- Joined
- Jun 23, 2021
Terri's case was much less straightforward than Archie or Jahi's, because she breathed on her own (couldn't swallow, though, hence the feeding tube) and still had all her brainstem reflexes. She postured, maintained her primitive startle reflex, and could even track things with her eyes. I remember that her father in particular was very convinced that Terri was "in there" and actively responding to commands, while in reality she functioned on a developmental level of a newborn. It's unclear whether she could perceive pain, but there are unsettling videos of her groaning and whimpering as if she really was in some kind of discomfort.
Terri was blind, which was revealed upon her autopsy. She wasn't tracking anything with her eyes, her parents had been selectively releasing snippets of video to make it seem like she was responding to them. They would record three hours waving a balloon in front of her or repeating, "Terri, open your eyes" over and over, and eventually her mindless body would move in a way they could seize upon to pretend she was really in there. Her brain was an atrophied mush.