Tampa, Fla ? Warning that Terri Schiavo was “fading quickly” and might die at any moment, her parents begged a federal appeals court Tuesday to order the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube reinserted.

David Gibbs III, attorney for parents Bob and Mary Schindler, told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that the 41-year-old woman might die before they could get a chance to fully argue their case that her rights are being violated. The appeal came after a federal judge in Tampa rejected the parents’ emergency request.

“Where, as here, death is imminent, it is hard to imagine more critical and exigent circumstances,” Gibbs said in the appeal filed electronically with the court. “Terri is fading quickly, and her parents reasonably fear that her death is imminent.”

There was no immediate indication of when the appeals court might rule.

Even before the parents’ appeal was filed, the woman’s husband urged the 11th Circuit not to grant an emergency request to restore nutrition.

“That would be a horrific intrusion upon Mrs. Schiavo’s personal liberty,” said the filing by Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos. He filed a response to the Schindlers’ appeal and said he would go to the U.S. Supreme Court if the tube were ordered reconnected.

The Schindlers have been locked for years in a battle with Schiavo’s husband over whether her feeding tube should be disconnected. State courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who insists his wife told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially.

Kelsey Bohlender, right, 34, from Washington, holding her Bible, Randy Bohlender, 37, and their son Grayson, 8, pray in front the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Attorneys for Terri Schiavo filed a notice of appeal with the court Tuesday; the court has not responded.

Late in the afternoon, the Schindlers arrived at the hospice, and Terri’s mother again pleaded with state lawmakers to save her daughter’s life.

“Please, senators, for the love of God, I’m begging you, don’t let my daughter die of thirst,” Mary Schindler said.

With that, she broke down and was escorted away.