A picture posted on social media of a young man dying after taking fentanyl has been shared more than 90,000 times.
A Calgary mom, Sherri Kent, posted the heartbreaking picture last week with a warning to others.
“I just want everyone to know that my son Michael overdosed on fentanyl,” said Kent in her Facebook post. “My son was not an addict he made a mistake that cost him his life.”
In the photo, Kent is lying on the hospital bed with her son. He appears to be intubated and unconscious.
Michael passed away on March 21. He was just 22 years old.
His obituary reads: “Michael was larger than life and giving to a fault.”
“I’ve lost my son to this horrible tragedy and want to make parents aware that it can happen to anyone,” wrote Kent.
Fentanyl is an opioid-based painkiller roughly 100 times stronger than morphine, which can be fatal even in tiny doses.