[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E119-E121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING FAMILIES IMPACTED BY THE NATIONAL OPIOID EPIDEMIC

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. ANN M. KUSTER

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2017

  Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to include in 
the Record the personal stories of families from across the country 
that have been impacted by the opioid and heroin epidemic. In the U.S. 
we lose 129 lives per day to opioid and heroin overdose. In my home 
state of New Hampshire I have learned so many heartbreaking stories of 
great people and families who have suffered from the effects of 
substance use disorder.
  Earlier this year, my colleagues and I were joined by many of these 
courageous families who came to Washington to share their stories with 
Members of Congress and push for action that will prevent overdoses and 
save lives. Since then, we passed both the Comprehensive Addiction and 
Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act to provide much needed 
funding and critical policy changes to fight this epidemic.
  The advocacy of these families truly is so important to leading 
change in Washington and I am proud to preserve their stories.

             Zachary ``Zach'' Len--Bridgewater, New Jersey

       Zach was born on April 20, 1989. He grew up in the ice 
     rink--he started skating at four and never stopped. Zach had 
     a way about him, always smiling and laughing. He was always 
     quiet and shy at first but once he was comfortable he would 
     open up. When Zach went to college, he started to dabble with 
     prescription pills. Zach did a great job hiding his addiction 
     from the world. Eventually, it became clear that he had a 
     problem, and that it was out of control. That is when the 
     cycle of detox and enrollment in treatment centers began. 
     This vicious cycle would take place every couple of months; 
     Zach would be sober for some time, relapse, then start the 
     cycle all over again.
       Zach and his sister's relationship became very rocky during 
     the three years prior to his death. She could read Zach like 
     a book and he knew that. When Zach would use he would stay as 
     far away from his sister as possible and, when he was sober, 
     it was like learning to love a new person. ``I couldn't stand 
     being around him when he was using,'' writes his sister. ``He 
     was nasty and argumentative. I would have done anything in my 
     power to take this burden away from Zach, but he was the only 
     one who had the power to change and overcome his struggles. 
     And he tried. He tried so hard.''
       Zach touched many lives with his strength, determination, 
     courage, and compassion. Zach was an amazing chef, and was 
     able to make anyone laugh. He loved his friends more than 
     anything else and would do anything for them. Everyone wanted 
     the same thing for Zach: they wanted him to be happy and 
     sober, but most of all they wanted Zach to stay alive. Zach 
     was a free spirit and wasn't afraid to be who he was. He 
     loved going to shows with his friends, and supporting their 
     bands. He would even make them continue to jam when everyone 
     else was done. Zach would dance this dorky silly dance, 
     smile, and enjoy life. He never seemed to worry about what 
     the next day would bring.
       But things are not always as they seem. Zach was ashamed of 
     his addiction; he kept it very private and vary rarely would 
     ask for help--he wanted to keep his closest friends out of 
     that part of his life.
       ``It will be three years on January 28, 2017, and the pain 
     doesn't seem to ever go away,'' writes his sister. ``All of 
     us--me, my parents, and Zach's friends are still learning to 
     live this `new normal' life, a life without Zach.''
       ``On that cold Tuesday, we lost a son, a grandson, a 
     brother, a nephew, a cousin, a best friend. I will never get 
     to go to a New York Ranger game like we always talked about, 
     or a Dave Matthews concert. So many things we had always 
     talked about, that now I will experience by myself for the 
     both of us.''
       ``I'm so thankful for all the times we shared and all of 
     the memories we made as kids and as adults. I will treasure 
     them always. They are frozen in time in my mind. Images of 
     Zach at happier times is the way I want to remember him. They 
     say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I couldn't agree 
     more.''

             Daniel Aaron Lucewich--Perth Amboy, New Jersey

       Daniel was considered the Golden Boy in his family. He had 
     a high IQ and was loved by all of his teachers. Growing up, 
     Daniel worked for his aunt and uncle at the family 
     restaurant, Peter Pank; he was often referred to as the 
     ``Prince of the Pank.''
       Daniel cherished the holidays and everything they were 
     about--especially how it brought his extended family 
     together. During the holidays, Daniel would put up all the 
     outdoor decorations--his family even won a place in our 
     township's holiday decorating contests for several years. 
     From the age of ten, Daniel was well known within his family 
     for being extremely skilled at assembling anything; he could 
     put things together without the instructions.
       Daniel loved surfing. He and his friends would surf off the 
     inlet near Point Pleasant. He also enjoyed bowling and 
     golfing with his uncle and hanging with his cousins playing 
     cards. However, Daniel's most passionate hobby was buying 
     cars and fixing them up.
       Daniel was always there for his friends. He was the person 
     they called when they needed a hand moving, painting an 
     apartment, or even changing a flat tire at three in the 
     morning. Daniel truly had a heart of gold. He lit up a room 
     just by walking into one. Daniel loved his two sisters Fallon 
     and Katie and his older brother Christopher.

