A mum has told of "nightmare come true" as she watched her 12-year-old daughter in an induced coma in hospital after vaping. Photo / NICHS
A mum has told of "nightmare come true" as she watched her 12-year-old daughter in an induced coma in hospital after vaping. Photo / NICHS
A mum has opened up about the horrors her 12-year-old daughter is going through after the vaping child was put into a coma.
Mary Griffin’s daughter Sarah was rushed to hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after struggling to breathe.
But their fears soon turned to panic when it was found one of Sarah’s lungs was badly injured because of vaping and the other was severely affected by her asthma.
Speaking to Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, Griffin has opened up about how their nightmare came true at the hands of vaping.
“It was a Sunday night, Sarah was getting ready for bed and said she didn’t feel great. She started coughing but because Sarah has asthma, we put that down to the change in weather as that has been a trigger for Sarah’s asthma before,” said Griffin.
“Her cough was no different from any other time and she used her inhaler and nebuliser throughout the Sunday night into Monday morning.
“That morning I was taking my other two children to school when Sarah rang and said, ‘Come back Mummy, I don’t feel well, I’m afraid’. I got home, gave Sarah her inhaler and nebuliser again and she seemed to settle. A while later I popped out to the shop quickly and Sarah rang again, this time completely out of breath, barely able to string a sentence together, saying, ‘I need a doctor or to go to hospital’.”
The X-ray showed that one of Sarah’s lungs was badly injured, which meant the other was working overtime and making her asthma horrifically worse.
Sarah was rushed to hospital when she was struggling to breathe and placed in an induced coma. Photo / NICHS
She was also found to have an infection. All of those elements led to Sarah’s body deteriorating dramatically.
“When we got to ICU the team worked on Sarah for four and a half hours before having to put her into an induced coma,” Griffin told BelfastLive.
“There were tubes, wires and machines everywhere - it was heartbreaking to see her like that. As her mum I just felt so helpless - it was a nightmare come true. Sarah has an older brother and two younger siblings and trying to explain to them what was happening was awful.
“They were asking if she was going to die, and I was saying, ‘Of course not’, but in my mind I was terrified that was a real possibility. I had to try and keep it together for them, but I was out of my mind with worry. I never thought something like this would happen to us, you never do.”
Sarah needed a breathing machine as she was unstable. Doctors and nurse had to balance giving Sarah oxygen to help her breathe, but that would also drop her blood pressure.
Griffin didn’t think Sarah would pull through, but after a few attempts of bringing her out of an induced coma, she was able to breathe on her own.
When Griffin asked doctors what caused Sarah’s condition, they told her that vaping played a big part.
“The doctors explained that if Sarah hadn’t been vaping, she would have been in a better position to fight off the infection. Vaping had left her lungs very weak. The doctors said if Sarah had got to hospital any later the outcome would have been entirely different. That is something I can’t even think about.”
She will now be considered a “high-risk patient” if she is ever admitted back to hospital because of the effect the ordeal had on her body.
Fidelma Carter, head of public health at NICHS said people mistakenly believe there are few health risks with vaping but it can cause long-term and potentially deadly health consequences.
“Many people may think there is little risk associated with regular vaping. The biggest misunderstanding about vapes is that they are harmless compared to cigarettes. This is not true, and this message needs to change to prevent more young people from getting addicted to vaping because they think they are risk-free.
“The long-term health implications are unknown - just as they once were with tobacco. We have launched our vaping awareness campaign in response to the misunderstandings around the potential health risks associated with vaping and the huge increase in the number of teenagers using vapes.”
“Vapes are designed to deliver vaporised liquids into your lungs when you breathe in. This vapourised liquid isn’t water and it almost always contains nicotine, flavours and either/or a combination of humectants such as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine or glycerol.
“Many flavours and humectants have been approved in the UK for oral ingestion but not for inhalation. Therefore, the health risk is not well known, when consumed in this manner. Vapes may also contain other harmful chemicals that aren’t listed on the pack.”
Mary Griffin (left) is now telling of the dangers from vaping after her daughter Sarah was placed into an induced coma. Photo / NICHS
She added: “There is also emerging evidence and increasing concerns about the impact of vaping on our lungs, hearts and blood vessels, which could lead to future cardiovascular and respiratory illness.
“People could go on to develop serious health conditions as a result of their vaping, which can also exacerbate existing conditions like asthma.
“We need to cull vaping until we have more research knowledge on the long-term health implications. Our stance on vaping is that we recommend avoiding the use of vapes other than in a short-term attempt to quit smoking and would urge people, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.”
Griffin has shared her story in the hope that it’ll prevent other children from going through the same nightmare as her 12-year-old.
“What Sarah has experienced could easily happen to other young people, and we don’t want that, which is why we’re sharing our story and supporting NICHS’s vaping campaign.
“I have seen children as young as 7 and 8 years old vaping which is just horrendous. Sarah hadn’t been vaping heavily but that, coupled with her asthma was such a dangerous combination. Young people are attracted to the bright colours and flavours of vapes - they might smell and taste sweet, but people need to know about the potential dangers associated with them.”
Vape health warning
Doctors, public health experts and schools are among those calling for New Zealand authorities to make vapes prescription only.
The Health Ministry says switching smokers to vaping is critical to its goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025, but many doctors are warning we could see a rise in major health issues.
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) president Bryan Betty, a Porirua GP, earlier told Radio New Zealand it could be years before the full health impact was known, but problems were already coming to light.
“A lot of the vapes are high in nicotine, which is very addictive. We’re starting to see the emergence of young people who are vaping who are finding it very, very difficult to come off the thing itself.”
Vaping can make asthma and other lung diseases worse.
“Young women who are on the oral contraceptive we know have a slightly higher risk of deep vein thrombosis or blood clots,” Betty said.
“What has started to emerge is that vaping could increase that risk by three times.”
