Kegan Houck, who was a former freshman at Owen Valley High School in Spender, got expelled from school due to vaping illness.
On September 30th, the student borrowed the vaping device of his friend and used it in the school restroom. Just after doing that, he felt dizzy and went to the school nurse.
The nurse realised the delicate condition and wanted additional medical help for the 15 year old. And Kegan was admitted to a local hospital. Here the tests suggested that his oxygen levels were far from low, it was just 70% only.
The doctors diagnosed Kegan with Pheunomitis, or Lung inflammation. It was a result of vaping. Kegan claimed that he was vaping only nicotine but the results showed that it was THC or marijuana. When the school authorities came to know about the incident they expelled Kegan.
Shannon Houck who is Kegan’s mother, admitted that her son was wrong. But she wants the authorities to be more forgiving and let her son into the school again. She said that – “I understand he did wrong by doing that, but we are teaching them don’t go to school officials, don’t go to the nurse, because you could get in trouble”.
Chad Briggs, the Spencer-Owen Community School superintendent, did not comment in the current situation. But according to the school policies if a student possesses or uses tobacco then they can be expelled.
There are several vaping accidents this year. And that’s a growing concern. The ingredient doing the damage is yet to be identified. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, there were more than 1,600 cases of e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) till October this year.