A Central Texas man said he feels like he's received a second chance at life after an illness related to vaping put him to the hospital.
Blake Keith is currently recovering at the Baylor Scott & White All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth after being diagnosed with chemical pneumonia related to vaping.
"I can't vape anymore and I am not going to use it, I will use different outlets," said Keith.
The 35-year-old has smoked and vaped for most of his life.
"I've been vaping and smoking for at least 20 years," he said.
Keith said vaping helped him get though a lot, but on September 11th, that habit prompted a trip to the hospital.
"I felt like i had the flu [with] respiratory problems [and] coughing," he recalled.
However, what was happening to his body was more than the flu. Dr. Van Wehmeyer called it a dangerous trend the medical field is learning a lot about.
"The trend with vaping not only is it becoming younger and younger, but it seems to be becoming more deadly and toxic to your health," said Dr. Wehmeyer.
Keith was sent home after receiving medical attention, but went back days later in much worse condition.
"I went to the ER Friday with a 103 [degree] fever, and nothing would break it...before I knew it I was coughing blood and I was being lifted by a helicopter," said Keith.
His wife Kristina Keith said he almost did not make it.
"He was intubated, and his level was up a lot and they said, "You need to call family because he wont make it,"" said Kristina.
"You get a flavor and it's tied into vitamin E, and that vitamin E is aerosol and you breathe it in and it becomes an oil again, and your lungs react to that very quickly in a very dangerous way," said Dr. Wehmeyer.
Since September 14th, Keith has been at BSW in Fort Worth, and said his recent medical issues are part of a nationwide epidemic, one that he wants to be an advocate for after it almost took his life.
"My goal moving forward is to have a platform where I can be a voice," said Keith.
His wife said the hard part has yet to begin.
"They don't know if he will ever be able to be off oxygen," said Kristina.
