Man hospitalized after 9 years of vaping issues a frightening warning to others

Raymond Dehn began vaping at 14 and is now concerned about his health

A man who vaped for almost a decade has warned others after being hospitalized.

Raymond Dehn started vaping at 15, purchasing disposables from a local store that didn’t verify his age.

Now 24, he maintained his habit and later began using cannabis THC pens.

On September 13, the Buffalo resident was vaping in his car before he and his girlfriend went to the mall to get some food after work.

There, he suddenly experienced a ‘searing pain’ between his shoulder blades and collapsed.

He recounted: "I remember using my vape and THC pen in the car and coughing, which wasn't unusual. But then I felt intense pain between my shoulder blades that wouldn't subside."

"I tried to push through, and we began walking back to the mall, but the pain intensified rapidly. I was stifling screams. Shortly after, while walking in the mall, I fainted."

An ambulance took him to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a spontaneous pneumothorax.

An x-ray revealed that his lung had collapsed.

He expressed: "I was truly shocked. It was frightening to realize I suddenly had a collapsed lung, especially being so young and healthy."

Although the doctor ‘couldn't pinpoint a specific cause’ for the collapse, she mentioned she'd seen ‘three or four young people’ with the same condition in the past six months.

He noted: "The only thing we all had in common was that we vaped."

For Raymond, it was ‘a terrifying and extremely painful experience,’ and he’s cautioning others about the risks of vaping.

Describing himself as a ‘healthy young man’, he mentioned that the only reason he can think of for this occurrence is his vaping habit.

After being discharged from the hospital, he quit vaping and urged other young people to do the same.

As a teenager, he wasn't really a smoker, but noted that kids might be drawn to vaping because it's 'so convenient and leaves very little trace' of smoking.

Following four nights in the hospital with a tube in his chest to slowly reinflate his lung, he described the experience as a 'wake-up call' and now lives in constant fear of it recurring.

Raymond stated: “Every few minutes, I have this overwhelming fear it’ll happen again. The whole experience has left a significant impact on me. It's why I'm so committed to raising awareness among other young people.”

He now uses alternative sources to satisfy his cravings but refuses to use a vape again.

He mentioned using pouches, saying: "I've been using ZYN nicotine pouches since then and have switched to edibles for THC. I'm taking this as my wake-up call and treating it seriously."