[[Page E120]]

       His entire family loves and misses him dearly.

     Alexander ``Alex'' Joseph Marks--Huntington Beach, California

       The final death certificate from the Orange County Coroner 
     arrived in the Marks family mailbox: ``Cause of death: acute 
     heroin intoxication.'' On February 6th, 2013, Alex's father 
     found their 19-year-old son, Alexander Joseph Marks, dead in 
     his bedroom at their home in Huntington Beach, California. 
     His family found a needle and heroin on Alex's desk. They 
     couldn't believe that Alex had turned to heroin and were 
     devastated to learn this was the way their son had died.
       As you can imagine, the Marks family are having a difficult 
     time. The wound is so deep, so raw; they thought he had 
     overcome his addiction. Alex was working over college break 
     before he was to go back to school to become an electrician. 
     Externally, it looked like he was doing well, but now his 
     family understands that internally, he was sick with the 
     disease of addiction. There was no note . . . Alex's family 
     learned later that he had accidentally overdosed because 
     after so many months of being clean, his tolerance was low.
       During elementary and junior high school Alex was bullied. 
     He had two rare medical conditions; Osteochondromatosis (a 
     rare bone disease) and Von Willebrand (a blood clotting 
     disease), in addition to mental health issues. At a young 
     age, he had experiences that no kid should; many surgeries 
     after which he was prescribed pain medications, countless 
     doctor visits, and home health care nurses who administered 
     IV medication. He was diagnosed with ADHD around the 5th 
     grade.
       Alex's Grandma died during his freshman year of high 
     school. She had been the rock in his life and he had a hard 
     time living without her. He began self-medicating with pot 
     and alcohol to cover his grief, which eventually led to him 
     using pills and other drugs. Meanwhile, he was having a rough 
     time trying to fit in socially and many of his friends were 
     also using drugs. Alex was not involved in school activities, 
     no matter how many times his family encouraged him.
       When his addiction progressed, Alex was admitted to the 
     University of California, Irvine as well as Loma Linda 
     Medical Center psychiatric hospital. Upon release, he 
     attended a local treatment program and was expected to return 
     to high school after 30 days. His family sought help from 
     many medical professionals and was diagnosed with depression 
     and bipolar disorder. When nothing seemed to be helping, Alex 
     was sent to Heritage Residential Treatment Center in Provo, 
     Utah, where he spent 8 months in a dual diagnosis treatment 
     center. He came home and graduated high school but within a 
     few months he was hanging out with old friends and local's 
     he'd met in treatment. In December 2011, at the age of 18, 
     Alex was arrested and charged with a felony for receiving 
     stolen property with the intent to sell. He was sent to jail 
     for 7 months.
       Alex followed the path of many before him; he was stealing 
     for drug money--opioids. He ended up with 3 years' probation 
     with the stipulation that if he completed all that was 
     required, the felony would be removed from his record. These 
     tough learning experiences made him realize that he never 
     wanted to go back to jail. He wanted his freedom--he wanted 
     his life back.
       On July 5, 2012, Alex was released from jail at 3 a.m. 
     (without guidance or supervision--something his family will 
     never understand). Although he was overwhelmed by the court 
     fees and classes he had to take, Alex was determined to 
     succeed. Once again he was a joy to be around and his family 
     believed that the worst was over. He started an electrician 
     training program at Long Beach City College and never missed 
     a day the entire semester.
       On Tuesday, February 5, 2013, two young adults came to the 
     house; his family believes Alex may have met these 
     ``friends'' at his court ordered drug classes. They also 
     believed Alex purchased heroin that day, from these 
     ``friends''. Alex returned home from meeting with his 
     probation officer around 7:30 p.m., had some soup, watched 
     the Lakers game with his dad, said ``Goodnight, I love you,'' 
     and then went to his room. At approximately 5:30 a.m. on 
     February 6, 2013, his father found Alex dead in his room. The 
     corner report stated he had died around midnight.
       ``I'm sure this story is all too similar to many you've 
     heard or read before from other families who have been 
     through this nightmare,'' writes Alex's mother. ``These past 
     4\1/2\ years have been the most difficult of our lives.''
       ``One of the most frustrating parts of this journey, was 
     how hard it was to get good help for Alex. I prayed each and 
     every day for God to shine his light upon my son; to bring 
     the right people into his life. He needed someone other than 
     his parents to help him but this did not happen.''
       ``As you can imagine, writing this is very difficult, but 
     we must not stay silent. We must speak out in order to make 
     the changes that are needed both for mental health and 
     addiction treatment in this country.''

