Longer Road Ahead to Recovery Due to Vaping!!!

On September 25, 2019 Amanda Hall started the fight of her life. Praise God she is a fighter. It all started on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. Amanda was having a hard time breathing so she had an appointment with her Doctor. He diagnosed her with bronchitis, prescribed antibiotics, plenty of fluids, and rest. The very next day she was taken to WakeMed and upon arrival, once somewhat stable, she was admitted to the Cardiac ICU. She had an oxygen level of 65 (normal range for healthy adults is 95-100). Her lungs were shutting down. She was put in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. She was on life support within days of being admitted. She was on life support for 10 long days while her lungs were given a chance to heal. It seemed that every small victory was met with an equally crushing defeat. Through prayers and her fighting spirit she emerged but definitely was not unscathed. After several weeks in the hospital part of WakeMed she was able to enter WakeMed's Inpatient Rehabilitation Program. She was totally rocking rehab. She had regained the use of her hands. She was able to go outside in her wheelchair and leave the constraints of her room for the first time in nearly 5 weeks!!! She still required oxygen but she felt free and proud of the progress she was making. Her vocal cords were paralyzed from the vent and she was hoarse but determined to get back her “money maker.” She was given November 14th as a tentative release date. She had a goal to work toward and she was making plans for when she got out. On October 30th she suffered a major setback. She was rushed back to the hospital’s ICU and quickly placed back on a ventilator (her blood O2 was in the 50s) and in a medically induced coma. This time that wasn’t enough to support her. Amanda’s blood gas levels were dangerous with her CO2 being very high and her pH being too low. Her oxygen had improved on the ventilator but with everything else dangerously out of whack the doctors believed the only thing that would save her life was to place her on an ECMO machine. All of her blood had to be cycled through a machine that removed the CO2 and pumped oxygen into the clean blood. She was moved to Duke very early on October 31st because they had the ECMO machines. She was still on life support, on a ventilator, medically paralyzed, in a medically induced coma and now on ECMO. On November 2nd they stopped the ECMO for 9 hours and her blood gases still looked great. They removed her from the ECMO (a process which requires a surgeon and is very risky). She was no longer on the paralytic and they began trying to bring her around. Today is November 3rd. Amanda is holding her own. When the doctors came around today I (Kristen) begged her to be cooperative and do all of her tricks. When they came in she waved and squeezed their hands, stuck out her tongue, wiggled her toes, and lifted her legs. I had tried to get her to practice while they were talking outside of her door but she gave me this look like, “I don’t need to practice...I’ve got this!” She will be able to come off the vent within the next day or so but the doctors are quick to point out that she still has a long road ahead. November 6th makes 6 weeks so the road has already felt impossibly long. Please keep prayers and good thoughts coming our way. That is going to be the difference. If you vape...STOP!!! The prayers she has received has been incredible and we're so very thankful for each and every one! She is still in need of financial support at this time. She has been unable to work for over a month. She does not have short or long term disability and she has to pay out of pocket for health insurance. All money donated goes to pay Amanda’s monthly expenses and for her insurance. Please donate what you're able to donate. If you're not able to donate, please share! No amount is too small and every penny is greatly appreciated!  If you know anyone who vapes...PLEASE ASK THEM TO STOP. I don't want ANYONE to go through what Amanda has been through and is still going through. It's not only the vapes containing THC, or bought on the Black Market...it's the regular flavored vapes and those with nicotine that are also causing the Vaping Illness. It is killing people...It is NOT better for you than smoking. It's actually A LOT WORSE.  I have had several people say that they thought the warnings about vaping were simply propaganda from the tobacco companies to get people to start smoking again. This is NOT true. Amanda is, praise God, LIVING proof of the dangers of vaping Please share, share, share this story! Thanks. ❤