Andrea Cahill’s Son
Dear <strong>First</strong> <strong>Lady</strong> <strong>Valerie</strong> <strong>Sununu</strong>, I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall in <strong>New</strong> <strong>Hampshire</strong>. Our 19-year-old son, Tyler R Cahill in April of 2020 at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown came home that evening April 7 th to his childhood bedroom, went to sleep that night and never woke up. Tyler took what he believed to be a Percocet. That pill was a counterfeit as the toxicology report results showed a lethal amount of Illicit fentanyl. There was no Percocet. He was poisoned. The impact of that morning April 8, 2020 has been beyond devastating to our family. Tyler’s dad was woken from sleep that morning when he was told, “something is wrong”. He tried with CPR to bring Tyler back. It was TOO LATE. Paramedics arrived, he still had hope they could help. They walked into the bedroom, but he knew by the look on their faces. Not even Narcan could have saved him. Illicit fentanyl is a silent, chemical poisoning. Tyler had someone sleeping next to him, touching him. She didn’t know his respiratory system was shutting down. She thought he was snoring, nudged him and it stopped. That morning at 8:30am our lives changed forever. No parent should EVER have to see their child taken out of their home in a body bag. That is the reality of Illicit fentanyl. As the days, weeks, months went by, the tremendous grief, Rich was struggling with PTSD. He was unable to protect and save his son in our own home, sleeping 5 feet away on the other side of the wall. We lost Rich from the trauma of that morning 1 Year, 1 Month, 1 Day Later on May 9, 2021, Mother’s Day at age 52. Tyler Cahill 4-8-2020 Forever 19; Richard Cahill 5-9-2021 Forever 52 I would like to honor their memories for their love of baseball. Tyler played ball from T-Ball through High School. Rich was always his mentor and coach for many years. They loved <strong>New</strong> <strong>Hampshire</strong>, fall, star gazing from the back yard, fishing, 4 wheelers, Tyler loved his dog Chance, skateboarding and Xbox. They were also working together on renovating an RV and had a trip planned to go camping. I am requesting your help in bringing awareness to this epidemic by finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall within our Capital in Concord. We have created two memorial walls. One with photos and one with names. I am including Tyler’s frame, below. As well as the brochure of virtual memorial walls, albums, and our awareness campaign. These digital walls and albums update automatically. We would also like the photos displayed in hard copy format. The names could be projected on a wall so families could remember and touch their loved one’s name. Victims of Purdue Pharma, the opioid crisis and the Illicit fentanyl crisis brought on by China’s precursor chemicals sold to the Mexican Cartels. All are Victims of the Drug Epidemic in the United States. I and other families would love to meet with you and work together to prevent this from happening to others. We need to protect our children, and loved ones from this horrible disease, as well as those being deceived and poisoned. Sincerely, Andrea Cahill – Tyler’s Mom Sandown, NH I ask for your help in honor of Rich his memory. With tears in his Eyes he said, “KEEP FIGHTING”