A Pennsylvania woman, 26, says she only vaped for one year before her lungs collapsed.
Petrea Mckeithen was 21 when she took up the habit, she told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“Everybody warned me about it, but I didn’t listen — I wish that I did,” she said.
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Mckeithen quickly became addicted to vaping, primarily due to the flavor.
“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.”
Petrea Mckeithen (left), was 21 when she started vaping. A year later, she almost died when both of her lungs collapsed. (Petrea Mckeithen)
In September 2022, about a year later, she suddenly found that she couldn’t breathe.
“I had no prior health conditions,” she said. “The only thing that was going on with me in the months leading up to my lungs collapsing was that I was having breathing issues and thought maybe I was developing asthma.”
But it wasn’t asthma, her doctor said — it was her lungs giving out.
“Everybody warned me about it, but I didn’t listen.”
The condition, called pneumothorax, occurs when air gets inside the chest cavity and creates pressure against the lung, causing it to collapse partially or fully, according to Cleveland Clinic.
“Primary spontaneous pneumothorax, or collapsed lung, occurs when there is a hole in the lung through which oxygen escapes – this can be the result of injury or when air blisters on top of the lungs rupture and create tiny tears,” Dr. David Campbell, clinical director and program director at Recover Together Bend in Oregon, told Fox News Digital.
Pneumothorax occurs when air gets inside the chest cavity and creates pressure against the lung, causing it to collapse partially or fully. (Petrea Mckeithen)
Among vapers, the condition can be caused by “deep and forceful inhalations” that can stress the lungs, chemical irritants, or vaping with pre-existing lung conditions, according to the expert.
Johns Hopkins reports that they are seeing a rash of collapsed lungs in younger people, Campbell said — “and they report not smoking, but vaping.”
“They often strongly encourage them to discontinue vaping immediately if they want to avoid another lung collapse and surgery in the future,” he added.
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Signs of collapsed lungs include sharp chest or shoulder pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, according to Campbell.
Lung issues are just one of the many health issues linked to vaping, he warned. The habit can also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as exposure to harmful heavy metals.
Beating the odds
Mckeithen was life-flighted to the hospital, where she was put in a medically induced coma and placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which helps support heart and lung function.
During her 10-day coma, Mckeithen said she experienced intense nightmares that stick with her to this day.
Today, Mckeithen has an 18-month-old son, who she describes as “my whole world.” (Petrea Mckeithen)
“They don’t feel like dreams or nightmares — they feel like memories,” she told Fox News Digital. “Those nightmares were 10 days of me dying over and over in the most excruciating, painful ways.”
Doctors told Mckeithen’s family that she had just a 3% chance of survival — but against the odds, she pulled through.
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After getting out of ICU, Mckeithen underwent physical therapy and gradually improved — although she now lives with chronic asthma and “vaper’s lung,” a respiratory condition also known as EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury).
“People think that because you’re blowing out clouds, it’s just going in and out,” said Mckeithen (not pictured). “But that liquid actually sits on your lungs and actually drowns them.” (iStock)
“I take medicine daily,” she said. “I have to be really careful about the environment — I check the air quality every day before I leave, and if it is below where I am comfortable with, I will not leave my home.”
Mckeithen’s lungs are particularly vulnerable to any type of respiratory infection.
“I have to be really careful about who I interact with, because you never know who is carrying a sickness,” she said.
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“If it gets to the point where it was before, where I start to not breathe very well, I have to be admitted to the hospital immediately.”
“It’s just something that I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
“My family has severe trauma from watching me fight for my life,” Mckeithen, pictured with her son, told Fox News Digital. (Petrea Mckeithen)
Today, Mckeithen has an 18-month-old son, who she describes as “my whole world.”
“My doctors were really concerned because I wasn’t supposed to get pregnant,” she said.
“They gave me options for abortion … but I wanted to pursue the pregnancy because I had always wanted to be a mother. It’s always been my dream.”
‘Not worth it’
After her near-death experience, Mckeithen’s mission is to raise awareness about the dangers of vaping, especially for younger 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. It’s really scary.”
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When someone vapes, they are ingesting a liquid, Mckeithen said.
“People think that because you’re blowing out clouds, it’s just going in and out,” she said. “But that liquid actually sits on your lungs and actually drowns them.”
“Seeing teenagers vaping breaks my heart.”
Recently, Mckeithen said she approached a group of young teenagers when she saw them vaping in a store, sharing her experience as a cautionary tale.
“I showed them my pictures, and I was like, don’t do that,” she said. “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.”
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Overall, Mckeithen said, vaping is simply “not worth it.”
“It’s not cool, it’s not fun. At the end of the day, when I look back on it, my family has severe trauma from watching me fight for my life.”
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
