Ohio vaping addict left fighting for her life with lung condition trends now
An Ohio woman is fighting for her life after smoking more than a cartridge of e-cigarette liquid every day for seven years.
Like a growing number of young Americans, Amanda Stelzer, 34, started vaping in 2015 after seeing many of her friends doing so and thinking it would be fun.
She was quickly hooked on the devices and found herself going through around eight cartridges of vape fluid each week - the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day.
Suddenly in October 2019, she went to urgent care after suffering from breathing problems. Doctors could not figure out what was wrong and sent her to a local hospital. Within the next 24 hours she was on life support.
Chest scans revealed she was suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome - a deadly condition that occurs when a person's lungs become so damaged they fail to provide the rest of the body with enough oxygen.
Amanda Stelzer (pictured), 34, was hospitalized after suffering life-threatening complications from the condition acute respiratory distress syndrome
Ms Stelzer reported smoking eight vape cartridges every week for seven years - or more than one every day.
Repeated studies have warned that vaping can cause severe damage to the lungs and heart, similar to smoking standard cigarettes.
Ms Stelzer, a cashier from Delaware, said: 'I was crying because I was in so much pain. I 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 to be put on life support.'
She was on life support for about eight days, with doctors warning her family she may remain that way for at least three months.
Despite her severe illness, doctors could not figure out what was wrong with Ms Stelzer.
Not until her mother asked a nurse if this could have anything to do with her vaping prompted doctors to scan her chest.
Medical staff then confirmed that her diagnosis directly resulted from her vaping.
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