This article made me cry. Most people don't know the circumstances of Terri Schiavo's hospitalization and subsequent media circus surrounding the fight between her husband and her parents.



http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...639869,00.html



There is a serious medical issue under all this, and how much have we heard about it? The media would rather sensationalize and politicize the situation, but there is something that has been pretty much ignored.



As a diagnosed bulimic, who has suffered from this for way too long, and one who genuinely feels for not only Terri but every other human being coping (or not even coping) with this eating disorder, as well as others, I urge those who suffer from an ED to look at what you're doing, and look at what might happen. I urge you to help yourself while you're still conscious enough to do so.



Those of you who don't suffer from an ED still need to be made aware. How many times has the media really mentioned how Terri was put in this state? Some people are under the impression that her husband hurt her or strangled her, but it was really because she was a victim of this disease and was left undiagnosed.

That is so heartbreaking... Thank for the story VeganKat - I had no idea her original illness that triggered this was bulimia. So sad that no one is talking about the source of her condition and how many people are effected by eating disorders in REALLY serious ways. It seems to me more discussions about that would be really beneficial.

Wow -- all this debate about the ethics of the feeding tube and the media doesn't even bother to mention HOW she got the way she is. I think EDs are a much more important issue than "who has the right to choose."

That's interesting. I read the BBC news, and every story about Terry mentions that her collapse was brought on by an eating disorder. Weird.

weird to me as well. i know of the source of her illness--it has/had been in the papers in chicago. ironic--she had an ED and now they are debating as to whether she should be let to starve to death. not being callous at all. people should be made aware of so many aspects of ED's and are oblivious in a LOT of cases. sad sad sad

I had heard a brief mention about her ED, but forgot about it... thanks a whole bunch for the story and the clarification! I read up a little further on the case last night...what is everyone's opinion on the circumstances? I really wish they would reinsert her feeding tubes and have been praying for it, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen right now unless a miracle takes place.

Thanks for posting this. The cause for her illness was never mentioned in any of the articles that I've read.



What horrible, horrible irony!

Her eating disorder has been mentioned in several of the articles I've read -- I guess we are all just reading different sources. *shrug*

Some of the heresay from the side of her parents say that she might have been strangled by her husband.



If it wasn't that it is kind of sad that her life could have been saved by a banana.



That is how the teenager on the Atkins diet died. She depleted all of her potassium and her heart stopped working.

That belittles her entire disorder. A banana would not have saved her life. A self-esteem that allowed her to eat properly without vomitting would have.

I do think this is sad. I never saw the info about her ED before. Everything seems to be directed at the husband. More importantly, it is the self-esteem issue and other issues surrounding it. I've heard many different stories and something about the husband only out for $$$. Though, I just pray for Terri and all involved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Mar24.html

The above article is like a biography of who she was, including the issues with her weight. It's nice to read something about who she really was.



It's very sad it ended this way.

But that's because her parents are in denial about the fact that she was bulimic. She was never formally diagnosed, but she was known to have serious problems with her eating habits.



All bulimics are warned of the possibility of a coma or even sudden death due to various problems associated with bulimia. I really lean towards bulimia as the cause of her PVS (if they're even calling it that anymore. ).

Those are the side effects? Didn't know that... knew that it could lead to serious medical conditions, but didn't know what specifically it could.



Although almost everything I've read has said that she suffered from it... seen on tv, no, read yes.

It's a serious medical condition in itself.

Everything I'd read about her mentioned her ED at one point or another. Its all so terribly ironic. Interestingly, I've also read that she suffered from a "cardiac arrest" from some sources and a "heart attack" or "myocardial infarction" in others. Not the same thing, by any stretch of the imagination. But, of course, the media decides what is relevant and what can be simplified or omitted.

Also here: https://www.veggieboards.com/boards/s...=terry+schiavo

You guys know what really upset me today? I was reading People magazine (I know, I know, spare me) and there was an article about this controversy that's brewing over Kirstie Alley's tv show, "Fat Actress," which last week apparently featured a trainer suggesting to Kirstie that she induce vomiting to lose weight. Ha ha! Real funny! Fortunately she is being called out on it by some folks, but I just thought this was so ironic and disgusting considering all the Terri Shiavo stuff that's been in the news recently.



It's a sick world we live in, folks.

For risk of getting off topic, I saw the first episode of that show. I interpreted it as an over-the-top satire. For example, she calls a woman who is a weight loss expert to the stars and she advises binging, but not to use her finger but something really elegant and classy. Then she advises eating cigarettes. It's illustrating hollywood's insane response to weight. But I don't think most people will take it as an extreme satire because the issue is too sensitive for many people and I totally understand people who just find it offensive.

I get what you're saying, Thalia, but I think what keeps it from being funny for me is that Kirstie Alley really IS in a tizzy now about how she gained so much weight and is making a big public show about how she's going to lose it all by a certain date. So she actually IS giving in to all the hollywood pressure and exploiting that, etc. If it was sort of just meant as a general "**** you" to Hollywood and she wasn't actually dieting, it probably wouldn't bug me so much.

^^Yeah, that is the irony of it, isn't it?

i dunno i like Kirstie and i think she's pretty brave to put her weight problem out in the open like that instead of taking time off for "rehab" like other actors do and hiding out in some remote place away from the media til they get thin again.



anyway i haven't seen the show but from what i can tell from interviews with her and ads for the show, she's really making a scene of what a big deal hollywood makes of weight and how she's just a normal person who gained weight and shouldn't be denied work because of it. and she makes a good point, that "fat" male actors get work but women don't (with a few exceptions)



anyway back on topic i think the whole thing with Terri Schaivo is very sad and unfortunate but the more i see of her on tv the more i think "she's not there anymore" i mean i think her spirit has already passed over, probably years ago, that or she's stuck in between. as much as i don't approve of "mercy" killing, i am sort of torn cause i think she should be allowed to let go of her body, but not necessarily in this way.

and you're right, i never heard anything about her ED, i'd been wondering what caused her brain damage, i figured it was like a car accident or something like that and was wondering why they never mention it on the news stories.



i hope this story at least will help some people who are proud of their ED's to realize what they're doing to themselves and maybe seek help before they put themselves in situations like this (i realize not everyone knows they have ED's or have them on purpose i mostly mean the ones who boast about how little they ate and how little they weigh like they've accomplished something fantastic and know they're doing bad things to their bodies for looks).

No, I never realized it was an ED that put her in the hospital. Scary stuff.

It seems like if you read newpapers or online articles, you get a deeper understanding of the story. The news clips on TV are less informative, in my opinion.

I really think that this event could be a huge, huge device in preventing future eating disorders from happening. Most people who develop tendancies towards eating disorders DO NOT think of the serious consequences- what happened to Terri Schiavo shows a rare but devastating possibility.

I agree, RBM. One of the biggest factors in my active bulimia recovery is the desire not to do to myself or my family what Terri's bulimia did to herself and her own family. I mean, I'm not blaming her, she obviously needed help that she wasn't recieving, especially since her friends knew about her problem (and her parents are in denial ), but maybe hearing about this will make other people, like I have, stop in their tracks and think about what they're really doing and what might happen as a result.



My dad was watching Geraldo Live (yeah, Fox News ), and Geraldo dedicated a huge segment of his show to Terri and bulimia. It was really good, but prompted my parents to mention sending me to Renfrew or some such in-patient center. They can't send me away, as I'm an adult and wouldn't consent, of course, and I think I've made very huge steps, at least in the purging department. I need to work on eating enough food, now, before I replace bulimia with something else.