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Mum's poignant message after sharing photo with dying son

A mourning mother has shared a heartbreaking photo of her dying son on social media to convey a chilling message.

The moving image posted to Facebook shows Canadian mother Sherri Kent embracing her son, Michael, on a hospital bed in Calgary as he was dying from a drug overdose after he took fentanyl.

Ms Kent is in obvious distress and Michael appears to be unconscious.

Ms Kent posted this heartbreaking photo to her Facebook that has since gone viral. Photo: Facebook / Sherri Kent
Ms Kent posted this heartbreaking photo to her Facebook that has since gone viral. Photo: Facebook / Sherri Kent

She posted the photo on April 20 and hopes it highlights the dangers of the deadly drug - a synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.

“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. I just want to make everyone aware of the epidemic that’s going on right now that’s killing 5-7 people a day in every city in Canada.

"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.

"Fentanol 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."

The post has been shared more than 100,000 times and has received over 17,000 comments.

Some have shared their own experiences with people they know who have taken the drug.

Ms Kent told the CBC News that in the days before his overdose, Michael, who had been living in inner British Columbia, ran into a man he had met a few weeks earlier.

The man offered him drugs, and the next day they both took heroin in the bathroom of a store.

Michael overdosed and was rushed to the hospital where he was put on life support and died a week later on March 21.

Though she’s still waiting for the results of toxicology tests, Ms Kent said doctors believe Michael’s death was likely due to fentanyl.

The drug is often mixed with heroin and, more recently, cocaine, so users may not know what they are taking until it is too late.

Often imported illegally from China, it is responsible for the epidemic of overdose deaths that has emerged in Canada over the past few years.

22-year-old Michael overdosed after he used the drug Fentanyl. Photo: Facebook / Sherri Kent
22-year-old Michael overdosed after he used the drug Fentanyl. Photo: Facebook / Sherri Kent

In just one week in March, Vancouver experienced 174 overdose calls, and in Alberta 343 people died of suspected fentanyl-related overdoses last year.

Overdoses are treated with a nasal inhalant called nalaxone.

Ms Kent is hoping that the treatment will be made more widely available to the public.

“I recommend anybody who has friends or anybody that does do drugs to get one of these,” Ms Kent told the CBC.

“They give you the time you need to get medical help.”

Today's top news stories - April 27