From Angel's to Devil's 1991-1993

We were living in New Hyde Park, a suburb of Long Island when Lauren started exhibiting signs that she may be schizophrenic. She came home from school one day when she was 15 and announced she did not have to look both ways when she crossed the street because the angels where watching over her. When I realized she was serious I took her to see a psychiatrist recommended by the school. He spoke to her for a 1/2 hour or so and diagnosed her with Schizophrenia. He got the diagnosis right but the Melleril  he prescribed really didn't help with the voices she kept hearing.  One psychiatrist after another we went through EEG's and psychotropic meds to see what would work.  When Lauren told one doctor she was seeing the angels he put her on a narcotic because he said he thought she had neurological dysfunction. Lauren had to be hospitalized numerous times for getting out of control. When Lauren was 17 we moved out the house we were living in New Hyde Park. We lived with  Bob and Raymond.  I was leaving Bob and Ray my son was attending Queens college and liked the closeness of the house in New Hyde Park to the campus. Everyone was ok with the living arrangements and since the house I was renting only had two bedrooms it made sense. I bought a sofa bed in the den for Raymond whenever he wanted to stay with us. By the time Lauren was nineteen, the angels were looking like devils to her.  I was one of those devils.  One such weekend, we were with friends when she had a psychotic episode.  One of the friends we were staying with was also an administrator in an adult home as I was. We recognized the glazed over eyes, nonsensical speech and I called 911.  She screamed from the ambulance as they were taking her to Stony brook Hospital in Long Island as she pointed at me  "she is the devil!!'   Lauren's life was spinning out of control. She was afraid. She was angry. The medication surely  was not working.