An 18-year-old from the United States was put into a medically-induced coma to recover from ailments doctors believed were sustained from vaping.
Maddie Nelson from Utah vaped every day for three years, according to US media outlet Fox 13.
"I thought vaping was fine... I did all the tricks, all the time," she told Fox.
Her illness began with nausea, vomiting and chest pains, her Go Fund Me page explained, but quickly advanced to intense back and kidney pain, a fever, and difficulties breathing.
Nelson was placed in an intensive care unit in July and "went from serious to potentially fatal".
An 18-year-old from the US was put into a medically-induced coma to recover from injuries doctors believed were sustained from vaping.
"Maddie could barely breath, and after two hours of being in this state she was incredibly exhausted and didn't know how much longer she was going to last," her siblings Sadie, Andrea and Dylan wrote on the fundraising page.
"When her chest X-ray came back the damage to her lungs was so severe the respiratory therapist will be using it as a teaching aid," they wrote.
Nelson told the US news outlet: "My temperature was so high, my brain just completely shut off".
"I had fat particles growing inside my lungs that were related to the glycerin in vape guice. So then my lungs were full of fluid. They said that my chest X-rays were one of the worst they've ever seen."
Doctors diagnosed her with acute eosinophilic pneumonia, believed to be a result of vaping.
"The doctors said that it was definitely from vaping," Nelson explained.
Nelson told Fox 13 she began using zero nicotine vape juice before changing to 3mg of nicotine.
"I used all sorts of different products, from all sorts of vape shops across Utah County."
Maddie Nelson from Utah vaped every day for three years, according to US media outlet Fox 13.
Nelson's siblings were aiming to raise awareness about the dangers of vaping and help relieve the financial pressure on their parents.
"Maddie's generation and those after her are the guinea pigs of the popularising of 'vape life' and after only a few years we are seeing some pretty scare side effects," they wrote.
Nelson wasn't the first to be reportedly harmed by vaping. One person died in August after being hospitalised with severe lung illness. The death appeared to be the first, however, in the US, there were at least 149 cases of mysterious lung illnesses being invested, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 22 people, from 17 to 38, had experienced respiratory illness after using e-cigarettes or vaping, Illinois officials said in a statement in August.
South Canterbury students took a stand against vaping in New Zealand in August by erecting anti-vaping signs around Opihi College.
