The "Sadness, Never To Be Forgotten, But With A Story To Be Learned By All!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Yesterday ended much like any other day except for the fact that it was International Drug Overdose Awareness Day.  A day to be remembered by many who have had friends or relatives leave us long before their life should have ended.  Pennsylvania has been one of the leading states in overdose deaths in recent years and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 5,172 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania last year which was a 16% jump in deaths from the 4,444 overdoses in 2019.  An estimated 93,000 overdose deaths were reported in the United States in 2020 which was a 29% increase from the previous year.  That's 93,000 people who could have worked in factories or grocery stores or been teachers or doctors or run for President of the United States.  93,000 PEOPLE!  Why did they have to die?  Why couldn't we have saved their lives?   Why weren't they worth saving?  Did we really try?  The story in the newspaper told of one young man who lived in Manheim Township where I live.  He was a graduate of Manheim Township High School where I taught school for 33 years.  I never had the chance to know the young man, but I'm sure he wasn't much different than just about every other young man in high school.  It was said that he was a great ice hockey player much like my youngest son.  He was a multi-sport student-athlete who had no signs as to what awaited him after graduating from MTHS.  Chad "Bomber" Neiss was a great hockey player, brother and student.  But...he had demons that also filled his days and nights.  He eventually served jail time.  His final jail term saw him write an entry in his personal journal telling how he was going to stay clean.  He wrote that he was going to stay in the present time, no matter how hard it was.  He hoped to stay clean.  But, his demons won out and he died two days later from an overdose in his bedroom at his parent's home in Manheim Township.  Drug testing found pure fentanyl in his body.  The "Bomber" was 25 years old!  25 years old!!  OMG!  How awful! Not just for him but for all who loved him...his Mom and Dad...his brother.  I find it hard to type this with eyes filled with tears for his family and friends.  

Brother Hunter, Mother Dana and Dad Chad holding
Shirt #8 which belonged to Chad "Bomber" Neiss

I have two sons and a daughter.  It could have happened to one of them!   Shortly after Chad died his hockey friends formed an ice hockey team that reached the championship game of it's league tournament at the Lancaster Ice Rink last winter.  They were playing for Chad.  Chad was a good student at Penn State Berks, but got caught up in the partying scene where alcohol led to marijuana which led to stronger drugs.  Chad was arrested twice and had eight stints at six drug rehab facilities.  By early 2020 he seemed to be doing well.  Then on March 13, 2020 he was found unresponsive behind the wheel of a car in front of his home.  An officer revived him with naloxone, a drug to treat overdoses.  He was arrested and spent three months in prison.  His demons had returned!  But, since his arrest had violated his probation from an earlier arrest in State College, PA, he had to spend an additional three months at Centre County Correctional Facility.  He then went to a drug rehab program before being released.  His certificate upon being released congratulated him on passing the program September 30.  His mother picked him up at State College and drove him home.  By 10:29 that evening he had texted back and forth 21 times with a friend.  Soon after, the friend was in front of his house.  After Chad died, packets of heroin or fentanyl were found in his bedroom.  Police traced those packets back to his friend who was in contact with him on his way home.  The friend was charged with drug delivery resulting in death which had a penalty of 20 to 40 years in prison.  His case has not gone to trial yet!  Lancaster County had the highest rate of filing the charge of drug delivery resulting in death.  Lancaster now has a special program to help reduce deaths from opioids and herion.  It will never bring back the "Bomber", but perhaps it might keep a few others from suffering the same result that Chad did.  Something has to be done to keep fentanyl off the streets.  It is 100 times more potent than morphine and up to 50 times stronger than heroin.  It leads to a fatal addiction  in many.  It comes from foreign labs, through Mexico, into the United States and is sold on the illegal drug market.  Chad wanted to be part of a professional sports team in marketing or public relations.  Those ambitions will never be reached due to his individual choice.  Could anything have been done differently to prevent Chad's death.  It is doubtful.  It was his choice to do what he did.  Drugs draw you to the depths of destruction and don't release their grip until death.  Hunter recently played in a men's Championship hockey game where he scored the wining goal.  It was said that Chad was on the ice that night with him.  A scholarship has been set up at Lancaster Ice Rink in memory of Chad Neiss II.  

Chad Neiss II

The inaugural Chad Neiss II Memorial Gold Outing will be held soon with the proceeds split between the scholarship and the Lancaster Ice Rink.  Chad's mother, Dana has hopes to volunteer at drug rehab facilities in Lancaster County.  Chad Sr., a longtime guitar player, has begun writing songs about his departed son.  One such song is called "The Light" and tells the struggles Chad faced in his life and is now being freed of them through his death.  One verse goes..."Heaven's now my home.  The suffering is gone.  God's now by my side.  I'm right where I belong."   Lyrics that can never be forgotten!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.