‘I Vaped for One Year and Almost Died’

A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman has shared her harrowing story after nearly losing her life from vaping for just one year.

Petrea Mckeithen, who picked up vaping at age 21, says she ignored warnings from people around her. "Everybody warned me about it, but I didn't listen — I wish that I did," she admitted during an interview with Fox News Digital.

Mckeithen quickly became hooked on vaping, drawn to the enticing flavors and the sense of rebellion it seemed to embody. "It’s really, seriously addicting," she said. "You get addicted to the vape clouds and the flavors — it's themed, it's cool. It's like a rebel type of thing, I guess you could say."

But in September 2022, just a year into her vaping habit, her world turned upside down. Struggling to breathe, she initially thought she might have asthma. However, doctors soon discovered the real issue — her lungs had collapsed.

The condition she experienced, known as pneumothorax, occurs when air leaks into the chest cavity, putting pressure on the lungs and causing them to collapse partially or fully. According to medical experts, this can sometimes result from the deep inhalations and chemical irritants associated with vaping.

Mckeithen’s case was severe. She was airlifted to the hospital, placed in a medically induced coma, and underwent ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) to support her heart and lungs. Her doctors gave her only a 3% chance of survival, but against all odds, she pulled through.

After waking up from a 10-day coma, Mckeithen described the experience as nothing short of haunting. "Those nightmares were 10 days of me dying over and over in the most excruciating, painful ways," she said, adding that the memories still stay with her.

Her recovery has been a long road. Mckeithen now lives with chronic asthma and a condition known as "vaper’s lung" (EVALI), which has left her lungs particularly vulnerable to respiratory infections. She takes daily medication, monitors air quality religiously, and must be cautious about exposure to illnesses.

Despite the challenges, Mckeithen is determined to turn her experience into a warning for others, especially young people. "It doesn't matter if you're underage, you can still get them — and it's really terrifying," she said. "People think they're safer for you than cigarettes. I thought that, and I was so wrong."

Her fight isn’t just personal. Mckeithen recently approached a group of teenagers she saw vaping in a store, sharing her story and showing them photos from her time in the hospital. "I know it’s probably not my place, but they were really young, and I just wanted to protect them. Seeing teenagers vaping breaks my heart," she said.

Now a mother to an 18-month-old son, Mckeithen also reflected on the emotional toll her ordeal has taken on her family. "My family has severe trauma from watching me fight for my life," she shared. "At the end of the day, when I look back on it, vaping was simply not worth it."

Her message is clear: vaping is no harmless pastime. "When someone vapes, they are ingesting a liquid," she explained. "That liquid actually sits on your lungs and actually drowns them."

For Mckeithen, the fight against vaping isn’t just about raising awareness — it’s about saving lives.