A mother's harrowing ordeal unfolded when her 12-year-old daughter's life hung in the balance after vaping wreaked havoc on her lungs, forcing her into an induced coma. Sarah Griffin's night took a terrifying turn when she began to cough incessantly, initially mistaken as an asthma symptom by her family.
Throughout the night, Sarah struggled to alleviate her symptoms using her inhaler and nebulizer but continued to feel unwell. In the morning, her mother, Mary Griffin, left to escort her other two children to school, thinking that Sarah was improving. However, later in the day, Sarah urgently called her mother, struggling to breathe.
Sarah's father rushed her to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where she was immediately taken to the resuscitation area. A nurse assessed her vitals and discovered that her oxygen levels had plummeted dangerously low.
"Sarah was in a state of sheer panic; she was terrified," recounted Ms. Griffin. "She required oxygen and was connected to various monitoring devices. Medical professionals surrounded her, evaluating her condition, and they determined that she needed to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as her condition was deteriorating rapidly."
Sarah spent an agonizing four and a half hours in ICU before being placed in an induced coma. The doctor showed Ms. Griffin an X-ray of Sarah's lungs, revealing severe damage to one lung and an infection. Due to the injury, the other lung was overworking, exacerbating her asthma.
"Seeing her surrounded by tubes, wires, and machines was heart-wrenching," said Ms. Griffin. "As her mother, I felt utterly helpless—it was a nightmare come true. Sarah has an older brother and two younger siblings, and trying to explain the situation to them was excruciating. They asked if she might die, and I reassured them, but deep down, I was petrified that it could become a reality. I had to maintain composure for their sake, though I was overwhelmed with worry."
Ms. Griffin further explained how medical staff worked tirelessly around the clock to alleviate Sarah's symptoms. After three days, Sarah emerged from the coma, and the ventilator was removed. Doctors conveyed to Sarah that had her lungs not been damaged by vaping, her ability to fight the infection would have been significantly improved.
Sarah still battles fatigue and will be classified as a high-risk patient for the rest of her life, whereas her asthma had previously been well managed, her mother revealed.
"She has endured such trauma," Ms. Griffin shared. "The road to recovery is long, but we are immensely grateful to have her back home with us."
The family has bravely shared their story as part of a new campaign by Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) to raise awareness regarding their concerns about young people vaping.
Fidelma Carter, head of public health at NICHS, emphasized, "The biggest misconception about vaping is that it's harmless compared to cigarettes. This is untrue and must be corrected to dissuade more young individuals from taking up vaping, mistakenly believing it's risk-free. The long-term health consequences remain unknown, just as they once did with tobacco."
"We have launched our vaping awareness campaign in response to the misunderstandings surrounding the potential health risks associated with vaping and the alarming surge in the number of teenagers using vaping devices."
Post a Comment