The Unnecessary death of Chandler Peraldo:One of our favorite Mendenhall Mustangs chooses the wrong path

Chandler Peraldo was not a bad kid, but he made bad choices and those choices cost him his life…….

He had his basketball career and life cut short due to drug addiction and it didn’t have to happen, but it did and how soon before it happens again, or can we do something to help to stop this deadly route too many teenagers/kids have chosen to follow???

I used to love to attend those Mendenhall Mustang games back in the day and if they were playing Kiser, that was an added treat….

Got the chance to see Ty Graves, Anthony Eaves, Coach Darren Corbett(the former coach at Grimsley would be there and now he is at N.C. A&T), Coach Kevin Graves from the Karolina Diamonds would be there and just about all of the kids that played at Page then or now, they were also Mendenhall Mustangs at one time or another…

But one of my favorite Mustangs and one of my favorite memories was of Chandler Peraldo and I really got a kick out of the time Chandler got knocked down on a foul and he got upset and his coach got mad and Chandler walked out of the gym that day and all of those little Mendenhall Mustang fans went running after Chandler because he was their friend and their favorite player…..He did make a triumphant return, but that would be one of the few times that Chandler could say that his decision proved to be the correct choice…

As time moved on Chandler moved on to several AAU teams and one of those teams nearly won a title down in Orlando, Florida with Coach Johnnie Richardson leading his club to this special national level of play and they were among the tops in the Nation a few Summers back…

We keep using the word back then and back in the day, but as of this day, Chandler Peraldo is gone and he won’t be coming back…..

News and Record Obiturary from Sunday January 18 on-line at www.news-record.com:

GREENSBORO CHANDLER KNOX PERALDO died on January 15, 2015 at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital. His parents, Lyn Broom Peraldo and Jeff Peraldo, were with him at the time of his passing. His family misses him greatly.Chan was born in Greensboro on April 23, 1996, which date was his grandfather Knox Broom’s birthday as well. Chan would joke every year that the family owed him because he was saving them a birthday cake. It never got old.Chan was bright, energetic, funny, and compassionate, especially when he was interacting with younger children. He particularly enjoyed the numerous youth basketball camps at which he worked as a counselor and his time with his beloved twin cousins, Briley and Hayden. Chan had a gift with the younger ones and his oft-stated career goal was to be a basketball coach and teacher. He would have done well on that path.One of Chan’s greatest gifts was athletics. He excelled at the highest level in every sport he participated in. As a youngster, he was the number five-ranked tennis player in his age group in the state, before embarking on a golf career that saw him win numerous state-level tournaments. Chan also played sweeper and goalie on several Greensboro United travel soccer teams. His true passion, however, was basketball, where he was a fiery and tremendous competitor. Chan was the point guard for many AAU teams that, combined, won dozens of local and National AAU tournaments, including the Greensboro Phoenix Elite team that finished second in the nation at the 2011 AAU National tournament in Orlando, FL. At age 15, one national ranking service listed Chan as the Number 28 point guard in his class. Chan cherished his relationships with his teammates and coaches. They enriched his life and gave him value; he no doubt did the same for them.Chan’s greatest love was his “sissy,” Leah Shea. From the moment he first held her at the hospital they had, and will always have, an unbreakable bond. He worshipped his sister. That relationship and a character trait that grew from it–always wanting to put others above himself–transcended every aspect of Chan’s life. He always helped his teammates to play well and win games. He spent hours on end teaching children on the court. He would drop whatever he was doing to help friends in need. And, most importantly, during his last week, he spoke openly about wanting desperately to save himself so he could save his friends and others fighting addiction.Sadly, Chandler fell victim to the horrific disease of addiction despite numerous heroic battles by him and his family. The family asks that the community that knew him and loved him now honor him by frequently talking openly and frankly with their children about substance abuse and addiction.Chandler is survived by his parents, Jeff Peraldo and Lyn Broom Peraldo, his sister, Leah Shea, his grandmother, Betty Peraldo, his aunt and uncle, Shea and Michael Pitlik, and his twin cousins, Briley and Hayden. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Henry Peraldo, and his maternal grandparents, Knox and Margaret Broom, each of whom had a very special and unique relationship with Chan.A memorial service will be held on Monday, January 19, 2015 at 4 p.m. at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church, 2100 Fernwood Drive, Greensboro 27408. After the service, friends are invited to a reception at the home of Ken Miller, located at 6367 Lake Brandt Road, Summerfield. The family asks that memorial contributions be withheld, pending the establishment of the Chandler Peraldo Foundation for the Prevention of Substance Abuse and Addiction. Forbis & Dick North Elm Chapel is serving the Peraldo family. Online condolences may be made at www.forbisanddick.com.
(For complete News and Record link with photo CLICK HERE.)

