A startling case has emerged from the US where a woman was recently hospitalised and had two litres of “black and bloody” liquid removed from her lungs. According to a report in The Daily Mail, Jordan Brielle, 32, has been battling a severe vaping addiction and spends $500 (approximately Rs 41,000) weekly to maintain the habit. Brielle, who started smoking as a teenager, made the switch to vaping in 2021. Her addiction quickly escalated, with her relying heavily on the device even during showering.
“I was fully addicted. I was vaping so much that I slept with it, it went to the shower with me. I was vaping an excessive amount,” Brielle, who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, said as per the report. She maintained this high level of vaping for two years until last November when she first noticed a “heaviness” in her lungs. She was diagnosed with “a respiratory infection.” “I kept going to the hospital with breathing problems. I had a horrible cough and was going to the hospital two or three times a week for help,” the residential care assistant said.
Brielle further describing her condition to the outlet said that “it felt like there was 80 lbs. of pressure” on her chest. She also started to notice symptoms like swelling throughout her body and grayish complexion.
Despite her worsening condition, Brielle continued to vape until a life-altering medical emergency forced her to face the reality of her addiction. Her partner found her unconscious with “black mucus” spilling from her mouth and nose. “He said I was gasping but couldn’t catch my breath. I was unresponsive and had a faint pulse,” she recalled. In a desperate attempt to save her, he called emergency services and tried to clear the mucus out of her nose while also performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until paramedics arrived.
Brielle has no memory of that traumatic event. Upon reaching the hospital, she was immediately intubated. Doctors told her that her lungs were full of two litres of fluid, which they described as “vape juice” – the liquid the vaporiser converts to aerosol, which is then inhaled. “My body was trying to force out the vape juice inside my lungs which was like concrete. It was pure black and bloody. At the hospital, they were sucking it out of me,” she explained.
Brielle was placed in a medically induced coma for 11 days, during which doctors informed her that her lungs had suffered significant damage. She constantly worries about the possibility of her lungs collapsing. Along with her breathing problems, she now deals with a minor brain injury from lack of oxygen to her brain. Since this harrowing incident, Breille hasn’t vaped again.
She shared her experience to help others and avoid this life-threatening habit. “I would say to anyone else quit any way you can. Do it for your health, your family, your life, your lungs — whatever motivates you, use that reason and stop. I wouldn’t wish what I’d been through on anyone else. I feel grateful to be alive,” Brielle added.
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