Belfast girl with asthma told mum she didn't want to die without her after vaping left her in ICU

A 12-year-old girl with asthma has told UTV she 'didn't want to die alone' after the effects of vaping on her condition left her fighting for her life in intensive care.

Sarah Williams from north Belfast was induced into a coma last month after facing breathing difficulties at home.

Doctors in hospital told her mother that vaping, the action of inhaling flavoured vapour, made it much more difficult for her body to fight off an infection.

Mary Griffin was told one of her daughter's lungs was working overtime due to the other filling with liquid.

After being shown the X-Ray's in her hospital bed, Sarah said she contacted her mother immediately.

Sarah told UTV: "I seen [sic] the X-Ray because I was lying in the bed, and nearly all the doctors in ER were standing round it looking at it and they were all looking at me... I was texting my mummy saying can you hurry up, I don't want to die without her."

Her mother Mary added: "It was just heart-breaking when I first went in, the amount of machines and tubes and wires... nobody wants to see their kids like that, no matter what the reason is.

She added: "I wouldn't even recommend for an adult to use it, let alone a child," said Mary.

"There is [sic] kids picking them up on the street, so that's how easy they are (to access). Then you have the concern of who was using it before them kids and what else are they picking up while they're doing it?"

Sarah was stabilised by doctors and allowed to return home much sooner than what her family thought.

However, she has now been given more medication and requires closer attention if she develops sickness such as a cold, due to the effect vaping has had on her lungs.

The mother and daughter are speaking out to raise more awareness around the unknown dangers of vaping.

A campaign from Northern Ireland Chest, Heart & Stroke is currently underway to highlight concerns around the growing number of young people choosing to vape.

"The chemicals that make them up are certified to be eaten," Neil Johnston from NICHS said.

"We don't know the long-term consequences of those when they're inhaled and get into the bloodstream and there is more and more evidence that they cause cardiovascular and respiratory issues and we've seen with Sarah."

Sarah is now recovering and is back at school but it's an ordeal her and her family hope no one else will ever have to go through.

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