Chandler chose the wrong path and went down the wrong road, the one so many teenagers are choosing today and that is the road and the lifestyle of Drug Addiction…..

This lifestyle becomes a death style and the Drug Addiction sucks the life right out of the kids…

That is what happened to Chandler Peraldo, and now he has become just another statistic, or has he?

Nothing can be done to save Chandler now, he is gone and his funeral is set for Monday afternoon at 4pm, at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church in the Kirkwood section of Greensboro, just off of Lawndale Drive….

Chandler was a good friend to many and what are his friends saying about him now???

Is there any chance his death and the way died might cause some other local teenager to make the choice not to go down the same road that Chandler took?

His family knows that he made his choices and the choice he made was to live the life of drug use and when that usage became too much, Chandler Peraldo became a Drug Addict….

Terrible choice, sad choice, but this is something that is happening every day and it won’t be long until we will be writing the same thing about some other kid or another athlete, or former athlete….

The drugs took control of Chandler Peraldo’s life, but they, the drugs did not choose him, Chandler chose his own path into drug use…You don’t control the drugs, they control you….You do not choose drug addiction, and that is not what Chandler Peraldo sought, he became a drug user and then the drugs took over and he became addicted and once you are in deep, you are all-in and too many times you can not get out….

Chandler was not a bad kid, we would never want that to be the lasting impression or the story of his life, he just made bad choices….It can and will happen to any young man or woman, from any walk of life…..

It would be great to say that Chandler’s death due to Drug Addiction will make hundreds of kids take notice and that they would make the decision to turn their life around and to not throw their life away, but the fact is that will not occur, BUT if what happened with Chandler, how it all came to end due to his Drug Addiction, if that can help or cause one young person to give up the drugs and to get their life back together again, that would be a start and that would be a great thing…..Not just a good thing, but a great thing…

If the way Chandler Peraldo’s life ended makes a difference for just one person that would be the beginning or resurrection, a change that could lead to a new life for a young man or young women within our community…

Chandler Peraldo was a Drug Addict….He lived a life through drug use that will not allow your body to operate at its proper levels…The things Chandler did with drugs were not what you body is designed to tolerate…Your body can not work efficiently when you are putting the drugs into your system that Chandler Peraldo found himself addicted to….

He destroyed his body and the drugs killed him….Chandler Peraldo killed himself due to drug abuse and his addiction to drugs…

The human body can only take this type of abuse for so long and then death is the only way your body can respond…When you kill your body with the wrong drugs, your body shuts down and it is all over…

I am no doctor, but we all know that drug abuse can kill and it is not a pretty sight or a nice picture…

It stinks and the drug addicts are not long for this world if the abuse continues….

Chandler Peraldo chose his drugs and he chose to abuse those drugs and now he is dead and the sad thing is all that is left of him are the memories….Chandler Peraldo is not coming back……

Chandler was only 18 years old and most would agree that he left here way too early, but he had no choice, he had to die, the drugs had taken over and they would not let go….

Seems to me and maybe to you to, that pretty soon, this has to stop and if it doesn’t, we will be talking about another unnecessary DEATH….

RIP Chandler Peraldo…..

