When Terri Schiavo's parents arrive at her bedside, her face lights up and she coos her approval. When they play music to her, she smiles; when she is sad she cries; when doctors ask her to blink, she obliges.
But Judge George W Greer of Pinellas-Pasco circuit court in Clearwater, Florida, has ruled that in just under four weeks, the feeding tube through which Terri receives sustenance must be removed. After that, she will slowly starve to death.
Her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, says she would have wanted it that way and that death will end 13 years of suffering. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, say it amounts to an execution, which will bring a painful and unwarranted end.
"Terri is not a brain-dead vegetable as characterised by her husband, nor a houseplant as implied by his attorney," said Mr Schindler. "Terri is not on a respirator or any artificial life support.
"She is a living human being and needs to be granted an opportunity to recover."
Mr Schiavo, who now has a girlfriend, a child and a second baby on the way, claims Terri, 39, told him long before her mystery collapse in 1990 that she never wanted to be kept alive by artificial means should such a situation ever arise.
"The case is not about the parents' wishes, it's not about the husband's wishes, it's about Terri's wishes," stressed his lawyer, George Felos.
She was 26 when she suffered a sudden collapse at home in St Petersburg, Florida. Her heart stopped and her brain was temporarily starved of oxygen.
In 1998, five years after winning $1.2m (£750,000) on her behalf from a malpractice lawsuit relating to a medical issue pre-dating her collapse, Mr Schiavo petitioned for Terri to be allowed to die. His assertion that his wife is in a permanent vegetative state has been backed by some doctors and debunked by others.
Meanwhile the Schindlers point to testimony from medical experts that their daughter has the potential to "improve significantly" given rehabilition, and complain that Mr Schiavo has refused her access to such treatment.
In five years of legal twists, the courts have already ruled once that Terri's tube should be removed, leaving her starving for 60 hours in 2001 before the decision was reversed on appeal. But Wednesday's ruling that the tube must come out for good on October 15 may mark the beginning of the affair's closing chapter.
The Schindlers are preparing to launch one last federal appeal to try to save their daughter's life.
"They wanted the chance to try to teach her to eat for herself, but the judge refused," said family spokeswoman Pamela Hennessy. "It's frightening that he has such power over this wonderful woman's life."
The extraordinary case has also been punctuated by dark suspicions, including a request by the Schindlers for a criminal investigation of Mr Schiavo, alleging spousal abuse.
They query the origin of numerous injuries sustained by Terri before her collapse, including a broken back and a neck injury that an examining doctor suggested could have been caused by an attempt at strangulation.
In particular, they are troubled by testimony from some of Terri's caregivers, among them Carla Sauer Iyer who nursed her from April 1995 until August 1996. She said in an affidavit that Mr Schiavo asked her: "When is that bitch [Terri] going to die?"
Mr Felos says the claims, which his client denies, are "garbage". He said: "Terri would be horrified at what's happening now."
In an earlier ruling against the Schindlers by the 2nd district court of appeal, the bench concluded: "It may be unfortunate that when families cannot agree, the best forum we can offer for this private, personal decision is a public courtroom - and the best decision-maker we can provide is a judge."
