A mom has recalled a difficult conversation with a doctor after her teenage daughter fell ill with ‘popcorn lung’.
Christie Martin said she got a frantic call from her daughter, Brianne Cullen, who told her she was struggling to breathe.
Terrified, Christie drove the 17-year-old to a nearby emergency room.
Doctors gave Brianne oxygen, X-rays and medication before diagnosing her with bronchiolitis obliterans — commonly called ‘popcorn lung’.
That condition is an uncommon form of lung disease caused by scar tissue building up in the lungs and blocking airflow.
Christie later learned Brianne had been secretly vaping since she was 14.
Recounting the day Brianne became unwell, Christie, from Henderson, Nevada, said:
“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.”
Brianne was rushed to the ER when she started having breathing difficulties (Kennedy News and Media)
Christie credited the sport with helping reveal the problem.
“Cheer saved her life because the exertion that you put out during cheer practice on top of being sick, she couldn’t breathe,” Christie said.
She recalled a doctor’s arrival at the bedside.
“The doctor came in and said, we need to have a very serious conversation,” the mom said about their hospital dash.
“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 had been using a $25 vape she bought monthly for three years.
At St. Rose Dominican Hospital, doctors provided an inhaler to ease her breathing.
Christie said she was devastated and uncertain about Brianne’s lung health.
“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.”
Christie had been left fearing the worst for her daughter’s health
“It took a deadly diagnosis for her to stop,” the worried mother added.
Now, Christie is urging parents to act to keep vapes and e-cigarettes away from young people.
“We need to work together to take these things off the market,” she said.
“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.”