Girl, 12, put into induced coma after vaping

A mother said she was terrified her 12 year-old daughter would die when she was put into an induced coma after vaping ravaged her lungs.

Sarah Griffin was getting ready for bed one evening when she started coughing, but at first her family thought it was a symptom of her asthma.

The girl tried to ease her symptoms throughout the night with her inhaler and nebuliser but still felt unwell. 

In the morning her mother Mary Griffin left to take her other two children to school and Sarah seemed to settle. But later in the day, her daughter called her in a panic as she couldn’t breathe properly.

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Sarah’s father rushed her to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where she was taken to the resuscitation area. A nurse checked her vitals and found her oxygen levels were extremely low.

“Sarah was just in a blind panic, she was terrified,” Ms Griffin said. “She was on oxygen and was linked up to all sorts of machines.

“There were medical staff all around her assessing her and they said she needed to go to ICU as she was deteriorating very quickly.”

Sarah spent four and a half hours in intensive care before she was put into an induced coma.

The doctor showed Ms Griffin an X-Ray of Sarah’s lungs showing one had been seriously injured and she had an infection. Due to the injury, the other lung was working overtime and making her asthma worse.

“There were tubes, wires, and machines everywhere- it was heart-breaking to see her like that,” Ms Griffin said. “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.

The anguished mother explained how medical staff worked around the clock to ease Sarah’s symptoms.”

After three days medical staff were able to take Sarah out of the coma and remove the ventilator.

The doctors explained to Sarah if she hadn’t damaged her lungs by vaping, she would have been in a better position to fight the infection.

Sarah continues to suffer from lethargy and will be classed as a high-risk patient for the rest of her life whereas before her asthma was under control, her mother explained.

“She has been through such a trauma,” Ms Griffin said. “She still has a long road ahead of her, but we are just so grateful to have her back home with us.”

The family has shared their story as part of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s new campaign to raise awareness of their concern about young vapers.

Fidelma Carter, head of public health at NICHS (Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke), said: “. 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 taking up and 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.”

For further information and support about vaping visit, https://nichs.org.uk/vaping