                     Sean McLarty--Austell, Georgia

       Sean McLarty was born on July 11, 1980, in Lithia Springs, 
     Georgia. Growing up, he was a very happy and loving child and 
     he carried those qualities into adulthood. Sean was always an 
     absolute joy to be around. He had a knack for making people 
     smile; the room would light up whenever he entered. He had 
     two children, Caleb and Mina, who were the loves of his life.
       Sean always had an aspiration for acting and went on to be 
     featured in several films and TV shows. He had a small role 
     in one of Tyler Perry's House of Payne episodes; played a 
     mute crook in a movie called Three Rookies; was in the 
     youtube series Fighting Angels; and had roles in various 
     short films. Sean was also exceptional at repairing computers 
     and electronics--if it was broken, he could fix it.
       Prior to his unexpected death, Sean wanted to start an 
     organization that he would name ``Families Against Drugs,'' 
     to help families affected by addiction, and let them know 
     they are not alone in this fight. He had a huge vision for 
     this organization. However, Sean could not seem to help 
     himself.
       On March 28, 2011, Sean was found dead in a motel room just 
     south of Atlanta, Georgia. The autopsy report determined the 
     cause of death to be from the toxic effects of 
     Methamphetamine. However, even the police officer in charge 
     of his case, didn't believe there was enough meth in Sean's 
     system to cause death.
       After speaking to someone close to him, Sean's family found 
     out that he had been in possession of a drug called 1,4-
     Butanediol, which is comparable to the drug ``gamma-
     Hydroxybutyric acid'' (GHB); and acts as a stimulant and 
     aphrodisiac, enhancing euphoria. This drug is what is 
     believed to have killed Sean. 1,4-Butanediol is odorless, 
     colorless, and extremely difficult to detect in toxicology 
     screening.
       Sean was never a regular drug user, he used more casually. 
     When Sean died from an overdose, it seemed unreal that it 
     would happen to someone like him, with so much potential and 
     life left to live.

                Amber Mersing--Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

       ``Thinking about Amber's story and how to share it with 
     144aDay was difficult,'' writes Amber's Uncle Lou. ``I am 
     sure you all understand the emotions involved in putting this 
     together. As I thought, I recalled Amber's funeral service in 
     Pittsburgh, PA. Her grandfather and her cousin (my daughter) 
     both spoke wonderful words during the service and I felt this 
     would be the best way to share Amber's story.''
       ``Below is what my daughter Gianna (12 years old) wrote. 
     She stood and delivered this to everyone at Amber's funeral 
     service. Savannah (Gianna's sister/Amber's cousin) stood up 
     at the podium to read a scripture with her Aunt Nina (Amber's 
     Mom). I am so proud of all of them.''
       Hello,
       Amber was like a sister to me. We had so much fun together 
     from gymnastics competitions to dancing. I loved her so much. 
     I loved how we were close cousins. And I will always remember 
     all the fun we had. I am gonna miss her alot. I want for 
     everyone in this room to remember that she is looking down at 
     us. One more thing--in heaven she is with Blaze. She used to 
     dress up with him and get their picture taken.
       Amber's grandfather delivered a beautiful eulogy after 
     Gianna spoke, here is what he said:
       Where do I begin? I feel like a bird with a broken wing. 
     God only allowed us to have Amber for a short period of time 
     but during that time she touched many lives and left us with 
     a lot of memories. To me, she was both a child and a 
     grandchild; the two could never be separated. She brought the 
     joy of a grandchild and the anxiety of a child all at one 
     time. Amber came into my life as a toddler and those good 
     memories will remain with me forever.
       I thank God for putting Amber in my life and I am thankful 
     that I got to see her grow from a helpless little girl into a 
     beautiful young lady. Amber was a big part of my life for the 
     last twenty plus years. I was blessed to have known her for 
     most of her time on Earth. I'm sure that Amber has left all 
     of you with a lot of good memories and I hope that you share 
     those memories with me and with each other some time.
       Amber liked being the center of attention when she was in 
     her comfort zone, but would hide when that comfort zone began 
     to collapse. She dreamed of singing in front of a large 
     audience when it was just a couple of us. But when the couple 
     of us became a few of us, she would go into hibernation. She 
     was both shy and outgoing and could switch from one to the 
     other and back again in the blink of an eye.
       Her creativity was endless. She and Grandma could turn 
     scraps of anything into works of art. Amber had an interest 
     in everything from acrobatics to woodworking and all things 
     in between. Amber gave me those hand-made treasures with such 
     pride and I still have many of them.
       Amber also had that gentle side. She seldom raised her 
     voice and was uncomfortable when others did so in anger. She 
     was a caretaker at heart, which showed when she worked at 
     Norbert's. Amber was the oldest of our grandkids, so she 
     loved playing with and helping her younger cousins. She 
     learned patience from her Grandma and passed some of that on 
     to me. I loved those hugs when we parted company.
       Amber could light up any room she entered even as she 
     struggled with depression--she so wanted to be happy. She 
     handled the depression in the best way that she could. I 
     watched her go through those ups and downs so many times. 
     When she thought she had a plan to regain control of her 
     life, she would get slapped down again and would not be 
     capable of following through with her plan. After seeing 
     Amber's struggle, I thanked God that I have never personally 
     experienced

