Walker didn't realize the dangers of e-cigarettes last December when he bought his first one. "I thought it was cool," says Walker, who moved to Florida Atlantic University a month later. Within weeks, given the pressures of adjusting to a new campus, he was smoking a pack or more a day. "After about a week and a half," he says, "I'd get nervous and anxious if I didn't have it."
In early March, Walker went to a hospital emergency room near campus complaining of chest pain, fever and feeling sick. "Eleven days later my chest hurt so bad that I couldn't even sit straight," says Walker. X-rays showed that Walker had what looked like pneumonia (肺炎) in his left lung. Within days, Walker was put on a respirator (呼吸器) and later sent by air to another hospital. "He was dying," says his mom, Candy, a nurse.
It took seven days for doctors to confirm that Walker's infection was caused by the adenovirus (腺病毒). But they were at a loss to explain how the virus had nearly killed an otherwise strong and healthy college student. The answer became clear in mid-April after his father Dave was terrified by what he found — so many e-cigarettes. "Most likely," says Dr. Hunley, "it was the e-cigarettes that led to his breath failure, which contributed to the spread of the adenovirus."
By the time Walker finally left the hospital in July he'd lost 80 pounds, and his left lung and both his kidneys(肾) had been destroyed. Doctors say he now needs to have the kidney transplanted. Walker admits he is shaken by his experience. Meanwhile, Candy says, "Every time I see someone smoking e-cigarettes, I show them pictures of Walker in the hospital and ask, 'Do you understand that you could end up like this?'"
