To: The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, Governor Tom Wolf, The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Donald Trump

Change The Law's To Protect Those Who Suffer from Mental Illness

Change the laws to protect those who suffer from mental illness and brain damage.

Why is this important?

We must change our laws to save the lives of those who suffer from mental illness and brain damage as a result of doctors, work-related injuries, accidents, repeated head trauma concussions, by accident, medical negligence, and bullying.

The police fail to respond when called. In many states, their hands are tied. If a loved one calls and knows that their loved one is intent on suicide, and if they are asked the typical questions by the police, they deny they intend to harm themselves or others, so the police leave.

In my own situation, the police were in fact well aware that my husband suffered brain damage, two frontal lobe strokes, and that I had all the legal documents required to make all decisions regarding his care; signed, witnessed, and notarized by my own state representatives. But the day I called them for help and assistance, they refused to even look at my documents, which I always keep by my front door for emergency assistance. One time they showed up and actually threatened to lock everyone up in my home except me when my husband was having a violent outburst due to the brain damage caused by the doctors in Naples, Florida, who indeed got away with what they did to my husband. First, the doctors offered $500; I guess that is the going rate for a life in Florida. Then, They offered nothing, instead used our deceased 2-year-old daughter as a weapon and used that as the cause of him taking his life on June 4, 2016.

It was never even about money, but being held accountable, admitting they indeed did misread his MRIs, which was proven; that they apologize and acknowledge they made a horrible mistake that resulted in brain damage, which ended with my beloved husband’s suicide. We will never get over the years he suffered, we watched the happy man he was become a shell of a man; a man who believed he was a burden who would forget to eat. He started hearing things, his eyesight going, the constant pain in his head from the holes they drilled into his head.

I took my husband, as did 911 Assistance, to that hospital with discharge after discharge, and the whole time he was slowly dying. The final trip, after he was released yet again - three trips in three days - they told me after I called to complain, sick with worry about why they kept discharging him, the head nurse told me sarcastically that if I was not happy to bring him back, which I did. They asked him his pain level on a scale of 1 to 10; he said a 12. They joked and never even checked him, ordering him a Percocet and left him in the bed. I had no idea he was in fact already dying; his brain had already shifted and hemorrhaged from the subdural hematoma. They in fact never did pay a penny; laughed with smug arrogance, and used our dead child as a weapon against him. Even in death, they disrespected him. The Philadelphia police, of course, covered up their actions that horrible day. Since when do you need a judge’s order for an MRI? You do not, especially when they knew he suffered brain damage and found him before and took him to a mental hospital for care because he was so depressed; brain damaged and depressed.

We must change our laws so that when police are called by anyone in fear of their loved one's life, they know something is terribly wrong. Yet the police do nothing unless the person admits their intent, which nobody intent on suicide ever admits. Then those loved ones rush to get a judge’s order and too many times are too late, their loved ones did end their life. As suicide shatters loved ones and families, my numbers are growing every day. The suffering of those left behind to try to understand what they could have done; even knowing the signs does not help if the police when called walk away only to be called back after the person is gone. My own husband, I never even had the chance to hold him, reassure him he would be ok because I was rushing to do what the Philadelphia police told me to do, because they said to me, call us back when you have a judges order. Internal Affairs covered up what they did. No lawyer would go up against the Philadelphia police due to the change in liability laws. So I lost a husband, my children a father, grandbabies their Pop Pop.

We are losing the war on suicide, and it is a war. We must remove the stigma attached to those who suffer; suffer in silence. I for one am tired of our children ending their lives from bullying; that is another petition. I have to make bullying a federal offense and classified as a hate crime; hold parents accountable for the cruel actions of their children that result in the death of another child by suicide. We must not let the police ignore our pleas for help for our loved ones. They have no problem locking up a drunk but do not do anything when called for assistance for a person intent on suicide.

Please sign and share. It is time for a change in accountability. I had a police officer and a schoolteacher ask me if I could help them since their hands are tied when it comes to mental illness and brain damage. Will I be the voice for them? Yes, I am. I would never want any family to suffer as mine does. My own son was bullied so bad he has been in therapy for over 22 years and has tried 9 times to take his life. I worry everyday will he still be with me when I wake up, and he found his father still alive on our deck with tears rolling down his face as he and my neighbor tried to save him. He was never even taken by ambulance, and the police just left my home as I was rushing to get home to him to take him myself, but it was too late. But it is not too late for others. Please help change our laws. Give the power the police need to listen and act on our fears. It will save many lives.