Texas man on life support, family blames vaping

Family says the father of three started to get sick in July

A Texas man is on life support after an illness his family is blaming on vaping.

Janie Lewis told WFAA that her son, Jaydee Hernandez, 24,  first became ill in July.

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He went to the hospital because he was throwing up and having a hard time breathing.

Lewis said Hernandez's doctors in the Rio Grande Valley thought it was pneumonia, but he wasn't responding to treatments.

The father of three was flown to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for more treatments, Lewis told WFAA.

Lewis said doctors now believe vaping is to blame for the illness, and they told the family there is not much more than can do for him.

"The day before he fell ill, he had vaped with THC," Lewis told WFAA. "And I know right now if he was here speaking right now he would warn everybody right now to stop."

Two deaths across the country have been linked to vaping -- one in Oregon in July and another in Illinois in August.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was looking into 215 possible cases of vaping-related lung disease in 25 states, including Texas.

Wisconsin health officials have issued a warning to residents to stop vaping immediately.

The governor of Michigan announced this week that Michigan is set to become the first U.S. state to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.


About the Author

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

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