HERSHEY - Two years and nearly two months ago, Richard Nase lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life.
Blisters covered 89 percent of his body. No one knew what would happen next.
"Seriously, I was real close to death," Nase said. "Most people don't make it out, and if they do, most people lose an organ, like their eyes. They might go blind. I came out perfectly fine.''
Thursday morning, the Panther Valley senior 195-pounder stood smiling in the tunnel at the Giant Center as the public address announcer read his name as a preliminary-round winner at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships.
Getting from then to now requires some explanation, so let's take care of Nase's day first.
Snapping the head of Hyndman's James Bennett (36-2) and spinning behind for a takedown in the waning seconds of regulation, Nase won 3-1 to advance to today's quarterfinals. In the 9 a.m. round, Nase (32-7) will take on Boiling Springs' Kyle Taylor (36-8) for a spot in the semifinals.
"It feels amazing. The atmo-
sphere is great," Nase said after his victory. "It's huge. I love it here.
"He's a good wrestler. ⦠Going into it, I knew it was going to be a tough match,'' he added. "There's no bad kids here. It's states. It's about who wants to win it more.''
Before enjoying the rest of his day, Nase planned to take care of some schoolwork. His English literature class is reading a book called "Dubliners,'' a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce about life in the Irish city during the early part of the 20th century.
"I have some homework to do,'' Nase said. "I have to do a project so I'm gonna finish that up in the bleachers with my laptop. A book called the 'Dubliners,' we have to do some essays on it.''
It's been quite a journey from that hospital bed to the state wrestling tournament - with a whole lot of football in between.
Midway though his sophomore wrestling season, Nase contracted a staph infection and began taking medication to treat it.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Nase was allergic to the medication and the allergy triggered what was diagnosed as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The rare, serious condition causes a painful, red or purplish rash that spreads across the skin and blisters.
Once doctors got the disorder under control, Nase began the long road back, starting extensive rehab in the hospital leading to just walking again.
"I had to fight back after that,'' Nase said. "I lost like 30 pounds. Just coming back I knew it was going to be tough. I was worried about not being able to do sports anymore. I did a lot of rehab, worked out my entire offseason and had an awesome year my junior year in football and wrestling.''
All the while, athletics drove Nase on the road to recovery.
"I did rehab at the hospital, and after I got out, (football) Coach (Lon) Hazlet and (wrestling) Coach (Tim) Robb helped me out a lot, had me doing footwork,'' Nase said. "I ate everything to get the nutrients back in my body. Before I knew it, my body was accepting it all. I got healthy quick.
"Sports is my life,'' he added. "Without sports, there's no Richard Nase.''
Recently, Nase learned he will continue playing sports in college. He signed to play football at Shippensburg University, where he projects as a defensive end.
"I love wrestling and everything, but my heart's with football,'' he said.
After nearly eight months of recovery, rehab and training, Nase, then a junior, returned to the football field for the Panthers.
He had success on both sides of the ball, returning kicks and playing defense on Friday nights in the fall.
Just stepping back onto the football field was a victory in itself.
"Greatest feeling. It felt amazing to play that first game and hit somebody," Nase recalled. "It was just the best feeling in the world. You're never gonna forget it.''
And that winter of his junior year?
"Same feeling (in wrestling),'' he said. "It felt great to be healthy and able to do sports and be good at them, too.''
Nase said he's had "no problems at all'' since his illness. Happy and healthy, he's able to do what he loves at a high level again.
Joining him in Hershey are teammates Len Ogozalek and Rian Shubeck. They're the first state qualifiers from Panther Valley since 2004 and the first trio to make it to Hershey in the same year since 1982.
"I'm very thankful and blessed to come through it and have all the support from the community," Nase said. "All the fundraisers, everybody. I'm so blessed to have all that. It means the world to me.
"Coach Robb, I just want to make him proud,'' he added. "He's put in all the work with us, and we're trying to give it back to him and show him it worked and show the younger kids in the program that anything's possible at Panther Valley, the little, small school that we are.''