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17-Year-Old Spends 18 Days In Hospital With Lungs Blocked From Vaping

17-Year-Old Spends 18 Days In Hospital With Lungs Blocked From Vaping

The teenager's lungs - usually healthy - failed completely

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A 17-year-old American boy ended up with his lungs completely blocked up as a result of vaping, according to his doctors.

Tryston Zohfeld, from Texas, found himself fighting for his life on July 26 when his lungs - which had seemed healthy and athletic - failed completely.

He told ABC affiliated TV channel WFAA: "I woke up just throwing up everywhere, and my heart was beating out of my chest going 100 miles an hour."

Zohfeld was rushed away to the Cook Children's Hospital in Texas' Fort Worth where he was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit and placed under a medically induced coma.

His condition continued to deteriorate and he spent 10 days hooked up to an oscillatory ventilator, which kept him alive.

GoFundMe

His father, Matt Zohfeld, said: "The day they intubated him was the worst day of my life.

"We walked into this hospital very naive about what we were dealing with."

"We had no idea if he was going to make it through or not,

"That was very difficult to come to terms with."

An X-ray of his lungs revealed that there was a complete blockage. The doctors ran every test that they could think of and checked for a whole load of illnesses, but came up with no answers.

GoFundMe

Dr Karen Schultz, pulmonary and paediatric specialist at the hospital, said: "We eliminated everything that we could possibly think of that could have caused it."

Eventually, a family member divulged that Tryston was a habitual vaper. That gave the doctors an idea of what the problem could be.

His dad continued: "The lightbulb started coming on.

"It started making sense why we weren't finding anything else."

Basically, the doctors thought that the chemicals that Tryston was inhaling through his vape device had caused his lungs to inflate to such a level that they were then unable to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide anymore.

It had even left scarring on his lungs, according to CBS.

This latest report comes after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that they are currently investigating 153 cases of severe lung disease that they reckon could be linked to use of e-cigarettes.

GoFundMe

The US Food and Drug Administration is also in the process of investigating 127 cases involving seizures and 'neurological symptoms' that could potentially be linked to e-cigarettes.

After Tryston was released from hospital following an 18-day stay, he said that he and all his friends have chucked out their vape pens and e-cigarettes.

He said: "I was definitely given a second chance, and as soon as I woke up from that coma I knew what I wanted to do.

"This is really what could happen and it's not something to look over. They're not as safe as you think."

His family have set up a GoFundMe account to pay for his medical expenses.

Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe

Topics: Science, US News, Weird, Health