[[Page E121]]

     those ups and downs. I also thank God that it is not my place 
     to judge her if she felt that she was doing her best. Jesus 
     said, ``Judge not, and you will not be judged, condemn not, 
     and you will not be condemned, forgive, and you will be 
     forgiven.'' (Luke 6:37) Because one's behavior toward others 
     often ends up being paid back in kind--and sometimes even to 
     a greater degree--Jesus continued to urge His disciples to be 
     tolerant. In particular, Jesus prohibits condemning others 
     and commends forgiveness.
       I remember Amber as that little girl who would run and jump 
     on my lap in happiness and run to me when she was afraid. 
     There were the play-in-the-dirt clothes and pretty girl 
     dresses; dance lessons, softball games, and taekwondo; 
     pierced ears, nose, lip, etc; curly hair, braided hair, and 
     straight hair; tennis shoes and high heels; Disney movies and 
     The Nightmare Before Christmas; school and church; and so on 
     and so on and so on. Pick any of them or add your own. Some 
     of them I didn't like at the time but I'm going to miss every 
     single one. I have a lot of memories and no one can take them 
     away. Amber has been immortalized in my heart and those 
     memories will remain. I'm sure all of you have fond memories 
     of Amber that you will hold on to.
       Amber believed in God and I believe that Jesus has welcomed 
     her into Heaven where she will spend eternity. Amber no 
     longer has to deal with the pain associated with mortality. I 
     have faith that I will see her again and that she will be 
     there to welcome me into eternity. I will miss her dearly but 
     I can now think of her as an angel that is looking over me 
     and she will look out for me when I need help. I love you 
     Amber and I always will.

                     Trenton Munn--Ionia, Michigan

       Trenton Munn, died August 21, 2016, from an accidental 
     heroin overdose. He was 31 years old.
       Trenton suffered from drug addiction since his late teen 
     years. He fast became addicted to Oxycontin, and when that 
     became hard to come by, he turned to heroin. It was a 
     cheaper, easier to find alternative.
       When his son, Harley was born in May 2012, Trenton tried to 
     quit cold turkey. He wanted to get clean for his son. Trenton 
     also suffered from anxiety and depression. During the past 
     four years Trenton tried repeatedly to get off heroin.
       This past March his family discovered that Trenton had 
     advanced to shooting up heroin. Even though he had said he 
     would not stick a needle in his veins.
       After many failed attempts in treatment, with everyone 
     telling us we had to do tough love, we decided to remove 
     Trenton from our home. It broke his familys hearts having to 
     put their child out on the streets.
       Trenton was then taken in by a friend. The friend promised 
     he didn't condone heroin and there'd be none of it in his 
     home.
       Throughout this past summer, Trenton would come to his 
     family's home for his parental visits with his son. Since his 
     son's mother had gotten in trouble with the law, Trenton was 
     given full custody of Harley. Trenton also had just began a 
     new job, was looking healthier and had gained some weight. 
     His family thought he was kicking his addiction. Things were 
     looking up.
       Due to Trenton not having a car, his parents were driving 
     him to and from work. The last day they saw their son was 
     Saturday, August 20, 2016. They picked him up from work at 
     4:00 p.m., as usual. Nothing really seemed out of the 
     ordinary, other than Trenton not asking what his mother was 
     making for supper. He normally would come have dinner with 
     his family.
       When his parents arrived at the friend's house where 
     Trenton was living, he told them he'd see them in the morning 
     and that he loved them. He didn't text or call them that 
     evening.
       The dreaded call came at 4:21 a.m. from the friend Trenton 
     was living with. The friend began with: ``I think you need to 
     come out here!'' Trenton's mother asked him what was wrong 
     and he replied, ``I think Trent's overdosing!'' His mother 
     hung up the phone immediately, jumped out of bed screaming. 
     They got into their car and drove as fast as they could.
       They arrived at the friend's home in a matter of minutes. 
     The police and the ambulance were already there. They were 
     met by an officer on the porch of the house. It was too late. 
     Trenton was dead.
       The authorities believe Trenton received what they call a 
     ``hot load'': heroin laced with fentanyl.
       That same weekend, over 75 overdoses were reported in Ohio. 
     The heroin was laced with elephant tranquilizers.
       ``This has been the worse pain we ever felt,'' writes 
     Trenton's mother. ``Nothing or no one can ever bring our son 
     back. Our grandson is going to grow up without his father.''

                          ____________________