MESA, AZ — A Valley woman is speaking out and warning others after being hospitalized for a severe lung infection linked to vaping.
A light stroll that should be no problem is now an uphill battle for 32-year-old Stephanie Hernandez.
"How ya feeling right now?" asked her boyfriend Bradley. "Winded, light-headed," said Hernandez before sitting down and resting during their 50-yard walk.
Hernandez at this point is just weeks removed from nearly losing her life. "I learned how fragile we really, truly are. Before this, I didn't think twice before I bought cartridges," said Hernandez.
The medical marijuana cardholder has been using THC vape cartridges purchased from local dispensaries for over a year now.
She's never had any health problems, but in late August she says she made the biggest mistake of her life.
"Rather than going into a marijuana club I got lazy and it was convenient so I just went to a friend of a friend," said Hernandez who says the THC cartridge she received didn't come from a dispensary but was made by a black market dealer.
She says it was half the price she would normally pay and didn't think anything of it.
Within days of using the cartridge, Hernandez's health went downhill fast. "I was throwing up, hot and cold flashes, couldn't breathe, I honestly thought I had a really bad flu," said Hernandez.
She went to the emergency room where doctors believed she had pneumonia and was sent home that same day with antibiotics.
"I'd say about four or five days later, I had one pill left of that antibiotic and nothing had changed, it had gotten worse, I mean at that point I knew something was desperately wrong with me," said Hernandez.
Hernandez says she couldn't breathe, her boyfriend Bradley rushed her to the hospital.
"Within five minutes of her being in the ER, they were shocked at how little oxygen she was getting to her lungs, they immediately put her on oxygen, the highest amount of PSI they could give a person," said Bradley.
Within hours, Hernandez was on a ventilator. But not before doctors told her she may not make it. Her thoughts immediately went to her four-year-old daughter.
"I didn't know if I was going to see her again, I didn't know if I was going to see my family again, right before they put me on the ventilator, I didn't know if that was it," said Hernandez through tears. "They had me sign a power of attorney over to my sister so she could make medical decisions for me, I was so scared."
A machine would breathe for her for four days. X-rays of her chest showed severe lung damage.
"My lungs were so cloudy you couldn't even tell they were lungs," said Hernandez. "In between waking up on the ventilator, all I could do was write and I just wrote to my sister please take care of my daughter if something happens to me."
Somehow, someway, she pulled through. Now home for a lifetime of recovery, she's warning others not to make the same mistake.
"People need to know, it needs to be known out there that these things are dangerous. You can't just pick up things off the street and think that they're safe. You don't know what you're putting in your body," said Hernandez who has vowed never to vape again.
Hernandez says she may have permanent damage to her lungs. She turned over the vape cartridge to the CDC who is investigating her case and hopes it can provide answers for many now sickened by the illness across the country.
At this point, there have been three confirmed cases in Arizona with several more under investigation. Seven people have died from the illness across the nation.
Hernandez has a number of medical bills she's attempting to pay, but being out of work has made it extremely difficult.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account in hopes the public will help them through this difficult time.
