Velvet Aguirre, a mother from Phoenix, Arizona, shares this story of losing her 20-year-old son, Ivan Aguirre, to illicit fentanyl. Ivan, a bright, charismatic young man and a beloved big brother, had always excelled academically, earning a full-ride scholarship to Arizona State University after thriving at the prestigious Brophy College Prep. During his time in college, Ivan joined a high-achieving fraternity, where he occasionally used Adderall to study, a revelation that surprised his mother but didn’t seem out of the ordinary. On Veterans Day, Velvet received the devastating news that Ivan had died in his fraternity house. It wasn’t until months later that she learned he had unknowingly taken a counterfeit Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, given to him by a fraternity brother. That one pill contained enough fentanyl to kill 11 people. The overdose was quick and silent—his life stolen without warning. Velvet’s story is a painful reminder that no family is immune, and that one seemingly small decision can have irreversible consequences.
Illicit fentanyl is a dangerous, life-threatening drug frequently found in other illicit drugs and results in the death of 200 people per day in the US. This is just one of those stories and delivers an urgent warning to avoid all illicit drugs.
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Naloxone, the active ingredient in 4mg Narcan and higher dose 8mg Kloxxado, along with many generic versions, can reverse an opioid overdose if administered quickly enough. Some areas have Naloxone available for free. Google it.
In the U.S., you can easily access 24/7 emotional support. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to connect with a caring counselor.