*****If we have more drug abusers out there, maybe you might want to stop and think about what you are doing and where you are going. Some may say maybe not and if that’s the case you will end up dead in the end, just like Chandler. It doesn’t have to end up that way, but it will.*****

+++++Here’s what Rick Lewis was saying about Chandler back in the day at the Phenom Hoops Report+++++
Player: Chandler Peraldo

Hometown: Greensboro, NC

School: Northwest Guilford

Height: 5’9

Class: 2015

Evaluation: Chandler is a fundamentally sound and has a tremendous work
ethic. He has a great understanding of the game. Offensively, he has a nice
arsenal of advanced ball handling skills and is very crafty with the ball.
He has solid shooting mechanics and is a dead eye shooter from the 3 point
line. While mostly noted an advanced ball handler and shooter, Chandler made
an impression with his hustle and hard work on the defensive end of the
ball. Chandler has good speed and foot speed and this helped him immensely
by applying pressure defense. He was more assertive on the defensive end of
the floor and showcased his overall well balanced game. He has 4 years of
high school ahead of him and what level he plays will be determined by his
continued work ethic and desire.

19 thoughts on “The Unnecessary death of Chandler Peraldo:One of our favorite Mendenhall Mustangs chooses the wrong path

  1. We have lost one kid already do we have to lose another?
    Somebody get some help and somebody please step up and help.

  2. I hate reading this sad news!

    I wish he could have gotten the help he needed before it got to this point of no return. Please someone tell us how someone this young can get the help they need before addiction takes over? Where does one this young get the funds for all these addictive drugs?

  3. this post is in astonishingly poor taste and MUCH too soon after chandler’s passing. addiction is a disease and chandler was victim to it. you’re a breath away from saying he got what he deserved! the body he left behind is not a gruesome scare prop for you to use in this crappy sermon. out of respect for the player you claim to admire, or at least for his family, take this sanctimonious pile of garbage down, so at least his survivors won’t have to go through the trauma of seeing you practically gloating over his tragic death.

  4. Hopefully a message has been sent that might help other kids that are still with us…

    Chandler’s family has seen this and their goal is to help kids that might be facing the same challenges that Chandler faced…

    Hopefully through Chandler’s death, others might be able to live and while he was alive his goal was to help others…

    This is not any easy subject, but if don’t get people’s attention, people will not pay attention and the message we are trying to send will not be effective…

    Chandler’s parents and family have made it their goal to help others in memory of Chandler Peraldo….

    Attend the funeral on Monday and you will see more examples of this….

  5. I remember Chandler well from the age of about 10-15. He clearly had a bright future in front of him and he loved basketball. He often had workouts with my child and others at GDS and other places. I had not seen him in a few years and it’s unfortunate to find out why he appeared to just drop off the map. He had great parents, a lot of potential in his future and a sharp head on his shoulders. I am extremely sad for his family but I am proud of them for having the courage to share their lost and attempt to save another family or person from having to deal with this problem. Too many families try to sweep problems under the rag and grieve in silence. This has allowed me to have a solid conversation with my kids because this time it was not just another kid in Miami or New York City but a kid that looks just like them in their community that had the same general interest that they have shared. We will continue to hold this family up in pray not only for their lost but continue to encourage them to share how to prevent the next kid from getting lost with such an addiction.

  6. I applaud Andy and Chandler’s patents. How brave to be so real. I too have a son who has started using drugs. It is a slippery slope. I am struggling to do the right thing. Struggling to find or be able to afford help. I did not know this young man and I wish the outcome had been different. I pray for his family. But maybe other children can be saved. I wish I could go to the funeral today but unfornately can not. My thoughts are certainly with his family. I wish someone could record the service and put it on the Internet for other parents who are struggling llike the Peraldos.

  7. I applaud the parents for having the courage to tell Chandler’s story. Drugs are a big problem in this community with teenagers. If only one person is helped by this story then it was worth telling. To stay silent would not be what he wanted. Let’s remember his life by helping others with addictions and that means talking openly about drugs with our children and not pretending problems don’t exist.

  8. I pray for the Peraldo family during this time.

    If anyone has loved one that is addicted to drugs and the addicted person wants help please dont give up, I too had a child addicted. We searched for a rehab and quicky realized they seemed to prey on hurting parents / families ($20-30k for a 30 day program). I couldnt afford this and was introduced to Freedom Farms in Boone. The family only had to pay for 3 months ($400 / month at the time and I think it is $600 now) and then the recovering addict worked to pay going forward. Again this is a work recovery program with daily support / bible studies. All I can say is that this place helped our family and I pray can help yours..

