Teenager left in coma after vaping every day led to deadly disease

Dave Burke
The Mirror
Fri, 30 Aug 2019 12:43 UTC

A teenager claims she was left in a coma after years of vaping left her seriously ill.

Maddie Nelson, 18, was placed in a medically-induced coma earlier this month because she was suffering from chest pains and nausea.

Medics found her lungs were severely inflamed, and said her vaping habit was to blame.

The youngster, from Utah, said she picked up the habit three years ago, believing it was safe.

She had felt unwell for several weeks before she was hospitalised with a fever.

Writing on Facebook , she urged readers not to vape.

She said: "I am sharing my story so you all are aware that there is something crazy in these pens that is not safe and almost cost me my life.

"I used to just tell myself it won't happen to me, but it can and will happen to you too...take my advice, don't smoke, don't vape. #vape #stopthevape."

And she told Fox 13: "My temperature was so high, my brain just completely shut off.

"I thought I was in the hospital for one night, and I was actually there for four days."

Writing on a GoFundMe page to raise cash for medical fees, her siblings Sadie, Adnrea and Dylan warned against vaping.

They said she was admitted to hospital on July 27, but four days later her life was in danger.

They wrote: "On Wednesday, July 31st she was transferred to another hospital where she was rushed to the ICU.

"At this point, Maddie could barely breathe, and after two hours of being in this state she was incredibly exhausted and didn't know how much longer she was going to last, the situation went from serious to potentially fatal.

"When her chest X-ray came back the damage to her lungs was so severe the respiratory therapist will be using it as a teaching aid."

Their fundraising page continues: "Maddie's generation and those after her are the guinea pigs of the popularizing of the 'vape life' and after only a few years we are seeing some pretty scary side effects.

"Next time you reach for your juul and feel good about not smoking, think again."

Comment: Better to stick with natural tobacco than risk your health by using vapes:

Reader Comments

sbc · 2019-09-02T15:35:11Z

I wonder if it is more prevalent in the mod pen users. Those guys go through large amounts of vape juice. They are almost all flavored. many of them with diacetyl and or other chemicals that are giving them popcorn lung.