The 22-year-old Fargo, North Dakota, man underwent a double lung transplant on January 1st after years of heavy vaping.
Jackson Allard is recovering from surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. according to Go to Valley News Live. He has been hospitalized in serious condition since October 18, 2023, when he first sought medical attention for abdominal pain, the newspaper said.
“One day, the doctors said he had one percent to live and we said, 'He's fighting, how many weeks has he been fighting?' We're going to give him a fighting chance. We're not going to stop any process,'' Allard's grandmother, Doreen Hurlburt, told the publication.
22-year-old undergoes double lung transplant after being hospitalized due to heavy use of e-cigarettes over many years https://t.co/bcgkgfRb0S pic.twitter.com/cnf69rc9rT
— New York Post (@nypost) January 21, 2024
Doctors discovered Allard's oxygen levels were low during his first visit and diagnosed him with influenza and double pneumonia. Wahpeton Daily News report. The newspaper said the young man's condition did not improve after being intubated and he was placed on life support in November 2023.
According to the newspaper, Allard was addicted to e-cigarettes. Popular e-cigarettes are not safe for children, teens, and young adults because they contain nicotine, which can damage the developing brain. according to Send it to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Related: Woman warns her lung collapsed 'spontaneously' and she was coughing up blood)
“He should stop vaping, and we kept telling him that over and over again, but he was a heavy vaper. He was always vaping, but… “It's better than cigarettes,” he said. That's right, they said, “If you smoke, you'll get lung cancer in 50 years. If you smoke, you'll get lung cancer in 50 years.” If you smoke, you'll get lung cancer in 50 years. If you inhale it, you will be diagnosed with permanent damage to your lungs,” Doreen said.
Doreen lamented that her grandson's life has been “completely changed” due to the effects of vaping, Valley News Live reported.
“He said he just wanted to prevent other people from going through what he ended up going through by doing what he did, which was vaping,” Doreen said.
