A Fresno family is sharing its heartbreak after losing a 23-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose, hoping their story encourages other parents to have difficult conversations before it’s too late. Desiree Silva said her son, AJ, was loved by his family and was moments away from graduating from Fresno City College when he died earlier this month.

You think it can’t happen to you, or to your family, or to your loved ones, or close ones to you, and it can,

Silva said.

The loss comes five years after the family lost another son to violence.

Silva said she never imagined fentanyl would impact her own family.

“I never thought that he would die, or anyone would die from fentanyl,” she said. “I’d see the billboards, but I never thought it’d be our family or our kid.”

AJ’s parents described him as smart, funny and deeply devoted to his wife, Kassy, and the rest of his family. His mother said he earned mostly A’s and B’s in school.

“You wouldn’t think he would be affected by this,” Silva said.

AJ’s father, Elias Aguilar, said he discovered his son unresponsive around 3:30 a.m. on May 6th after getting up to use the bathroom. The family said they immediately began CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Later, the Fresno County Coroner’s Office confirmed fentanyl was in AJ’s system.

“They did everything they could do for him, for AJ,” Aguilar said. “But I guess it was just too late.”

The family said investigators found pills in AJ’s pocket.

Silva said she knew her son occasionally took pills to help him sleep, but said she had no idea fentanyl may have been involved.

“I don’t know if he was aware it was fentanyl, or if he just got the wrong pill,” she said.

Retired state narcotics agent Robert Pennal said counterfeit pills containing fentanyl remain common and dangerous.

Those counterfeit pills are very, very common,

Pennal said.

They’ve been around for a long time.

Pennal warned that fentanyl is not always evenly distributed in counterfeit pills, making even a single dose potentially deadly.

For AJ’s family, the warning now carries painful reality.

When they say one pill can kill, it’s just like so extreme,

Silva said.

Because you think it can’t happen to you and it can.

AJ will now be buried next to his brother: something his parents said he once asked for.

“He’s gonna be in a double plot,” Aguilar said. “That was his wish, to be right next to his brother.”

Now, through unimaginable grief, the family hopes sharing AJ’s story will save another life.

“Don’t just act like you don’t see it,” Silva said. “Don’t ignore it. Just address it, even if it’s uncomfortable.”

The family will hold a car wash fundraiser Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m. at the gas station near Belmont and Sixth streets in Fresno to help cover funeral expenses and raise awareness about fentanyl dangers. You can donate to the family’s GoFundMe campaign here.