Derek Ward was too old to be covered by his mother's insurance, and they struggled to find a doctor who would accept Medicaid.
Lubrano said he only found out his nephew had been off his meds when it was too late.
“(My sister) was paying $200 for a 20-minute visit. She did everything to keep Derek alive,” he said.
n the days before the horrific attack, Derek Ward grew increasingly unstable, he said. By Monday night, the family was urging the mother to call police.
“(Pat) dropped a fork Monday while making dinner, and he got mad at her. He said the noise hurt his head. She was begging him to go to the emergency room, but he wouldn't,” the brother said.
He never raised his hand to her before this. Never had a gun. This is all about mental illness and the difficulty of getting a psychiatrist.
“We tried to convince her to go to police, but she was terrified of the police. She thought they might hurt him.”
Derek Ward did six weeks in a Long Island psych hospital in August 2013, after his maternal grandfather died, said Lubrano.
He started complaining of hearing voices that same night, the reverend said.
But he’d never lifted a finger against his mother, and nobody considered him a violent threat.
“We never got a real diagnosis. We thought it was schizophrenia or depression,” Lubrano said.
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Originally Posted by Nic B
