The Schiavo issue

[SacTown Chronic]

The autopsy is out

An autopsy on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding that she had massive and irreversible brain damage and was blind, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

So how exactly does a blind person respond to visual stimuli again? I seem to recall this claim being made frequently.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Well, actually, blind comes in many variations. Light and shadow sensitivity is fairly common among people who are "totally blind." My friend Mike, who is "legally blind," can't see well enough to drive or ride a bike, but his limited vision (far right side and very blurry, left eye completely blind) allows him to walk most places, read with magnification, and comment on my yellow shirt. He doesn't use a cane (he should, curbs can be a bitch with no depth perception,) or a guide dog. Most people have no idea he can't see them.
My friend Debbie, who is completely blind from birth, shocked the hell out of us one day at rehearsal when she asked, "Who turned out the lights?" This, from a woman with no pupils!

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Fair enough. All I really have to go by is the wording of the article which states that "the vision centers of her brain were dead, meaning she was blind." It seemed logical to assume that if the vision center of her brain is dead, that it meant total blindness. I could be wrong though.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The brain is highly adaptive, especially when it comes to the senses. It's very possible that even if the vision centers were dead, neighboring areas eventually adapted to process at least a portion of the visual data her retinas would have still been receiving.

[Prudence]

They also said her brain was half the size it should have been. And the medical examiner said, "This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons."

[Gn2Dlnd]

No, she was definitely a veg. But it's possible that she responded to visual stimuli.

[wendybeth]

Well, it's just a darn good thing they killed her, then! I mean, half a brain? Blind? She was obviously just taking up space.

Sorry- but I still have problems with their methodology and such, and stating that she had severe impairments does nothing to change that.

[Scrooge McSam]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

The brain is highly adaptive, especially when it comes to the senses. It's very possible that even if the vision centers were dead, neighboring areas eventually adapted to process at least a portion of the visual data her retinas would have still been receiving.

My understanding earlier was that her cerebral cortex was gone. If that turns out not to be true, what you suggest is possible.

But if the cortex is gone, I don't see how vision would be possible.

[MickeyLumbo]

please post my autopsy report when i'm gone