Mom shares heartbreaking photo of final moments in dying son's arms

A bereaved mother took to Facebook on April 19 to raise awareness after her 22-year-old son tragically died from a drug overdose.

Sherri Kent, of Alberta, Canada, shared a heartbreaking photo of her holding her son, Michael, for the last time to spread a serious message about fentanyl, a drug currently plaguing Canadian youth.

"I just want everyone to know that my son Michael overdosed on fentanyl, she wrote. "My son was not an addict he made a mistake that cost him his life."

According to the CBC, Michael accepted the fentanyl that killed him after a male acquaintance offered it to him under the pretense that it was "really strong" heroin.

When the 22 year old began to exhibit symptoms of an overdose, the acquaintance reportedly became spooked and left Michael alone in the store bathroom where they ingested the substance together.

According to Kent, the man was "too spooked" to go back and check on Michael, so "he ran for the people who own the store to unlock the door and that's when they found him" about 20 minutes later.

"He was already blue in the lips," Kent told the CBC. "By the time the ambulance got there he was in cardiac arrest."

Michael was rushed to hospital where he was placed on life support.

He was taken off life support on March 21, one week after he overdosed.

Since it was posted last Wednesday, Kent's heart-wrenching photo has received over 100,000 shares and racked up 17,000 comments from friends and strangers alike.

"I just want to make everyone aware of the epidemic that's goin (sic) on right now that's killing 5-7 people a day in every city in Canada," she continued.

"It's out of control and there is no way to protect our children from this other than to warn them of the dangers of drug use today. I've lost my son to this horrible tragedy and want to make parents aware that it can happen to anyone who decides to touch anything that can be snorted up your nose."

Ultimately, Kent says she hopes her post can help raise awareness of this understated killer and stop other families from ever enduring such a loss.

"Fentanol (sic) is the number #1 killer in Canada and it's taking our children and loved ones. Please share this with your family and friends to help prevent another tragedy."