  9. This is one of the most simple-minded, disrespectful pieces of writing I have had the misfortune to read. You clearly have no sense of the gravity of the loss and the complexities of addiction. Between your fragmented, elementary writing and your complete lack of good sense, I would hope that you (or the editors of the site) might at least respect the memory of this young man and remove the post.

  10. There was large gathering for Chandler Peraldo’s celebration of life today at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church….Around the 4pm/4:15 time period cars had lined the streets and it was a time of respect and dignity for the Peraldo family and for the memory of Chandler….

    We have a had a very good response here at the site and although we don’t claim to be experts on this subject, we have created and an open dialouge and people have had the opportunity to express their opinions….

  11. The only direct opinions that matter are those of the kids family. It appears that the family is in support of this posting and I am proud that they had the guts to allow us into their time of unbelievable pain. We may never know the full impact but their is someone out there today or maybe a week from now that this posting will reach. All you can do is put the pieces in place to reach whoever needs to be reached. Too often we speak around issues and tell everyone that it will be okay – the reality is that when people get into this situation it often does not end well and we need to spend more time being as real as possible with people before it gets to this point. If this saves even one set of parents from this future, then every word in this posting was more than worth the time and effort. My prayers are with Chandler and his family.

  12. RTRTRTRTRTR

    this post is in astonishingly poor taste and MUCH too soon after chandler’s passing. addiction is a disease and chandler was victim to it. you’re a breath away from saying he got what he deserved! the body he left behind is not a gruesome scare prop for you to use in this crappy sermon. out of respect for the player you claim to admire, or at least for his family, take this sanctimonious pile of garbage down, so at least his survivors won’t have to go through the trauma of seeing you practically gloating over his tragic death.

  13. I am glad that the Peraldos approved this because I think it is in poor taste as well but I know that they are bravely publicizing their tragedy to hopefully save others. But this article is missing an important message, and that is to Say No in the first place! If you don’t do drugs, you can’t get addicted to them. I know it is too late for many, and I wish them all the best in their reach for recovery, but let’s not forget to tell the kids who haven’t gone there yet not to go there! Some people seem to think that smoking pot is not a big deal, but it is a gateway drug so if you let your kids think that is okay, you are taking a big risk. I have teenagers and I am realistic that they will not always make the right decision, but I have always told them, when it comes to drugs, all bets are off. And that means any drug. So while we are remembering Chandler and praying for his family, let’s really honor his memory by not just saving those who are already addicted but by saving kids from getting started with drugs in the first place! RIP Chandler.

  14. I am chans dad. I did approve of the post and although I find some of the comments over the top if others take notice who otherwise would not have its worth it. Know this. Chan did not choose addiction. He made the bad decision to experiment and use and it got out of control. Please talk to your kids

  15. While no doubt well intended, Andy Durham’s article smacks of self-righteousness — but I can at least appreciate the fact that it opens up dialog on this very misunderstood subject. Most people (Andy included) are woefully misinformed about the nature of addiction. As a professional in the healthcare field I have done a lot of research on the topic, and I’d like to clear up some of the myths.

    MYTH #1: “Addiction is a moral/mental/spiritual weakness” — The fact is, after decades of research, the esteemed American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health (NIH), World Health Organization (WHO), and other influential medical/health organizations consider addiction a chronic and progressive BRAIN DISEASE. People who suffer from it have distinct abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex of the brain — and substance abuse does further damage. These abnormalities not only drive profound cravings, but they actually override the higher-order executive function of the brain, or cognitive control (the parts of the brain involving decision-making, awareness, rational thought, etc.) In non-addicted people, the brain’s executive function would tell them to stop doing something that is harmful or has destructive consequences; that “safety switch” is disabled in the brain of an addict due to the abnormalities in the PFC. They literally cannot just stop like you or I would.

    MYTH #2. “Addiction is a lifestyle choice” — Actually, recent research demonstrates that there’s a strong genetic link in addiction. If you look at an addict’s family, you frequently can find someone — a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, or cousin — who suffered from alcoholism or addiction. Often it’s a well-kept secret. Specialists in addiction medicine conservatively estimate that a child born into a family where there is a history of alcoholism/addiction, even a generation or more back, has a 25% chance of being addicted themselves — but many experts think the odds are more like 50% or higher. Genetically speaking, the deck is stacked against people with addiction.

