Their son died of an overdose. Now, this Fairfax Co. family is warning others to prevent similar tragedies

When Sean and Afrodita Foster prepare to speak to Loudoun County Citizens Schools students about the dangers of fentanyl the kids anticipate another boring assembly in-article-vertical-video float right padding-left px width px key media only screen and max-width px in-article-vertical-video float none padding-left px in-article-vertical-video connatix video caption width px significant tnvbNcaMHUrl margin-bottom px padding px px background D text-align center font-weight bold color fff border-radius px connatix video caption margin-bottom px margin-top font-size px color font-weight text-align left display none This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker new Image src https capi connatix com tr si token be c -c - acb-af - a ccca cid c ffed c- - c -b f- c d a cnx cmd push function cnx playerId bc b - b- e d-b b - e mediaId c fbe- - e -bd - f dedb render ff a d d a a e e ad function renderError playerApi if renderError playerApi typeof playerApi getSize function var size playerApi getSize var captionElements document querySelectorAll connatix video caption var captionElementsArray captionElements captionElementsArray forEach el if el size el style width size width px el style display block Va couple who lost their son is raising awareness to make sure nobody has to feel their pain But instead students share This is exactly what we needed to hear We had no idea that these pills were as dangerous as they were Sean Foster noted There s one learner though who didn t get that message in time Cayden Foster Sean and Afrodita s only child died of a fentanyl overdose in early at years old Afrodita ascertained him dead in his bed one morning when he should have been getting ready for school Sean declared his son s death had left him and his wife without purpose but now their mission is to make sure other parents don t have to feel their pain We don t want this to happen to anybody else Afrodita disclosed I want to believe that if there would have been more awareness at the time around the time when this happened with Cayden our son that it might have not happened Sharing their stories to other students She and her husband have spoken to thousands of Loudoun County Community School students as part of programs that brings society members into schools They also communicate with college students and stay in touch with the Fairfax County Police Department s overdose task force Related stories Opioid overdoses are declining across the DC region What s behind the trend Fairfax Co expert urges harm reduction for families dealing with addiction Overdose emergency spurs school notification bills but key details still up for debate Sometimes after a presentation school bureaucrats follow up with small group classroom discussions to debrief The feedback from students has been positive and a large number of kids have opened up about their experiences with drugs One pupil had heard about fake blue Percocet pills which were uncovered in Cayden s wallet at the time of his death but shared that s the reason they take Xanax It gave Sean the opportunity to explain that if pills aren t from a prescription bottle they re likely fake In other cases the assembly has led students to approach school counselors with concerns about their friends We stress that in Cayden s development if one person would have disclosed something to us that he was hanging out with these people or that night it was preventable Afrodita declared But nobody explained anything You ve got an obligation to say something Cayden Foster s parents Sean and Afrodita stand in front of posters and flowers given to them by Cayden s peers following his death WTOP Scott Gelman The Fosters remain in touch with Cayden s friends who are now in college When they come back to their hometowns for breaks the Fosters continue to warn them about fentanyl Several of the students describe seeing cocaine use on college campuses across the country We keep on stressing that you don t know where that deadly amount of fentanyl is Afrodita mentioned You can be first you can be last It can be your first time your third time but it can get you Just don t trust anybody with your life They also rely on Fairfax County police s overdose task force to learn about the latest trends Leaders communicated them that along with pills powder is getting mixed into substances such as cocaine and marijuana They ve testified before state lawmakers too After learning new information about Cayden s death about a year ago the couple has tweaked their messaging They discovered out Cayden was on FaceTime with someone when he started going into respiratory distress and that person looped in another friend They essentially watched him die and didn t do anything Even more so in our messaging is you ve got an obligation to say something to your friend who thinks you re their friend Sean mentioned Cayden s parking spot at Centreville High School has been retired so nobody else can park there Last year students painted on it The Fosters placed a binder there with Cayden s story inside as one last reminder We just try to speak to as a great number of students and adults so that they can speak to their children as we can Afrodita declared That s the only thing we can do In Part of WTOP s Fighting Fentanyl series schools and region groups warn about emerging substances Source