Maddie's Recovery and Vape Awareness Fund
Donation protected
Our intention is not only to help our parents with the pressure of excessive medical bills but to raise awareness about the reality of vaping.
IT'S NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO SMOKING CIGARETTES.
E-cigarettes, Juuls, vapes, and even THC pens are relatively new to the market. While closed studies have considered these products safe for our consumption, the reality is that there is not enough data to support that. When new products are released they may be considered safe, but prolonged use often leads to side effects we never saw coming.
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. Ultimately, there may be additives, preservatives, chemicals (etc) that can be incredibly damaging to your lungs so we are encouraging people to be aware of what is in the products they're using!
MADDIE'S STORY:
Our sister Maddie has always been strong. She may be the youngest, but she's tough and not one to complain. After experiencing weeks of dealing with nausea, vomiting, & chest pain Maddie had to be hospitalized. She was admitted around midnight on July 27th due to intense back/kidney pain & a high fever, but it didn't take long for her symptoms to worsen. Before we knew it she was struggling to breathe. The nurses tried giving her oxygen hoping it would help, but it wasn't enough.
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.
Shortly following her assessment, we decided to have her intubated, or what is considered a medically induced coma. This was a hard decision for us to make, her condition seemed to be getting worse fast and we were scared we may never be able to talk to our sister again.
Considering that you rarely see a healthy 18-year-old with such severe lung inflammation- the medical staff spent the days while she was intubated studying her case and trying to figure out what could be the source of such a serious issue. They ran various tests, from West Nile Virus to Lyme Disease, but everything came back negative.
On August 1st, she officially received her diagnosis after two bronchoscopies. Test results showed she has been enduring Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia. Her doctor suspects it's from Electronic Vaping sources, this includes all supposedly "safe" alternatives to smoking such as e-cigarettes, juuls, pens.
Due to her results, doctors decided to give her a regimen of steroids to help combat inflammation. Within 24 hours she showed dramatic improvements, the medical staff was shocked and thrilled.
On August 3rd, after three days in a medically induced coma, Maddie was brought back to a conscious state and is continuing to improve. She is now breathing and eating on her own and with some help from a pulmonologist, we are hoping for a full recovery!
While we write this our sister is doing much better. In fact, today August 4th, Maddie was healthy enough to be moved out of the ICU and into a room where they will continue to monitor and assist her in her journey to recovery.
With love,
-Maddie’s siblings- Sadie, Andrea, & Dylan
Recent articles on similar cases:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/s0823-vaping-related-death.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/03/health/vaping-hospitalizations-wisconsin-illinois/index.html
https://www.livescience.com/66049-teens-hospitalized-lung-damage-vaping-wisconsin.html
IT'S NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO SMOKING CIGARETTES.
E-cigarettes, Juuls, vapes, and even THC pens are relatively new to the market. While closed studies have considered these products safe for our consumption, the reality is that there is not enough data to support that. When new products are released they may be considered safe, but prolonged use often leads to side effects we never saw coming.
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. Ultimately, there may be additives, preservatives, chemicals (etc) that can be incredibly damaging to your lungs so we are encouraging people to be aware of what is in the products they're using!
MADDIE'S STORY:
Our sister Maddie has always been strong. She may be the youngest, but she's tough and not one to complain. After experiencing weeks of dealing with nausea, vomiting, & chest pain Maddie had to be hospitalized. She was admitted around midnight on July 27th due to intense back/kidney pain & a high fever, but it didn't take long for her symptoms to worsen. Before we knew it she was struggling to breathe. The nurses tried giving her oxygen hoping it would help, but it wasn't enough.
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.
Shortly following her assessment, we decided to have her intubated, or what is considered a medically induced coma. This was a hard decision for us to make, her condition seemed to be getting worse fast and we were scared we may never be able to talk to our sister again.
Considering that you rarely see a healthy 18-year-old with such severe lung inflammation- the medical staff spent the days while she was intubated studying her case and trying to figure out what could be the source of such a serious issue. They ran various tests, from West Nile Virus to Lyme Disease, but everything came back negative.
On August 1st, she officially received her diagnosis after two bronchoscopies. Test results showed she has been enduring Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia. Her doctor suspects it's from Electronic Vaping sources, this includes all supposedly "safe" alternatives to smoking such as e-cigarettes, juuls, pens.
Due to her results, doctors decided to give her a regimen of steroids to help combat inflammation. Within 24 hours she showed dramatic improvements, the medical staff was shocked and thrilled.
On August 3rd, after three days in a medically induced coma, Maddie was brought back to a conscious state and is continuing to improve. She is now breathing and eating on her own and with some help from a pulmonologist, we are hoping for a full recovery!
While we write this our sister is doing much better. In fact, today August 4th, Maddie was healthy enough to be moved out of the ICU and into a room where they will continue to monitor and assist her in her journey to recovery.
With love,
-Maddie’s siblings- Sadie, Andrea, & Dylan
Recent articles on similar cases:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/s0823-vaping-related-death.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/03/health/vaping-hospitalizations-wisconsin-illinois/index.html
https://www.livescience.com/66049-teens-hospitalized-lung-damage-vaping-wisconsin.html
Organiser and beneficiary
Andrea Fullmer
Organiser
Nephi, UT
Madeline Nelson
Beneficiary