Ohio vaper addict left fighting for his life with lung disease
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An Ohio woman is fighting for her life after smoking more than one cartridge of e-liquid every day for seven years.
Like a growing number of young Americans, 34-year-old Amanda Stelzer started vaping in 2015 after seeing many of her friends do it and thinking it would be fun.
He quickly became hooked on the devices and found himself using around eight cartridges of vape liquid each week, the equivalent of 50 cigarettes per day.
Suddenly, in October 2019, he went to the emergency room after suffering from respiratory problems. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her and she was sent to a local hospital. Within the next 24 hours she was on life support.
Chest scans revealed that he was suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome, a deadly condition that occurs when a person’s lungs become so damaged that they cannot provide enough oxygen to the rest of the body.
Amanda Stelzer (pictured), 34, was hospitalized after suffering life-threatening complications from acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Ms. Stelzer reported smoking eight vape cartridges each week for seven years, or more than one per day.
Repeated studies have warned that vaping can cause severe lung and heart damage, similar to smoking standard cigarettes.
Ms. Stelzer, a cashier from Delaware, said: “I was crying because I was in a lot of pain.” She was so scared.
“The last thing I remember is someone handing me a form and basically saying I needed to sign this if I wanted to live, that was the consent form for me to be put on life support.”
He was on life support for about eight days, and doctors warned his family that he could remain on life support for at least three months.
Despite her severe illness, doctors were unable to determine what was wrong with Ms. Stelzer.
It wasn’t until his mother asked a nurse if this might have something to do with his vaping that prompted doctors to scan his chest.
Medical staff later confirmed that his diagnosis was directly due to his vaping.
After two more weeks in the hospital, she was released, but was unable to work, see friends and family, or be around people who smoked cigarettes and vaped for six months while her lungs healed.
The condition, also known as wet lung, occurs when fluid begins to accumulate in the elastic air sacs of the lungs. GOOD
Because of the fluid, air cannot fill the lungs, which means less oxygen is distributed throughout the body.
As a result, the body’s organs do not get the vital oxygen they need to function, leading to organ failure or even death.
They recommended that she use nicotine lozenges as her body was still healing and she was suffering from nicotine withdrawal.
The teller suffered substantial financial loss and mental health issues after her hospital stay.
She said: ‘I was lucky that I had my car at the time and my insurance covered my treatment, but I still went deep into debt.
It was depressing. He was happy to be alive, but he was sad because he couldn’t work and couldn’t be with family and friends without a mask.
‘It was awkward having to sanitize everything and ask people not to vape or smoke around me anymore.
“I even lost two friends because they refused to quit.”
Amanda now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to this experience.
However, her health is ‘wonderful’ at the moment, and she is in the best position she has ever been in, with many supportive friends and family.
Ms. Stelzer nearly died from her complications, but eventually recovered. She now needs to stay away from people who use vapes or cigarettes, as even secondhand smoke can be dangerous. She says that she now suffers from PTSD and has vowed not to vape in her future.
He’s vowed never to touch a vaporizer again, and hopes his experience is the wake-up call someone else needs.
Amanda said: ‘It seems harmless until it isn’t. You never know what can happen. I thought it wasn’t a big deal when I started.
It’s dangerous and I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.
“People may not want to see or hear it, but if it helps just one person to stop, I’ll be happy.”
Vape use in the US has reached a crisis point, especially among young people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.
An agency report found that 2.6 million American teens vaped last year.
It is estimated that more than 8 million adults also used the devices.
These numbers have risen rapidly in recent years as companies like Juul have become major players in the tobacco industry.