A mother has shared a poignant discussion she had with a physician following her teenage daughter’s sudden illness due to ‘popcorn lung’.
Christie Martin received an alarming call from her daughter, Brianne Cullen, who was experiencing difficulty breathing.
In a state of panic, Christie transported the 17-year-old to a local emergency room where she received oxygen, X-rays, and medication, before being diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a condition commonly referred to as ‘popcorn lung’.
The disease is a rare form of lung disorder characterized by scar tissue accumulation that obstructs airflow in the lungs.
Christie was unaware that Brianne had begun vaping secretly at 14 years old.
Describing the onset of her daughter’s symptoms, Christie, from Henderson, Nevada, US, recounted: “[Brianne] went to cheer sick, she had a cough and a sore throat. She was lifting up these kids, tumbling, it’s all very straining.
“She called me all of a sudden and said she can’t catch her breath.
“I couldn’t understand her, she kept saying ‘I can’t breathe’, it was the scariest thing.”
Christie then expressed gratitude towards the sport for indirectly safeguarding Brianne’s life.
“Cheer saved her life because the exertion that you put out during cheer practice on top of being sick, she couldn’t breathe,” Christie explained.
“The doctor came in and said, we need to have a very serious conversation,” Christie reflected on the hospital experience.
“I didn’t expect the news she gave me, that it was popcorn lungs that’s permanent and children are dying from it. […] We still don’t know if there will be long term effects.”
Brianne, who had been using a $25 vape each month for three years, was prescribed an inhaler by healthcare providers at St. Rose Dominican Hospital to aid her breathing.
Christie commented: “We don’t know the status of her lungs now, I was an absolute mess at the ER that night.
“They told me she should be able to make a full recovery because we caught it so early, but it can also cause problems like cancer in the future. I thought I failed as a mother.
“Smoking takes years to show its effect and your lungs can heal from it, but popcorn lung is irreversible.”
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“It took a deadly diagnosis for her to stop,” Christie lamented.
Now, Christie is calling on other parents to unite in preventing young individuals from gaining access to vapes and e-cigarettes.
“We need to work together to take these things off the market,” she urged.
“This is meant to be a cautionary tale to not let your kids vape no matter what. I hope to God they ban them, it’s worse than smoking.”