    MYTH #3: “Addiction doesn’t choose you, you choose it” — Nothing could be further from the truth. No one, repeat: NO ONE in their right mind would choose the physical, emotional, and mental harm/destructive consequences brought about by addiction — but as I said before, the brain is wired differently in people with addiction. Yes, they might make the choice to try an illicit drug or alcohol — as many young people all over this country do every day. The vast majority of people who do — about 99%, according to researchers — can merely experiment with or dabble in drugs or alcohol and stop at any time. It doesn’t become addictive for them. But for those born with the brain abnormalities that characterize addiction, they are literally hooked from the first time they abuse a substance, though it may take months or years to develop into full-blown, out-of-control addiction.

    MYTH #4: “You can stop if you try hard enough” — Maybe YOU could stop, but for someone with addiction it requires super-human strength. These people are not thugs, degenerates, or delinquents — look around you at all the intelligent, gifted, caring people who have fallen victim to this disease, like Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (addict). Very often they come from comfortable circumstances and good families with people who love them. They have everything to live for, so why would they willingly choose to throw all that away? Do you imagine for even a nanosecond that Chandler, whose focus, drive, and determination on the basketball court were exemplary, wouldn’t employ that same discipline in fighting his addiction — particularly when the stakes were much higher than simply winning or losing a sports contest?

    I happen to know that Chan sought help for his addiction on more than one occasion. He fought a brave battle, but in the end it was too much for him. So let’s stop pointing out his perceived faults and “bad choices.” Let’s honor him for the unique human being he was — someone who faced a huge and extremely difficult challenge yet still accomplished many great things during the brief 18 years he walked among us.
    And let’s also thank his parents for having the courage, even in their pain and sorrow, to speak out about his life and what ended it. May it help us all have a little more compassion … and a whole lot less self-righteousness.

  16. All Andy can do is reach out to the people and he has done that again, by providing and open forum to people so they can talk about a sensitive subject…

    Andy has been there in the past for the people when there has been a death in the community and he hopes to be there again when the people need him…

    Andy doesn’t call it self righteousness, he calls it reaching out to friends in need…

    If you were regular readers of this blog you would have a better feeling for what we do here in the community, but that is OK, we will carry on and continue to do what we think is best for each different circumstance and we when people reach out to us we respond quickly, because if you don’t respond quickly and make some sort of key point/statement, the whole issue will be forgotten by the masses in a short period of time…

    When we are gone, say the web site and this blog, in two weeks time it will be like we never existed and that is how things tend to go with people and their work too….But if you can make a point or leave a mark, you hope people will not forget and let’s not forget Chandler Peraldo….

    We will keep on trying here and if we reached some of the local people, let’s all hope if will be for the good and that somebody might take notice and remember Chandler and take an account of themselves, if they need to change….

    In the end let’s forget about Andy and we have to do that each day and remember that what can be done for others in need is what we need to put first and establish here…

    We have to get these points across, but if you will focus on the issue or issues that we need to be working on and place all others aside and remember we are just the messengers that bring people to the table we will be a lot better off and we will be able to attack this problem of addiction…

    It is all about the memory of Chandler Peraldo and the current problems with addition and if those problems exist for you, seek professional help…

    We have helped all we can and how we can and now it it time to get back to work….

  17. I agree that the intention is good in providing an open forum for people to talk about a sensitive subject, but using phrases like “Chandler chose the wrong path and went down the wrong road” and “he made bad choices” and “the drugs did not choose him, Chandler chose his own path into drug use” does come off as sanctimonious — as a couple of posters have already pointed out in this forum.

    You make addiction seem so cut-and-dried — in essence saying “he was wrong, he killed himself with drugs, he could have prevented it.” If only it were that easy. Perhaps if you had a close friend or family member suffering from this disease you would understand it better and speak a little more softly.

    I think it would be better to remember Chandler as a young man who tried valiantly to beat his addiction rather than someone who made “bad choices” and died as a result of them.

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