David DeLuca of Sicklerville, New Jersey will never know if the Ivermectin prescribed by an out-of-state doctor for his wife would have saved her life. Colleen DeLuca, 62, died of COVID-19 on Oct. 10, at Jefferson Washington Township Hospital in Sewell, New Jersey, before he could get a court order to administer the drug.
Ivermectin has helped in some cases, but across the United States, many hospitals don’t include it in their COVID protocol for treatment and refuse to use it, even as a last effort on a dying patient.
Buffalo, New York attorney Ralph Lorigo has spent the last 11 months handling cases where the family wants to try Ivermectin and must get a court order to force hospitals to allow the drug to be administered. DeLuca had Lorigo draw up papers for court, but because Lorigo doesn’t practice in New Jersey, he instructed DeLuca to find a New Jersey attorney to file the papers and handle the case. However, DeLuca couldn’t find an attorney willing to take on the case.
“They kept telling me the magistrates of New Jersey will never let this go through. Now I’ve got to go through the next 25 years without her,” grief stricken David DeLuca, 62, told The Epoch Times. “My 3-year-old granddaughter kisses her photo at night.”
A Beautiful Life
David fondly recalls the day in 10th grade American History class when the pretty, new girl took a seat near his. Colleen’s family was in the military and she had just moved back from Germany. She was quiet but loved to listen to him talk. By senior year, they were an item and went to senior prom together. And when he got a scholarship to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, he couldn’t imagine life without her. He arranged for housing and a justice of the peace, and in 1977, the two 18-year-old high school sweethearts shocked their families and eloped.
“Everybody said it wasn’t going to work,” David said. “But ultimately my parents came to love her as a daughter.” They went home for Thanksgiving and were loaded down with hand-me-down household items, proving their family was getting used to the union.
He worked two jobs; she helped him type school papers and cooked dinner for David and three college buddies who would become lifelong friends. By the time he graduated, they had three children under the age of four. Altogether, they had six children. The last two were home schooled all the way through graduation. And now there are 10 grandchildren. Colleen loved giggling with her grandchildren and was big on offering hugs.
By Beth Brelje
