to be down there.  One of them is David Bayly, and he's
got good information and insights on his and his brother, Tim's, blog.  

Here is one of his latest postings (photo at his site):

Meet David, of Spring Hill, FL, who spent Friday afternoon across
the street from the hospice where Terri Schiavo is being starved. He is
joined in the picture above by his mother Brenda, friend Kaitlynn and
sister Beth.

David breathes by ventilator--the result of an accident nine years
ago which left him paralyzed. He speaks softly, though firmly, of his
determination to protest Terri's starvation.

Two years ago David's ventilator malfunctioned in the night leaving
David brain damaged. As a result, he has little short-term memory and
can no longer see to read or control his eye-directed computer.

Doctors urged David's parents not to treat him after the ventilator
malfunction. They persevered and David again lives at home. Several
months ago David was weaned from a feeding tube doctors said he would
not live without. His first meal by mouth in two years was ground pizza.

David's mother asked him earlier today if he would have said he
wanted to live on a ventilator before his initial accident. "No," he
replied.

No one, his mother explained, wants to live on a ventilator before needing one....

Did that horrible Judge Greer creature take out a life insurance policy
on Terri Schiavo?  He seems to be as determined as Michael Schiavo
to see her dead.

You know what movie this imbroglio puts me in mind of?

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"

Heck, just shoot her, then.  I wasn't aware 'ere this - obviously I've been living in a fool's paradise of sorts - that it was ever
legal to starve and thirst someone to death in this country.  It
still doesn't compute with me . . . it's actually legal to starve someone
to death.  Literally.  They are breathing, their heart is
beating all by its little lonesome, there is brain activity, yet The
Judicial Death Gods give the thumbs up to pulling the one single
lifeline necessary . . . their feeding tube.

Two things:

One, this should give new meaning to the term "living will", as we all
need to draw one up and leave it with various relatives and friends,
specifically stating we do NOT want to starve to death, thanks all the
same.  The fact this should even have to be spelled out is
mind-boggling in the extreme.  Which leads me to . . .

Two, if the LORD decides He's pretty much had it with the U.S. of A. and does a Sodom: the Sequel, it'd serve us right.  Any nation that will protect animals from starvation but not its citizens is a nation needing to have brimstone rained down on it.

Pray for the conversion of Michael Schiavo, that the LORD turn his
heart to Him so he'll come to his senses, divorce Terri and let her be
cared for by her family, while he makes an honest woman of she with
whom he's living and had a couple of kids.

Then pray for revival here in America before the sequel starts.

Good for this state representative.  It's one of those "It's
pitiful someone needs to introduce legislation about this" situations,
but sinful humanity being what it is, it's needful.

According to the Dallas Morning News, "Legislation filed by Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, would put an end to
"sexually suggestive" performances at athletic events and other
extracurricular competitions."

"It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking
their behinds and going on, breaking it down," said Edwards, a 26-year
veteran of the Texas House. "And then we say to them, 'don't get
involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there'
and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those
kind of gyrations."

Darn tootin'!